Human Resource Management,

Arab World Edition

Gary Dessler, Akram Al Ariss

Chapter 6: Employee Testing and Selection

Lecturer:

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 Why Careful Selection is Important

The Importance of
Selecting the Right
Employees

Costs of Legal
Organizational
Recruiting and Obligations and
Performance
Hiring Liability

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 Basic Testing Concepts

• Reliability
- Consistency of scores obtained by the same person
when retested with identical or equivalent tests
- Are test results stable over time?

• Validity
- Indicates whether a test is measuring what it is
supposed to be measuring
- Does the test actually measure what it is intended to
measure?

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 Types of Validity

Test
Validity

Criterion Content
Validity Validity

Face
Validity

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 How to Validate a Test

Steps in Test Validation

1 Analyze the Job: predictors and criteria

2 Choose the Tests: test battery or single test

3 Administer the Tests: concurrent or predictive validation

4 Relate Your Test Scores and Criteria: scores versus actual performance

5 Cross-Validate and Revalidate: repeat Steps 3 and 4 with a different sample

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 Types of Tests

What Tests
Measure

Cognitive Motor and Personality

(Mental) Physical and Achievement
Abilities Abilities Interests

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 FIGURE 6-3 Type of Question Applicant Might Expect on a
Test of Mechanical Comprehension

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 BOX 6-1 Sample Personality Test Items

It does not make sense to work hard on something if no one will notice.
a. Definitely true
b. Somewhat true
c. Neither true nor false
d. Somewhat false
e. Definitely false
I tend to let others do most of the talking in conversations.
a. Definitely true
b. Somewhat true
c. Neither true nor false
d. Somewhat false
e. Definitely false
I have remained calm in situations where others have become upset.
a. Definitely true
b. Somewhat true
c. Neither true nor false
d. Somewhat false
e. Definitely false

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 The ‘Big Five’

Extraversion

Emotional Stability/
Conscientiousness
Neuroticism

Openness to
Agreeableness
Experience

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 BOX 6-2 Example of a Work Sampling Question

Checks key before installing against:

—shaft score 3
—pulley score 3
—neither score 1
Note: This is one step in installing pulleys and belts.

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 Work Samples and Simulations

Measuring Work
Performance Directly

Management Miniature
Work Assessment Job Training
Samples Centers and
Evaluation

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 TABLE 6-2 Evaluation of Assessment Methods on Four Key Criteria
Costs
(Develop/ Applicant
Assessment Method Validity Adverse Impact Administer) Reactions
Cognitive ability tests High High (against minorities) Low/low Somewhat favorable
Job knowledge test High High (against minorities) Low/low More favorable
Personality tests Low to Low Low/low Less favorable
moderate
Biographical data Moderate Low to high for different High/low Less favorable
inventories types
Integrity tests Moderate Low Low/low Less favorable
to high
Structured interviews High Low High/high More favorable
Physical fitness tests Moderate High (against females and High/high More favorable
to high older workers)
Situational judgment Moderate Moderate (against High/low More favorable
tests minorities)
Work samples High Low High/high More favorable
Assessment centers Moderate Low to moderate, High/high More favorable
to high depending on exercise
Physical ability tests Moderate High (against females and High/high More favorable
to high older workers)

Note: There was limited research evidence available on applicant reactions to situational judgment tests
and physical ability tests. However, because these tests tend to appear very relevant to the job, it is
likely that applicant reactions to them would be favorable.

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 Background Investigations and Reference
Checks

• Investigations and Checks

- In the U.S.A., job applicants can expect:
o Reference checks
o Background employment checks
o Criminal record checks
o Driving record checks
o Credit checks
- In most of the Arab world, companies rarely do these
checks because of the high influx of expatriate
workers.
• Why conduct investigations and checks?
- To verify factual information provided by applicants
- To uncover damaging information
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 FIGURE 6-4
Reference
Checking Form

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 Background Investigations and Reference
Checks (cont)

Former Employers

Current Supervisors

Sources of Commercial Credit

Rating Companies
Information

Written References

Social Networking Sites

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 Making Background Checks More Useful

1. Include on the application form a statement for applicants to

sign, explicitly authorizing a background check.
2. Use telephone references if possible.
3. Be persistent in obtaining information.
4. Use references provided by the candidate as a source for
other references.
5. Ask open-ended questions to elicit more information from
references.

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 TABLE 6-3 Collecting Background Information

1. Check all applicable laws in your country.

2. Don’t obtain information you’re not going to use.

3. Use information that’s specific and job related.

4. Keep information confidential and up to date.

5. Never authorize an unreasonable investigation.

6. Make sure you always get at least two forms of identification from the
applicant.

7. Always require applicants to fill out a job application.

8. Compare the application to the résumé (people tend to be more imaginative

on their résumés than on their application forms, where they must certify the
information).

9. Particularly for executive candidates, include background checks of such

things as involvement in lawsuits.

10. Separate the tasks of (1) hiring and (2) doing the background check (a
recruiter or supervisor anxious to hire someone may cut corners when
investigating the candidate’s background).

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 Physical Examination

• Reasons for pre-employment medical examinations:

- To verify that the applicant meets the physical
requirements of the position
- To discover any medical limitations to be taken into
account in placing the applicant
- To establish a record and baseline of the applicant’s
health for future insurance or compensation claims
- To reduce absenteeism and accidents
- To detect communicable diseases that may be unknown
to the applicant

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 Improving Productivity Through HRIS:
Comprehensive Automated Applicant Tracking
and Screening Systems

Benefits of Applicant
Tracking Systems

Can match
‘Knock out’ Allow employers
‘hidden talents’ of
applicants who to extensively test
applicants to
do not meet job and screen
available
requirements applicants online
openings

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 BOX 6-3 Checklist: What to Look for in an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

The employer thinking of adopting an ATS should seek one that meets several
minimum functionality requirements. Among other things, the ATS should be:
• Easy to use.
• Capable of being integrated into the company’s existing HRIS platform,
so that, for instance, data on a newly hired candidate can flow seamlessly into the
HRIS payroll system.
• Able to provide employee selection performance metrics reports,
including ‘time to fill’, ‘cost to hire’, and ‘applicant source statistics’.
• Able to facilitate scheduling and tracking of candidate interviews, e-mail
communications, and completed forms, including job offers.
• Able to provide automated screening and ranking of candidates based
upon job skill profiles.
• Able to provide an internal job posting service that supports applications
from current employees and employee referral programs.
• Able to cross-post jobs to commercial job boards such as
www.monster.com.
• Able to integrate the ATS job board with your company’s own website, for
instance, by linking it to your site’s ‘careers’ section.
• Able to provide for requisition creation and signoff approvals.

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