Part 4

Staffing Activities: Selection

Chapter 8:
External Selection I
 Staffing Organizations Model
Organization
Mission
Goals and Objectives

Organization Strategy HR and Staffing Strategy

Staffing Policies and Programs

Support Activities Core Staffing Activities
Legal compliance Recruitment: External, internal
Selection:
Planning Measurement, external, internal
Employment:
Job analysis Decision making, final match
Staffing System and Retention Management
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 Chapter Outline
• Preliminary Issues
– Logic of Prediction
– Nature of Predictors
– Development of the
Selection Plan
– Selection Sequence
• Initial Assessment Methods
– Resumes and Cover Letters
– Application Blanks
– Biographical Information
• Initial Assessment Methods
– References and Background
Checks
– Handwriting Analysis
– Literacy Testing
– Genetic Testing
– Initial Interview
– Choice of Methods
• Legal Issues
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 External Selection
• The assessment & evaluation of external job applicants

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 Preliminary Issues
• Logic of prediction
1

• Nature of predictors
2

• Development of the selection plan

3

• Selection sequence
4

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 Logic of prediction
• The indicators of a person’s degree of success in past
situations should be predictive of how successful he or
she will likely be in new situations.
• Works in practice if the organization accurately
identifies & measures qualifications relative to job
requirements, & if those qualifications remain stable
over time
• Exh 8.1 show how critical it is to carefully scrutinize the
applicant past situation.

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 Logic of Prediction: Past Performance
Predicts Future Performance

• Not specific enough to make selection decisions

– Job titles
– Number of years of experience
• What counts is the specific types & quality of
experiences required and the level of success at each
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 Nature of Predictors
• Content
– Sign: A predisposition thought to relate to
performance (e.g., personality)
– Sample: Observing behavior thought to relate to
performance
– Criterion: Actual measure of prior performance e.g.
sales during probationary period

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• Form
– Speed vs. power: How many versus what level e.g.
how many sit ups vs. level of items with increasing
difficulty
– Paper / pencil vs. performance: Test in writing or
in behavior or ability to manipulate equipment
– Objective vs. essay: Much like multiple-choice vs.
essay course exam questions
– Oral vs. written vs. computer: How data are
obtained, format is dependant on the nature of the job

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 Development of the Selection Plan:
Steps Involved
• A selection plan describes which predictor(s) will be
used to assess the KSAOs required to perform the job
• Exh 8.2
Steps;
1. Develop list of KSAOs required for job
– KSAOs are provided by job requirements matrix
2. For each KSAO, decide if it needs to be assessed in
the selection process
3. Determine method(s) of assessment to be used for
each KSAO
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 Selection Sequence

Someone who has not yet received an offer ,

but who possesses the min qualification to be
considered for further assessment

Someone who meets all min qualification &

considered fully qualified for the job

Ex. 8.3 Assessment Methods by Applicant Flow Stage

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 INITIAL ASSESSMENT
METHODS
• Preemployment inquiries
• Minimize the costs associated with substantive
assessment methods by reducing the number of
people assessed

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 INITIAL EXTERNAL
ASSESSMENT METHODS
1 • Resumes and Cover Letters
2 • Application Blanks
3 • Biographical Information
4 • References and Background Checks
5 • Genetic Screening (x)
6 • Initial interview

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 1. Resumes and Cover Letters
• Information provided is controlled by applicant
– Information needs to be verified by other predictors
to ensure accuracy and completeness
• Major issues
– Large number received by organizations
– Falsification and misrepresentation of information
e.g. inflated titles, inaccurate dates to cover up job
hopping or employment gaps, half finished degrees

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• Resume screening could be a very time consuming and
resource demanding process
– It may be done by lower-level staff or computer with
resume scanning software
– Good candidates might be eliminated because of the
inflexibility in the screening process
• E.g., searching for key words “BBA” may exclude
applicants from social science disciplines

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Resume Fabrications & Distortion

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https://newswire.net/newsroom/news/00108263-fake-pilot-discovered-after-20-years-of-flying-
airliners.html 20
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Applicant declaration

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 2. Application Blanks
• Areas covered
– Educational experience
– Training
– Job experience
• Advantage -Organization dictates information
provided
• Major issue -- Information requested should
– Be critical to job success and
– Reflect KSAOs relevant to job
• Sample application blank - Exh. 8.4

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• Areas of special interest
– Educational requirements
• Level of education ;
• GPA; high validity
• Quality of school
• Major field of study; no conclusive evidence
• Extracurricular activities; demonstration of interpersonal skills –
valid for jobs with heavy social component
– Training and experience requirements; quality of previous
training & experience
– Licensing, certification, and job knowledge; one cannot
assume that simply because an applicant has a certification
he/she is qualified ***
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Certification

