Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

Chapter 7
Foundations of Selection

Fundamentals of Human
Resource Management
Eighth Edition
DeCenzo and Robbins
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
The selection process typically consists
of eight steps:
1. initial screening interview
2. completion of the application form
3. employment tests
4. comprehensive interview
5. background investigation
6. conditional job offer
7. medical/physical exam
8. permanent job offer
The Selection Process
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Initial Screening
Involves screening of inquiries and
screening interviews.
Job description information is shared along
with a salary range.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Completing the Application Form: Key
Issues
Gives a job-performance-related synopsis
of what applicants have been doing, their
skills and accomplishments.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Completing the Application Form: Key
Issues
Legal considerations
Omit items which are not job-related; e.g.,
gender, religion, age, national origin, race,
color, and disability.
Includes statement giving employer the right
to dismiss an employee for falsifying
information.
Asks for permission to check work
references.
Typically includes employment-at-will
statement.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Weighted application forms
Individual items of information are
validated against performance and
turnover measures and given
appropriate weights.
Data must be collected for each job
to determine how well a particular
item (e.g., years of schooling,
tenure on last job) predicts success
on target job.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Completing the Application Form: Key
Issues
Successful applications
Information collected on application forms
can be highly predictive of successful job
performance.
Forms must be validated and continuously
reviewed and updated.
Data should be verified through
background investigations.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Employment Tests
Estimates say 60% of all organizations
use some type of employment tests.
Performance simulation tests: requires the
applicant to engage in specific job
behaviors necessary for doing the job
successfully.
Work sampling: Job analysis is used to
develop a miniature replica of the job on
which an applicant demonstrates his/her
skills.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Employment Tests
Assessment centers: A series of tests and
exercises, including individual and group
simulation tests, is used to assess
managerial potential or other complex sets
of skills.
Testing in a global arena: Selection
practices must be adapted to cultures and
regulations of host country.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Comprehensive
Interviews:
Interviews involve a
face-to-face meeting
with the candidate to
probe areas not
addressed by the
application form or tests.
They are a universal
selection tool.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Comprehensive Interviews:
Interview Effectiveness
Interviews are the most widely used
selection tool.
Often are expensive, inefficient, and not
job-related.
Possible biases with decisions based on
interviews include prior knowledge about
the applicant, stereotypes, interviewee
order.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Comprehensive Interviews:
Interview Effectiveness
Impression management, or the applicants
desire to project the right image, may
skew the interview results.
Interviewers have short and inaccurate
memories: note-taking and videotaping
may help.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Comprehensive Interviews:
Interview Effectiveness
Structured interviews use fixed questions
designed to assess specific job-related
attributes
More reliable and valid than unstructured
ones.
Best for determining organizational fit,
motivation and interpersonal skills.
Especially useful for high-turnover jobs and
less routine ones.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Comprehensive Interviews:
Behavioral Interviews
Candidates are observed not only for what
they say, but how they behave.
Role playing is often used.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Comprehensive Interviews:
Realistic Job Preview
RJPs present unfavorable as well as
favorable information about the job to
applicants.
May include brochures, films, tours, work
sampling, or verbal statements that
realistically portray the job.
RJPs reduce turnover without lowering
acceptance rates.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Background Investigation:
Verify information from the application
form
Typical information verified includes:
former employers
previous job performance
education
legal status to work
credit references
criminal records
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Background Investigation
Qualified privilege
employers may discuss employees with
prospective employers without fear of
reprisal as long as the discussion is about
job-related documented facts.
One-third of all applicants exaggerate
their backgrounds or experiences.
A good predictor of future behavior is an
individuals past behavior.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Background Investigation Methods:
Internal investigation: checks former
employers, personal references and
possibly credit sources.
External investigation: Uses a
reference-checking firm which may
obtain more information, while
complying with privacy rights.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Background Investigation
Documentation, including whom called,
questions asked, information
obtained/not obtained, is important in
case an employers hiring decision is
later challenged.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Conditional Job Offers:
Offers of employment made
contingent upon successful
completion of background check,
physical/medical exam, drug test,
etc.
May only use job-related
information to make a hiring
decision.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Medical/Physical Examination
Should be used only to determine if the
individual can comply with the essential
functions of the job.
Americans with Disabilities Act requires
that exams be given only after
conditional job offer is made.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Job Offers
Actual hiring decision generally made
by the department manager.
Candidates not hired deserve the
courtesy of prompt notification.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
The Comprehensive Approach
Comprehensive selection approach
puts applicants through all the steps in
the selection process before making a
decision.
Assesses both strengths and
weaknesses and is considered more
realistic.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
The Selection Process
Now Its Up to the Candidate
The candidate now has to decide
whether this is the job for him or her.
Applicants who are not hired this time
will still form an impression about the
company.
Management should assure the
selection process leaves them with a
favorable impression of the company.
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins
Selection From a Global
Perspective
Selection criteria for international
assignments includes
interest in working overseas
ability to relate to different cultures and
environments
supportiveness of the candidates family
Women executives have done well
abroad in Asia and Latin America,
despite past reluctance to assign them
to these countries.