Chapter 8: Selecting Human Resources
8–1
Selection and Placement
• Selection
 The process of choosing individuals with
qualifications needed to fill jobs in an organization.
 Organizations need qualified employees to succeed.

“Hire hard, manage easy.”

“Good training will not make up for bad selection.”
• Placement
 Fitting a person to the right job.
8–2
Typical Division of HR Responsibilities: Selection
8–3
HR Employment Functions
• Receiving applications
• Interviewing applicants
• Administering tests to
applicants
• Conducting background
investigations
• Arranging physical
examinations
• Placing and assigning
new employees
• Coordinating follow-up of
new employees
• Exit interviewing
departing employees
• Maintaining employee
records and reports.
8–4
Placement
• Person-job Fit
 Matching the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) of
people to the characteristics of jobs (tasks, duties and
responsibilities–TDRs).
 Benefits of person-job fit
Higher employee performance
 Lower turnover and absenteeism

• Person-organization Fit
 The congruence between individuals and
organizational factors.
8–5
Criteria, Predictors, and Job Performance
• Selection Criterion
 A characteristic that a person must have to do a job successfully
• Predictors
 The measurable or visible indicators of a selection criterion
• Validity
 The correlation (strength of association) between a predictor and
job performance
• Reliability
 The extent to which a predictor repeatedly produces the same
results, over time
8–6
Combining Predictors
• Multiple Hurdles
 Establishing a minimum cutoff (level of performance)
for each predictor, and requiring that each applicant
must score at least the minimum on each predictor to
be considered for hiring.
• Compensatory Approach
 Scores on all predictors are added together, allowing
a higher score on one predictor to offset a lower score
on another predictor.
8–7
The Selection Process
• Legal Concerns in the Selection Process
 Equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws and
regulations

Non-discriminatory job-related selection practices
 Who is an applicant?
The employer must have taken steps to fill a particular job.
 The individual must follow the application procedure.
 The individual must have expressed interest in a particular
position.

 Applicant Flow Documentation

Employers must collect data on the race, sex, and other
demographics of applicants to fulfill EEO reporting
requirements.
8–8
Applicant Job Interest
• Realistic Job Preview
The process through which a job applicant receives an
accurate picture of the organizational realities of the
job.
Prevents
the development of unrealistic job expectations that
cause disenchantment, dissatisfaction, and turnover in new
employees.
8–9
Pre-Employment Screening
• Pre-Screening Interview
 Purpose: verify minimum
qualifications
• Electronic Screening
 Use applicant tracking
systems when:
The volume of applicants is large
 The quality of hires needs to be increased
 Hiring cycles need to be shortened
 The cost of hiring needs to be reduced
 The firm needs to reach geographic areas not visited by
recruiters

8–10
Applications
• Purposes of Applications
 Record of applicant’s interest in the job
 Provides a profile of the applicant
 Basic record for applicants who are hired
 Research effectiveness of the selection process
• Resumes as Applications
 Resumes are applications for EEO purposes.
 Resumes should be retained for at least three years.
• Immigration Forms (Eligibility to Work)
 INS I-9 form must be completed within 72 hours.
8–11
Selection Testing: Ability Tests
• Cognitive Ability Tests
 Measure an individual’s thinking, memory, reasoning, and verbal
and mathematical abilities.
• Physical Ability Tests
 Measure an individual’s strength, endurance, and muscular
movement
• Psychomotor Tests
 Measure an individual’s dexterity, hand-eye coordination, armhand steadiness, and other factors.
• Work Sample Tests
 Require an applicant to perform a simulated task.
8–12
Selection Testing: Ability Tests (cont’d)
• Situational Judgment Tests
 Measure a person’s judgment in work settings.
• Assessment Centers
 A series of evaluation exercises and tests used for the selection
and development of managerial personnel.
 Multiple raters assess participants in multiple exercises and
problems that are job content-related to the jobs for which the
individuals are being screened.
8–13
Big Five Personality
Characteristics
8–14
Selection Interviewing
• Reliability and Validity of Interviews
 Intra-rater reliability: interviewers who are
consistent in their ability to select individuals who will
perform well.
 Inter-rater reliability: the extent to which different
interviewers agree in the selection of individuals who
will perform well.
 Face validity: a test that appears to be valid because
external observers assume, without proof, that it is.
 Unstructured interviews are less reliable and less
valid than structured interviews.
8–15
Structured Interviews
• Structured Interview
 Uses a set of standardized questions asked of all job
applicants.
 Useful for initial screening and comparisons
• Benefits
 Obtains consistent information needed for selection
decision
 Is more reliable and valid than other interview formats
 Meets EEO guidelines for the selection process
8–16
Structured Interviews (cont’d)
• Biographical Interview
 Focuses on a chronological exploration of the
candidate’s past experiences.
• Behavioral Interview
 Applicants are asked to give specific examples of how
they have performed a certain task or handled a
problem in the past.
Helps discover applicant’s suitability for current jobs based
on past behaviors.
 Assumes that applicants have had experience related to the
problem.