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 3. Biographical Information /
Biodata
• Personal history information of applicant’s background
and interests
– “Best predictor of future behavior is past behavior”
– Past behaviors may reflect ability or motivation
• Collected in a questionnaire that applicants complete
– Hiring decision based on responses to certain items
– E.g. Google
• Measures
– Exh. 8.5: Examples of Biodata Items

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 4. Reference Reports

• Background information collected from people

familiar with the applicant in previous situations

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 Letters of Recommendation
• Problems
– Inability to discern more-qualified from
less-qualified applicants
– Lack of standardization of letter
• Suggestions to improve credibility
– Use a structured form
– Use a standardized scoring key

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 Reference Checks

• Approach involves verifying applicant’s background via

contact with
– Prior immediate supervisor(s) or
– HR department of current of previous companies
• Roughly 8 of 10 companies conduct reference checks
– Checking on FB, Twitter, Instagram
• Problems
– Same as problems with letters of recommendation
– Reluctance of companies to provide requested
information due to legal concerns
• Exh. 8.7: Sample Reference Check

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Reference Reports: Background Testing
• Method involves assessing reliability of applicants’
behavior, integrity, and personal adjustment
• Type of information requested
– Criminal history
– Credit information
– Educational history
– Employment verification
– Driver license histories
– Workers’ compensation claims
• Key issues
– Limited validity evidence
– Legal constraints on pre-employment inquiries
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 Background Investigation Sources

Source: Based on Pinkerton, Top Security Threats and Management Issues

Facing Corporate America Year 2000 Survey of Fortune 1000 Companies.
 5.Genetic screening
• Done to screen out people who are susceptible to certain
diseases (e.g., sickle cell anemia) due to exposure to
toxic substances at work
• Genetic screening is not widespread, companies such as
Du Pont and Dow Chemical experimented with it to
protect their employees
• Court decisions have ruled that genetic screening is
prohibited under the Americans With Disabilities Act
(ADA)
– genetic testing is permissible only when consent has
been granted by the applicant or when test results
directly bear on an applicant’s ability to perform the
job
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 6. Initial Interview
• Applicant first contact with the organization
• Characteristics
– Begins process of necessary differentiation
– Purpose -- Screen out most obvious cases of person
/ job mismatches
– Limitation -- Most expensive method of initial
assessment
• Video conferencing ( ZOOM, google MEET) and
computer interviews kiosk
– Offers cost savings (FREE)
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 Evaluation of Initial Interview
• Minimal evidence exists regarding usefulness
• Guidelines to enhance usefulness
– Ask questions assessing most basic KSAOs
– Stick to basic, fundamental questions suitable for
making rough cuts rather than subjective questions
– Keep interviews brief
– Ask same questions of all applicants

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 Choice of Initial Assessment
Methods
• Criteria ( exhibit 8.8)
– Use
– Cost
– Reliability
– Validity
– Utility
– Applicant reactions
– Adverse impact

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 Choice of Initial Assessment Methods, 1
Predictor Use Cost Reliability Validity Utility Applicant Adverse
Reactions Impact
Résumé and cover letter High Low Low ? ? Positive Moderate
Level of education High Low Moderate Low Low ? Moderate
Grade point average Moderate Low Moderate Moderate ? ? Moderate
Quality of school Low Low Moderate Low ? ? Moderate
Major field of study Moderate Low Moderate Moderate ? ? ?
Extracurricular activity ? Low Moderate Moderate ? ? ?
Training and experience High Low High Moderate Moderate ? Moderate
Licensing and Moderate Low ? ? ? ? ?
certification
 Choice of Initial Assessment Methods, 2
Predictor Use Cost Reliability Validity Utility Applicant Adverse
Reactions Impact
Weighted application Low Moderate Moderate Moderate Moderate ? ?
blanks
Biographical data Low High High High High Negative Moderate
Letters of Moderate Low Low Low ? ? ?
recommendation
Reference check High Moderate Low Low Moderate Mixed Moderate
Background check Moderate High ? ? ? ? Moderate
Initial interview High High Low Low ? Positive Moderate
– Use
• How frequently surveyed organization use eacch
predictor
• High usage does not mean its good, depends on the
organization

– Cost
• Major cost is the administration

– Reliability
• Consistency of measurement
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– Validity
• Strength of the relationship between the predictor
& job performance

– Utility
• Monetary return of using the predictor

– Applicant reactions
• Favorability of applicant’s reaction to the predictor

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