.. they first got the right people on the bus and then figured out where to drive it!

- Jim Collins (Good to Great)

Defining Selection
Selection is a process of choosing one candidate from a list of candidates for the desired role and level in the organization.

Difference Between Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment The process of recruitment commences from the time the manpower request is raised. It is a process of sourcing and searching candidates to suit a particular role. Selection The process of selection ends once the offer letter is released to the candidate. Series of screening steps which helps in the elimination of the candidates that may not be suitable and thereby short listing the suitable ones. The objective of a selection process is to select the right candidates.

The objective is to create a talent pool of candidates.

Importance of Employee Selection

Firstly, bad selection is too expensive to be taken lightly.
Direct costs: Associated with filling open positions, like advertisements, search fee, etc. Indirect costs: Associated with losing employees like recruitment cost, training cost, etc.

Secondly, employees that have been chosen carefully and with the right set of skill set and attitude will achieve high deliverables.

Selection Process

Understanding the Selection Process

Prospective candidate. Preliminary interview and employee application form. Review of shortlisted applications. Employment interviews. Selection decision. Pre-employment screening, background and reference checks. Pre-employment medical examination. Offer letter.

What do Selection Methods Assess?

Selection Methods
Resume and application form Interviews Ability tests Personality tests Simulation exercise

Employee Application Forms

A filled in application form helps the selection process with four types of information:
The applicants education and experience with a job which are often the basic requirements to be looked at the beginning of the selection process. The applicants progress and growth in their career can be used to predict the probability of their growth, if given an opportunity in the future. The applicants moves in their previous jobs can be used to predict their stability. The fact that with mergers and restructuring of businesses, nothing conclusive can be said about a candidates stability, hence, the data should be interpreted cautiously. Some of the details in the application form can also help in predicting the likelihood of a candidate succeeding at the job.

Interview
Employment interview
It is a discussion between the interviewer and the interviewee for the selection of a candidate for a specific role in the organization.

Best practices for effective interview

Interview preparation Interview content Interviewees expectations

Types of Interviews
Unstructured interviews: They do not follow a pre-decided order. Structured interviews: They follow a pre-decided order. Exploratory interviews are discussions and investigations of possibilities of employment. Directive interviews use preset questions and follow a fixed pattern. Meandering interviews: The interviewer moves from topic to topic not following a straight line of enquiry.
Contd

Types of Interviews
Stress interviews: They make the candidate feel stressed to assess their capability to handle uncomfortable situations. Telephonic interview: An interview which is conducted over phone is known as a telephonic interview. Video conferencing: Interviews are those interviews which use videophone and video-conferencing facilities. Personal interview: The candidate meets one-on-one with an interviewer. Panel interviews: It involves two or more interviewers, interviewing the candidates.
Contd

Types of Interviews
Peer interviews: The candidates potential peers (colleagues and team members) meet and have an informal discussion with them. Group interviews: Many candidates are interviewed together. Situational interview: Candidates are given typical situations faced on the job and they are assessed on how they would handle the situations. Behavioural interviews: They use the past behaviour to predict the future behaviour of the candidate.

Structure of a B. E. I.
The Behavioural Event Interview follows a structure: Introduction
To develop satisfactory initial rapport with the interviewee. To set clear expectations about the process and scope of the interviewing. To reduce the anxiety of the interviewee, so that they can provide the details sought in the interview.

Contd

Structure of a B. E. I.
Trigger
To make the candidate recollect the critical event among the events coming to their mind. To judge whether the event has the characteristics of the event solicited by the trigger. To give an opportunity to the candidate to change the event, if in the opinion of the interviewer/panelists, the event does not meet the characteristics sought by the trigger.

Structure of a B. E. I.
Structure of the event
To get a clear outline of the event that the interviewee is going to speak about. To get from the interviewee, the start of the event for them or their involvement in the event and the end of the event or the end of their involvement. To divide the event into logical/critical and chronological substages between the start and the end of the event. To create the skeleton for probing.
Contd

Structure of a B. E. I.
Probing and details of the event
To get the details of the event. To understand the nature of the interviewees involvement in the event. To probe the thoughts, feeling and actions of the interviewee during the course of the event. To live the event with the interviewee.

Closure of the interview

To give an opportunity to the interviewee to add

Characteristics of Tests
Standardization Objectivity Norms Reliability Validity

Types of Employment Tests

Employment tests can be broadly classified into two groups: Ability tests: These are designed to test a wide range of abilities. Organizations would use those tests which would test the knowledge, skill and ability required for the job. For e.g. cognitive tests, intelligence tests, aptitude tests, psychomotor abilities tests, job knowledge tests, work sample tests, etc. Personality tests: These are aimed to assess aspects of a candidates personality. Therefore, there is nothing good or bad, correct or incorrect in these tests. These tests are used to evaluate the fitment of a person with the job or the organization. Some of the personality tests are: Big five model, Raymond Cattells 16 personality factors, Myers Briggs test indicator.

Unique Forms of Testing

Genetic testing Graphoanalysis Polygraph tests Online testing Video-based situational testing

Assessment Centres
Assessment centers typically involve the participants completing a range of exercises, which simulate the activities carried out in the target job. Types of assessment exercises: In-tray or in-basket exercise Presentation Leaderless group discussion Role play Presentations Case study Simulations Psychological inventory 360-degree feedback