Selection

Prepared by Sonia Gupta

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 Selection - Definition

Selection is the process of picking

individuals ( out of the pool of job
applicants) with requisite qualifications
and competence to fill jobs in the
organisation.
 Selection - Objectives
The ultimate goal of a selection process is to choose the best
person for the job

Objectives of selection are

– To gather as much information about the candidate as
possible
– To organise and evaluate that information
– To assess each candidate
– To forecast (as far as possible) performance on the job
– To give information to applicants
– To judge whether the applicant wishes to accept an offer
 Role Of Selection
• Role of selection in an organisation’s effectiveness is crucial for at least 2 reasons

1 ) Work Performance
2) Costs

Work performance depends on individuals. The best way to improve performance is to

hire people who have the competence and the willingness to work .Poor or
inappropriate choice can be demoralising to the individual concerned ( who finds
himself or herself in the wrong job) and de-motivating to the rest of the work –
force. Effective selection therefore assumes greater relevance.

Costs – Cost of wrong selection are much greater.I t leads to production or profit
losses,damaged company reputation,accident due to negligence, absenteeism.
Second type of costs is associated with the training, transfer or terminating the
services of the employee. Cost of replacing an employee with a fresh one – costs
of hiring, training and replacement – constitute the third type of costs.

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 Selection

Ideally, Selection Process involves mutual decision making but in

reality, the selection process is highly one –sided.

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 Selection Process
• Selection is a long process, commencing from the preliminary interview of the
applicants and ending with the contract of employment.
• Steps are :
• 1. Preliminary Interview
• 2. Selection Tests
• 3.Employment Interview
• 4. Reference and background Analysis
• 5. Selection Decision
• 6.Physical Examination
• 7. Job Offer
• 8. Employment Contract
• 9. Evaluation
• Inpractice, the process differs among organisations and between two different
jobs within the same organisation. Selection procedure for senior managers
will be long drawn and rigorous, but it is simple and short while hiring shop floor
workers.

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 Selection Process
• 1. Preliminary Interview

• Application received from job seekers would be subject to

scrutiny so as to eliminate unqualified applicants . This is
usually followed by preliminary interview the purpose of which
is more or less the same as scrutiny of applicants.

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 Selection Process
• 2. Selection Tests
• Job seekers who pass the screening and the preliminary interview are
called for tests. Different types of tests may be administered,
depending on the job and the company. Generally, tests are used to
determine the applicant’s ability, aptitude and personality.

• Ability test – It assists in determining how well an individual can

perform tasks related to the job.
• Aptitude test – It helps determining a person’s potential to learn in a
given area.
• Personality tests – It helps to measure a prospective employee’s
motivation to function in a particular working environment.

• Tests must be choosen preferrably based on the criteria of reliability

and validity
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 Selection Process
• Reliability …the degree to which the selection tool produces
dependable or consistent results over time.
• Validity ……how well a measure actually assesses the
attribute it’s being used to assess.

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 Selection Process
Employment Interview –
• Interview is a formal, in depth conversation conducted to
evaluate the applicant’s acceptibility. Its popularity stems
from its flexibility. It allows a two-way exchange of
information, the interviewers learn about the applicant, and the
applicant learn about the employer.

– It can be considered as an excellent selection device.

- It can be adapted to unskilled, skilled, managerial and
professional employees.

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 Selection Process
Employment Interview – It can be

1. One to one
2. Sequential
3. Panel
1. There are only two participants- the interviewer and the interviewee.
2. Sequential interview takes the one-to-one step further and involves a series
of interviews, usually utilising the strength and knowledge –base of each
interviewer, so that each interviewer can ask questions in relation to his or her
subject area when the candidate moves from room to room.
3. The panel interview consists of two or more interviewers and the figure may go
up to as many as 15.Any panel interview is less intimate and more formal than
the one-to-one ,but if handled and organised well, If not handled carefully, the
panel interview can make the candidate confused about whose question to
answer and whom to answer.

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 Selection Process
Employment Interview – Types

• Structured – Predetermined checklist of questions ,usually asked of all

applicants. It is useful while dealing with large no. of applicants
• Unstructured – Questions are made-up during the interview .It is useful when
the interviewer tries to probe personal details of the candidates to analyse
why they are not right for the job.
• Mixed - A combination of structured and unstructured questions. A realistic
approach that yields comparable answers plus indepth insights
• Bahavioural- Questions limited to hypothetical situations. Useful to understand
applicant’s reasoning and analytical abilities under modest stress.
• Stress- A series of harsh, rapid fire questions intended to upset the applicant.
Useful for stressful jobs, such as handling complaints

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 Selection Process
Employment Interview –

Objective :
 Helps obtain additional information from the applicant,
 Facilitates giving general information to the applicant such as
company policies, job, products manufactured and the like
 Helps build the company’s image among the applicants

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Problems/Error in the Interview
• HALO EFFECT
 Occurs when an interviewer allows a prominent characteristic to
overshadow other evidence.
 Devil’s horns (a reverse halo effect), such as inappropriate dress
or a low grade point average, may affect an interviewer as well.
• BIASES
 Interviewers tend to favor or select people whom they perceive to
be similar to themselves.
 This similarity can be in age, race, sex, previous work experiences,
personal background, or other factors.
• INTERVIEWER DOMINATION
 Interviewer who use the interview telling the applicant about his
success , spending entire interview telling about company plan or
benefits.
Conducting Effective Interviews
• Interviewers should be carefully selected and
trained properly
• Preparation of Interview Plan
• Encourage the interviewee to talk
• Establish an easy and informal relationship
• Listen Carefully
• Record the facts immediately after interviews
• Evaluate effectiveness of interviewing process
 Selection Process
Reference and Background Checks–

• Many employers request names, addresses, and telephone no. of references for the
purpose of verifying information and, perhaps, gaining additional background information
on an applicant.
• Previous employers , known public figures, professors, neighbours or friends can act as
references.