8–17
Structured Interviews (cont’d)
• Competency Interview
 Similar to the behavioral interview except that the
questions are designed specifically to provide the
interviewer with something to measure the applicant’s
response against—that is, the “competency profile”
for the position, which includes a list of competencies
necessary to do that particular job.
• Situational Interview
 Applicants are asked how they would respond to a
specific job situation related to the content of the job
they are seeking.
8–18
Less Structured Interviews
• Nondirective Interview
 Applicants are queried using questions that are
developed from the answers to previous questions.
 Possibility of not obtaining needed information.
 Information obtained may not be not job-related or
comparable to that obtained from other applicants.
• Stress Interviews
 An interview designed to create anxiety and put
pressure on an applicant to see how the person
responds.
8–19
Who Does Interviews
Panel
Interviews
Individuals
Interviews
Video
Interviewing
Team
Interviews
8–20
Effective Interviewing
• Conducting an Effective Interview
 Planning the interview
 Controlling the interview
 Using effective questioning techniques
• Questions to Avoid
 Yes/No questions
 Obvious questions
 Questions that rarely produce a true answer
 Leading questions
 Illegal questions
 Questions that are not job related
8–21
Questions Commonly Used
in Selection Interviews
8–22
Problems in the Interview
Problems in
the Interview
Snap
Judgments
Negative
Emphasis
Halo
Effect
Biases and
Stereotyping
Cultural
Noise
8–23
Background Investigation
• Falsification of
Background
Information
 Many applications
and resumes contain
factual misstatements
or significant
omissions.
• Sources of Background
Information
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Previous-employment records
Criminal records
Drug tests
Education/degree documentation
Professional certifications/licenses
Motor vehicle records
Credit history
Honesty tests
Social Security number
Sex offenders lists
Worker’s compensation records
Military records
8–24
Background Investigation (cont’d)
• Reference Checking Methods
 Telephoning the reference
 Use of preprinted reference forms
• Giving References on Former Employees
 Employers can incur a civil liability for statements
made about former employees.
 Employers have adopted policies restricting the
release of reference information to name,
employment dates, and job title.
8–25
Background Investigation (cont’d)
• Legal Constraints on Background Investigation
 Risks of negligent hiring and retention
Due diligence: investigating an applicant’s background to
avoid suits for actions of the employee.
 Obtaining signed releases from applicants is necessary to
avoid problems with privacy issues.

 Negligent hiring

Occurs when an employer fails to check an employee’s
background and the employee injures someone.
 Negligent retention

Occurs when an employer becomes aware that an employee
may be unfit for employment, continues to employ the
person, and the person injures someone.
8–26
Background Investigation (cont’d)
• Fair Credit Reporting Act
 Requires disclosure of a credit check
 Requires written consent of applicant
 Requires copy of report be given to the applicant
8–27
Medical Examinations and Inquires
• American With Disabilities Act (ADA)
 Prohibits pre-employment medical exams
 Prohibits rejecting persons for disabilities or asking
disability-related questions until after a conditional job
offer is made.
• Drug Testing
 Tests must be monitored to protect integrity of results.
• Genetic Testing
 Tests for genetic links to workplace hazards
 Tests for genetic problems related to the workplace
 Tests to exclude workers for increased risks
8–28
Making the Job Offer
• Offer Guidelines
 Formalize the offer with a letter to the applicant clearly
stating the terms and conditions of employment.
 Avoid vague, general statements and promises.
 Require return of a signed acceptance of the offer.
8–29
Staffing Global Assignments
Types of Global Employees
Expatriate
Host-Country
National
Third-Country
National
8–30
Selection Factors for Global Employees
8–31