RECRUITMENT AND

SELECTION
JUNE 14, 2021
 LEARNING OUTCOME

• Explain the importance of the validity and utility of HR assessments.

• Discuss how people undergoing these assessments view them and
how these views impact their perceptions of the organization's
attractiveness.
• Summarize the legal issues surrounding the use of HR assessments.
Work Samples and Simulation Tests

• Work samples and simulations require candidates to produce behaviours related to job performance
under controlled conditions that approximate those found in the actual job.
• The candidate is not asked to perform the actual job for several reasons.
• Work samples reflect key tasks of the target position the candidate is asked to perform and are
standardized in administration and scoring. Work samples can include both motor and verbal behaviours.
• The former require applicants to physically manipulate machinery or tools; verbal work samples require
the applicants to solve problems involving communication or interpersonal skills.
• Situational exercises have been designed to assess problem-solving ability, leadership potential, and
communication skills.
• Situational judgment tests (SJTs), also known as job situation exercises, are a special type of situational
exercise designed to measure an applicant’s judgment in workplace or professional situations.
Work Samples and Simulation Tests

• The two most prominent situational exercises are the leaderless group discussion and the in-basket test.
• In a leaderless group discussion, a group of candidates for a managerial position might be asked to
develop and advocate for a position on a job-related topic or work through a business case.
• In all cases the group is not provided with any rules for conducting the discussions, nor is a structure
imposed on the group.
• The primary purpose is to assess leadership emergence, and team-related skills such as communications,
organization, conflict management, and inclusiveness.
• The in-basket test seeks to assess the applicant’s organizational (e.g., planning, prioritizing, delegating,
scheduling, appreciation for organizational hierarchy, and so on) and problem-solving skills.
Assessment Centres

• Assessment centre is a standardized procedure that involves the use of multiple

measurement techniques and multiple assessors to evaluate candidates for selection,
classification, and promotion.
• These assessments generally run over 1–3 days and involve 6–12 candidates at a time.
• ACs are used for external screening, development, internal promotion, early identification
of leadership or managerial potential, and certification of competence.
Assessment Centres

• While the specific assessments may vary from one AC to another (depending on the aims
of the AC), most comprise predominantly “hands on” situational exercises/work
samples/simulations, complemented by psychometric assessments (personality, cognitive
ability).
• After candidates complete all AC exercises the assessors come together to determine an
overall dimension rating for each candidate on each performance dimension, drawing
from the ratings given to each dimension from each of the several assessments.
• This then results in candidate profiles reflecting a score for each dimension
Personality Inventories

• One of the major difficulties in using inventories for selection purposes is the lack of agreement on the definition
of personality.
• Personality comprise a set of personal characteristics or properties that influence, or help to explain, a person’s
behaviour.
• Personality traits are stable, measurable characteristics that help explain ways in which people vary.
• Sets, collections, or patterns of traits and states define a personality type.
• Self-report inventories are the most frequently used technique for measuring personality.
• A self-report inventory consists of sets of short, written statements related to various traits.
• A self-report inventory may measure only one trait, or it may include subscales related to several different traits.
• A score for each trait assessed is determined by combining the ratings for those items that belong to that trait.
Personality Inventories

• One criticism of these self-report inventories is that they are prone to faking and social
desirability responding.
• Faking occurs when individuals respond to inventory questions with answers that do not
reflect their true beliefs or feelings.
• Social desirability responding is a form of faking, where individuals choose responses,
they believe will present them in a socially desirable way.
The Big Five

• Personality traits cluster into

five main categories, referred
to as the Big Five:
conscientiousness, emotional
stability (also known as
neuroticism), openness to
experience, agreeableness,
and extraversion.
The Big Five

• Personality assessment involving the Big Five and its facets

should be considered as part of the HR selection toolkit for most
jobs. It should supplement measures of GMA, a behavioural
interview, one or more work samples, and perhaps EQ where
practically and economically feasible.
Polygraph Testing

• In many cases, organizational effectiveness may be limited by employee theft or misuse of

an organization’s property or proprietary information, or other forms of dishonesty.
• Polygraph testing, otherwise known as using a “lie detector,” was once used extensively to
check on employee honesty and to screen job applicants.
• It assumes that measurable, physiological changes (e.g., heart rate, breathing, and blood
pressure) occur when people lie even if they try to suppress these responses.
• Although polygraphs enjoy a reputation for being able to detect lies, empirical evidence
shows that there are many unresolved issues concerning both their reliability and validity,
and they are especially likely to yield high “false positive” rates
Honesty/Integrity Testing

• Restrictions on polygraph testing have led to an increase in the use of paper-and-pencil or

computer-administered honesty or integrity tests.
• There are two general types of integrity tests.
• Covert tests are subtests or scales that are included in a general personality inventory.
• Overt honesty tests ask very direct questions about the individual’s attitude toward theft
and other forms of dishonesty, as well as the person’s prior involvement in theft or other
illegal activities.
Evaluating Effectiveness of HR Assessments

• HR assessments used as part of selection procedures must exhibit sound psychometric

properties, particularly reliability and validity.
• They must be constructed and used in accordance with accepted professional standards
and meet legal requirements that govern their use.
• HR assessment systems involve the expenditure of time and money, especially for
assessment centres.
• Therefore, it is not sufficient to demonstrate that a selection test or procedure has
acceptable psychometric properties.
THANK YOU