Information gathered through references hardly influence selection decision.. The reasons
are :
• 1. The candidate approaches only those persons who would speak well about him or her.
• 2.People may write favourably about candidate in order to get rid of him or her.
• 3.People may not like to divulge the truth about a candidate, lest it might damage or ruin
his/her career.

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 Selection Process
Selection Decision–

• After obtaining information through the preceding steps S election Decision -the most
critical step must be made. The final decision has to be made from the pool of individuals
who pass the tests, interviews and reference checks.

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 Selection Process
Physical Examination –

After the selection decision and before the job offer is made,the
candidate is required to undergo a physical fitness test.The
results of the medical test are recorded in a statement and
are preserved in the personnel records.
Objectives :
To detect infectious diseases ,if individual carries.
To determine the applicant’s physical fitness necessary for
performance.
To protect the employer from employees’ claim if made in future
To differentiate the successful and less successful employees.
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 Selection Process
Job Offer–

The next step in the selection process is job offer to those

applicants who have crossed all the previous hurdles. Such a
letter generally contains a date by which the appointee must
report on duty.

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 Selection Process
Contracts of Employment –

After the job offer has been made and candidates accepts the
offer, certain documents need to be executed by the employer
and the candidate. One such document is the attestation form.
This form contains certain vital details about the candidate
which are authenticated and attested by him/her.
There is also need for preparing a contract of employment. The
basic information varies from job to job and company to
company.

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 Selection Process
Contracts of Employment – Common checklist
1. Job Titles,
2. Duties ,
3. Date when continuous employment starts and the basis for calculating services,
4. Rate of pay, allowances, overtime and shift rates, methods of payments.
5. Hours of work including lunch break and overtime and shift arrangements.
6. Length of notice due to and from employee
7. Grievance Procedure
8. Disciplinary procedure
9. Work rules
10. Leave
11. 11Arrangements for union membership

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 Selection Process
Contracts of Employment – Common checklist

1. Most employers insist on agreements being signed by newly hired employees.

But high employee turnover sectors such as software ,advertising and media
are more prone to use such contracts.
2. The drawback with contracts is that it is almost impossible to enforce them

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 Selection Process
Concluding the Selection process

1. Contrary to poupular perception, the selection process will not end with
executing the employment contract. There is another step – a sensitive one –
reassuring those candidates who have not been selected. Such candidates
must be told that they were not selected, not because of any serious
deficiencies in their personalities, but because their profiles did not match the
requirements of the organisation.

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 Selection Process
Evaluation of Selection programme

1. The broad test of the effectiveness of the selection process is the quality of
personnel hired. The selection process, if properly done,will ensure availability
of such employees. How to evaluate the effectiveness of a selection
programme? A periodic audit is the answer

2. Area and questions to be covered in a systematic evaluation programme:

Q. How well is the programme implemented?
Q. Feedback- How many persons have rejected the company as a poor place to
work because of low wages , poor reputation and so on?
Q.How well do those hired perform on the job?
Q. What contribution does each of the selection tools ( tests, interviews, medical
examinations etc.)make to the programme?

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 Selection Process
Barriers to Effective Selection:
1. Perception : Our inability to understand others accurately is probably the most
fundamental barrier to selecting the right candidate.
2. Fairness : It requires that no individual should be discriminates against on the
basis of religion, cast, region ,race or gender.
3. Validity : It is a test that helps predict job performance of an incumbent.
Validated test does not predict job success accurately. It can only increase the
possibility of success.
4. Reliability : A reliable method is one which will produce consistent results when
repeated in similar situations. Like a validated test, a reliable test may fail to
predict job performance with precision.
5. Pressure : Pressure is brought on the selectors by politicians, bureaucrats,
relatives,. Friends, and peers to select particualar candidates. Candidates
selected because of compulsions are obviously not the right ones.

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New Methods of Selection
Two new interesting methods of selection are :
• Participative selection :
It means that suborinates participate in the selection of their co-workers and
supervisors. It tends to increase support for the selected supervisor, improve
quality and morale.

• Employee leasing :
Here the client com. leases employees from a third party, not on temporary
basis, but rather are leased as full-time, long term help. Employees already
working elsewhere are leased. They are not directly employed by the com. Where
they are working.
 Differentiation between
recruitment and selection
• It the process of searching the candidates for employment and stimulating them to apply for jobs in
the organization.
It Involves the series of steps by which the candidates are screened for choosing the most suitable
persons for vacant posts.

• The basic purpose of recruitments is to create a talent pool of candidates to enable the selection of best
candidates for the organization, by attracting more and more employees to apply in the organization
The basic purpose of selection process is to choose the right candidate to fill the various positions in the
organisation.

• Recruitment is a positive process i.e. encouraging more and more prospective employees to apply .
Selection is a negative process as it involves rejection of the unsuitable candidates.

• There is no contract of recruitment

Selection results in a contract of service between the employer and the selected employee.

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