HRML3 Anna Flashcards
(31 cards)
What is the primary goal of personnel selection?
- Achieve a high person–job fit
- Recognise measurable differences that predict future job performance = assumption
Which instruments complement personnel selection to ensure optimal employee fit?
- Training
- Socialisation
- Job design
What are key criteria when choosing a selection method?
- Predictive validity (accuracy for future performance)
- Incremental validity (additional predictive value)
- Cost–benefit ratio
- Fairness and legal aspects
- Applicants’ reactions
- susceptibility to faking
Define an assessment centre.
- Multi-Trait, Multi-Method approach
- Candidates observed in multiple exercises by multiple observers
- Emphasises observable behaviour
What is a behaviour description interview (BDI)?
- Focus on past behaviour
- Premise: past performance predicts future performance
- Uses detailed examples from previous experience
What is predictive validity in selection methods?
- Extent to which selection scores correlate with future job performance
- Measured by correlation coefficient (r from 0 to 1)
- Higher r indicates stronger predictive power
Which selection methods typically show higher predictive validity?
- Structured interviews (r ≈ 0.42)
- Job knowledge tests (r ≈ 0.40)
- Work samples (r ≈ 0.33)
How is artificial intelligence changing personnel selection?
- Screening (analysing CVs) and assessment (video interviews)
- Raises questions about objectivity, efficiency, and applicants’ reactions
- Ongoing research and legislative developments
Personnel Selection as a Process
- Planning HR needs
- Recruiting
- Selecting Employees
- Hiring
Planning HR Needs
- Both an organization’s need for people and the supply of possible people to hire need to be considered (Spector, 2012)
- The need for people is determined by fluctuation (e.g., a cohort of retiring employees) and strategic developments of a company (e.g., a new branch of
a company in India) - Organizations can take a selection approach (external recruiting) or a training approach (internal) to deal with changing HR needs
Personnel Selection as a Process (Selecting Employees)
Name six criteria for choosing a method.
- There are many different methods to select employees
- Criteria for choosing a method:
– Predictive validity ➔ Does the method help to predict future job performance?
– Incremental validity ➔ Does adding another method add predictive value?
– Ratio of costs and benefits
– Susceptibility to faking
– Legal aspects/fairness
– Applicants’ reactions
Personnel Selection as a Process 2 (Hiring)
- Employers and candidates must agree on a contract
- Realistic job previews are related to more favorable decisions and performance
- It is favorable for the company if the candidates who are not hired…
– do not spread negative information about the organization
– continue to recommend the company
– continue to buy their products
➔ Highlights the importance of a fair and sound personnel selection procedure
Which Personnel Selection Methods are common in Switzerland? in%
- Analysis of application documents 99.6
- Interviews 99.4
- Reference checks 89.1
- Personality test 32.0
- Assessment centers (AC) 26.3
- Work sample tests 23.5
- Records of criminal history 23.1
- Ability tests 18.6
- Graphology 15.8
- Biographical questionnaires 12.7
List all 5 Selection Methods
- Biographical information
- Psychometric tests
- Work samples
- Assessment centers
- Job interviews
Biographical Information
(List examples)
- Curriculum vitae (CV)
- Academic transcripts of records
- References
Psychometric Test
Name two tested categories and sub-categories.
- Cognitive abilities, e.g.,
– Intelligence
– Numerical reasoning
– Spatial reasoning
– Verbal reasoning - Personality, e.g., “Big Five”
– Openness to experience
– Conscientiousness
– Extraversion
– Agreeableness
– Neuroticism
Psychometric Test
Should be…
Name five points.
- Standardized: administered under controlled conditions
- Reliable: minimize and quantify any intrinsic errors
- Objective: not affected by examiners’ beliefs or values
- Non-Discriminatory against any group based on gender, culture, ethnicity, etc.
- Predictive: produce accurate predictions of performance
Work Sample advantage and disadvantage
What is it and what are advantages and disadvantages?
- = Applicants are asked to perform observable, job-related task under standardized conditions
- Advantages:
– High predictability of future job performance
– Good insight into future job for candidates - Disadvantages:
– Can be costly to administer
– Not able to measure every task (time restrictions)
– Challenging to apply when applicants are not experienced
Assessment Center
- Multi-Trait, Multi-Method: Multiple candidates run through:
– … multiple exercises, while being observed by
– … multiple observers on
– … multiple competencies - Focus on observable behavior
- Goal: objectivity, validity
- Feedback and recommendation for each candidate
- Final decision usually taken by management
- e.g. group discussion, oral presentation, simulation, in-basket/in-tray
In an assessment center, an In-basket (or In-tray) exercise is a simulation where you’re given a stack of tasks — like emails, memos, reports, meeting requests — that you might find in a real “inbox” at work.
Assessment Center – Pros and Cons
- Advantages:
– Assessment of actual behavior (verbal and non-verbal)
– Less prone to self-report bias by applicants (i.e., selective revealing or suppression of information) - Disadvantages:
– Selective perception, observation errors
– Time-consuming and expensive
Job Interviews
What are the two types and name sub-types.
- Unstructured vs. structured interviews
– Structured interviews are a better predictor of work performance than unstructured interviews - Structured interviews
– Situational Interview
– Behavior Description Interview
Situational Interview (Latham et al., 1980)
- Questions based on job analysis (Critical Incident Technique)
- Interview questions based on identified critical incidents
- Focus is on stated intentions
- Assessment of how candidates would behave (if…then)
Situational Interview – Pros and Cons
- Advantages:
– Candidates do not need any experience
– Incidents can be tailored to specific job needs - Disadvantages:
– Candidates with good verbal reasoning skills perform better
– Applicants can identify appropriate answers, and use them even if they don’t align with their true intentions
Behavior Description Interview (BDI)
- Focus on actual behavior (past accomplishments or failures)
- „The best predictor for the future is the past.“
- Collection of detailed behavior descriptions of actual events from candidates’ job experience
Behavior Description Interview – Example
- Guiding question/request:
– „Please tell us about one of your projects that you did not accomplish in time.“ - Follow-up questions:
– „What difficulties did you face during the project?“
– „How did you cope with these difficulties?“
– „What did you do to prevent such difficulties
in the future?“