“The Triumph of Hope over Experience” 

Selection

Recruitment 

• Next step after  Manpower Resource Planning
• Yoder; “process to discover the sources of manpower needed  to meet requirements of staffing & employ effective measures for attracting that manpower”
• Purpose of Recruitment is to locate the sources of manpower to meet job requirements & job specifications

Selection 

• Concerned with securing relevant information about an applicant
• Number of steps –stages
• Objective of selection is to determine whether an applicant meets the qualifications for a specific job and to choose the applicant who is most likely to perform well on that job
• Hiring process=  not a single act but series of methods or steps or stages by which additional information is secured.

Factors that Affect Selection 

• Current Size
• Employment conditions of Organization
• Effect of past selections  -ability to locate and sustain good workforce
• Salary –remuneration packages
• Rate of growth of the organization
• Future Expansion Programs

Steps in the Selection Process 
   Preliminary screening
   Fact Finder-Application bank
   Interview
   Psychological Tests
   Reference Check
   Final Selection
The ‘How’  Of Selection….- Procedures 

• Demographics –Age, Qualifications

• Physical Adequacy

 

• Skills

• Aptitude

• Attitudes

• Interests

• Application Blanks
• Personnel Records    
• Grade Sheets
• Tests, Medical reports, Employment Records 

• Physical Examinations-Dexterity etc. 
• Psychological Tests ,Batteries

• Interviews , Psychological Scales

• Application Blank ,Inventories.

Psychological Tests 

“Systematic procedure for sampling human behavior” 

Purpose:

• Guide & counsel
• Vocational guidance
• Research into human behavior
• Selection of candidates in an organization

Purpose of Psychological Tests in organisations 

• Selection & Placements of New Employees
• Appraising Employees for Promotion Potentials
• Counselling Employees

What Psychological Tests measure 
 

• Personality Traits :  Dominance, Emotional Stability etc
• Interests
• Abilities : Intelligence:Verbal ,Mathematical ,  Spatial, Clerical etc

Characteristics of Psychological tests: 

1. Assumption –  Individual Differences
2. Validity –extent to which a test measures what it is designed to measure
3. Reliability  : degree of consistency of results . “ consistency of scores obtained by same person tested on different point of time – by the same test or an equivalent form of the test.”
4. Standardisation : administered under standard conditions to large groups of people who are representative of population intended.
5. Objectivity  :constructed that 2 or more persons score in same way –no biases in answering or testing  - e.g.. culture fair

Validity  

• Content Validity: how well the content represents all possible situations that could have been included.
• Predictive Validity : degree to which there is a relationship between scores on a test and future behavior which is required on the job.
• Concurrent Validity : extent to which test scores are related with a job behavior measure that is available at the same time.
• Construct Validity : extent to which the test measures the ‘construct’ it purports to measure.  E.g.. Intelligence’ .

Types of Psychological Tests 
   PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS
      APTITUDE
         LATENT ABILITY TO LEARN A JOB/SKILL
      ACHIEVEMENT
         PROFICIENCY TESTS –ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE
      PERSONALITY 
         CHARACTERISTICS OF AN INDIVUDAL NON INTELLECTUAL
      INTEREST INVENTORIES
         Likes & dislikes
         Vocational guidance
         Kuder Richardson Record ;Strong Vocational Interest Bank
Aptitude Tests 
   APTITUDE
      LATENT ABILITY TO LEARN A JOB/SKILL
         MENTAL  -IQ –WAIS
         MECHANICAL APTITUDE TESTS -
            Manual dexterity ; spatial visualisation,perceptual speed ,visual motor coordination
         PSYCHOMOTOR OR SKILLS TESTS
            Ability to do a specific job
            Purdue mechanical aptitude test; tweezer dexterity tests ;o’coonor finger; mc quarril test.
Achievement Tests 

• Measure proficiency –  level of acquired knowledge
• Result of training – on the job experience
• Feasability of Admission to a particular job/degree
• General Aptitude Test Battery Abstract Reasoning test Millar Analogies Test Stanford Binet scales

Two kinds :

• Job Knowledge –oral /written
• Work Sample Tests  - on-job e.g..typist

Personality Tests  

• Subjective traits –no right or wrongs- put people on a gradient  of emotional reactions etc
• E.g. NEO-PI : neuroticism , openness, Bell Adjustment Inventory ,MMPI : Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory ,Catell 16PF,California Personality Test etc. ,Thematic Apperception test.
• Widely Used in Industry
• Very little scope to fabricate.

Types of Personality Test 
   Objective Test
      Paper pencil tests  ;MMPI,NEOPI,16PF
      Score objectively – likert scales.
   Projective Tests
      TAT, Rorscach Inkbot
      Project interpretations to standard stimulus stuations
   Situational tests
      Measure an applicants Response in particular situation -stress
      Army , Space
Other Classification of Tests 
Basis of Use 
Basis of Administration 
   Tests
      Selection tests
      Classification Tests
      Placement Decisions  
   Tests
      Individual
      Group
   ‘Tailor Made Tests”
Advantages of tests 

• Selection Devices –  more effective than mere application blanks or interviews
• Uniform Basis for comparing Candidates from diverse backgrounds
• Minimise subjective biases that may creep up in testing due to tester efffects
• Reduce labour turnover –reduce cost of training
• Increase production – because you employ the ‘right fit’
• Minimize time required for selection as compared to other methods
• Discover causes of failure if any
• Diagnose who to train where –in what aspects.

Testing Program Guidelines 

• Good Add –ons. To interview, application blanks .- provide objective check.
• Supplements  to selection process
• Better at predicting Failure than success
• Choosing the ‘correct test’ for correct measure  e.g.. Aptitude –intelligence

Drawbacks- Points to Remember  

• Scores are not precise measures –samples of behavior at given instances
• Validated in organization to be used
• Screening device
• Test Conditions important
• Invasion of privacy
• Competent Testing Professionals should be administering

Interviews 

• Most widely used selection tool
• Integrate and measure relevant characteristics & classifying applicant
• : “selection technique which allows to view the applicant and appraise him or her – interests, personality attitudes etc  …through face to face contact”
• Interviewing: deliberate active listening with a purpose to draw a person out  … “ attempt to secure maximum amount of information from candidate concerning suitability to a job”

Types of Interviews 
   Interviews
      1. Patterned or structured
      2. Free or non directive
      3. Group or Discussion
      4. Panel or Board  5.  Stress Interview
Drawback of Interview Method 

• Veracity –Evidence –  truthfulness of stated claim
• Subjectivity
• Rapport Formation
• Issues of privacy infringement – what to ask and to what extent