Chapter $ SELECTION OF HUMAN RESOURCES OBJECTIVES: Alter this lesson, you should be able to: Femiarize future Human Resource Managers / Personnel with the basic and necessary procedures in selecting the mos qualified {employee forthe vacant position n a company” Help manageripersonnel withthe appropriate planning strategies In prepering up-to-date procedures fr hiring Design interview questions that wil yield information bol future employees: Design an up-to-date testing procedure to futher measure the applicants qualfeations; and Be aware of the importance of checking the references of applicants,lee Selection -can be defined asthe process of determining from among the applicants who can meet the job requiremerts and éan be offered the vacant position in the organization. It is the deciding point, which determines who among the applicants has the personal qualities that match the requirements for the position, ‘The different department of the organization make personal requisitions to the HRD on their manpower requirement through a Personnel Requirement Form (PRE) duly approved by the management concerned. This PRF specifies the following: 1. The positions and the number required. 2. The job specifications ~ What is required to do the job. This tool consolidates the necessary employee qualifications identified in the job analysis schedule and lists them in terms of knowledge, abilities, skill, or licenses. The employee selection requirements may emphasize skills and knowledge not easily learned. ‘on the job, It is often wise to select candidates who already have these skills rather than a hope candidate will be able to learn them after hiring 3. The personal qualities needed fora worker todo the job successfully. frequent sentiment among employers is that a good attitude and a lack of bad habits are the most important ingredients in the personal makeup of personnel. It is indisputable that a good attitude is essential, but attitude alone doesnot make up for poor skills any more than good skills make up for a poor attitide, ‘The HRD determines the selection procedure on how to get the most qualified applicants, Managers and top executives must approve these standard operating procedures, The following stages may be implemented: Stage 4 - Making communication decisions to select or reject ‘Stage 3 - Gathering and evaluating information about applicants ‘Stage 2 - Identifying and choosing selection criteria, predictors, and instruments to be used. P ion Stage 1 “oe testis Establishing selection procedureSelection Procedure on How to Get the Most Qualified Applicants 1. Stage 1 Establishing selection procedure. Successful employee selection is dependent on a clear understanding of a job’s components. 2. Stage 2 — Identify and choose selection criteria, predictors and instruments to be used, Weighing job duties can help the employer assess the qualifications of competing candidates. Each skill, knowledge area and ability is rated according to its importance to the job. A skill may be given less importance, for instance, ifit can easily be acquired or is seldom used. ‘Stage3~Gather and evaluate information about applicants. Applicantskills can be evaluated through applications, interviews, tests, reference checks, letters of recommendation and physicals. Some selection tools are more effective than others, but a combination of tools is usually best. Factors reflecting worker motivation such as punctuality and attendance may be elicited within the interview, but contacting previous employers may give more reliable information. If possible, try to verify evidence of specific skills, knowledge and abilities at more than one point in the selection process. Stage 4 -Make communication decisions whether to select or eject. Following ‘a thorough selection process enables you to base a decision on substantial data rather than on intuition alone. It is worth starting over with the recruitment process if you are not satisfied with any of the applicants. Offering the job to someone “because we've come this far” could mean hiring the wrong person for the job. Unfortunately, too often candidates who are not selected for a position ever hears from the employer, Others may find out a position was filled when they see the new employee. In addition to common courtesy, a reason for promptly notifying all applicants is hat firm employers may want to stay in touch with top contenders to fill future openings. Do not commit ‘yourself to calling all candidates and letting them know if they got the job or not. When you telephone the candidates, this will raise their hopes only to be Jet down a moment later. Sending thoughtful rejection letters to those who ‘were not selected could be done. Sample of a Rejection Letter: Dear Applicant: ‘Thank you for your interest in the position with our company. We regret to inform you are not selected. There were over applicants, and we could choose only one of the several well - qualified candidates. We enjoyed meeting you and were particularly impressed with your ‘Please keep us in mind in the future. Thank you for your time and interest. We wish you well in your career.Who Makes the Selection Decisions? ‘The HRDis a staff departmentand has a functional authority to assist line managers {nall elated personnel functions. The final decision to hire usually left up to operating, epariment executives, The final user of the human resources makes decision on ‘who fs to be hired among the applicants screened by the HRD according to the PRE Tubmitted by the department. Its the functional authority of the HRD to screen the applicants and to submit the names of those who passed the initial screening to the operating department for its final decision on whom to select and finally hie forthe job. Selection and Job Matching Selection tries to match the personal qualities of the applicants with the job requirements, This matching procedure begins with and is based upon an evaluation of the applicant's strengths and weaknesses. The results of this evaluation are then ‘measured against the job standards of the position. {Im the selection process we cannot separate the person from his personal characteristics. The applicant has positive and negative factors and the process of ‘determining these factors requiresa thorough analysisof theindividual’s qualifications. ‘Tests and interviews commonly focus on the applicant's social abilities as well as his task abilities. Selection procedures seek to measure the ability of the applicant ver the existing organizational structure. The assumption is that ability determines ‘performance. While this assumption may be true, it cannot assure that the results is ‘one hundred percent accurate as motivation plays great factors in productivity. The Selection Process “The employer can think of the election process as a series of hurdles that applicants ‘must clear in order to obtain the job. Each hurdle eliminates some applicants from ‘contention. The sequence of these hurdles needs to be designed with care. Generally, the most expensive and time-consuming selection tools are used later in the selection process, If there are only few applicants, progressive hurdles are unnecessary. When selection tools are not used as hurdles, their sequence is less important. If all applicants will be interviewed and all take a practical test or job sample), it does not matter much ‘which of the steps comes first. Often employers use bio-data (information from applications and resumes) as the first step in eliminating applicants. Furthermore, employers should not be overly influenced by nice-looking applications that may have been typed or completed by someone other than the candidate, Professional resume services can make candidates appear quite atractive on paper. The caution here, then is that theres little relationship between an applicant on paper and on the job.‘The HRM manager must be able to devise the most valid instrument in determining, the job selection process. He must be able to identify which are the best predictors of ‘success for specific jobs. The manager must establish these as qualities sought among prospective employees and design a selection procedure that will find out to what extent a given applicant possesses them. * Preliminary Screening, Application Form _Testing and Evaluation of Result In-depth Interview Evaluating References Physical Examination ‘The Selection Process 1. Preliminary Screening The first step in the assessment of an applicant for the job is the initial interview or preliminary screening. This step deals with obvious factors such as voice, physical appearance, personal grooming, educational background, professional training and experience that need to be assessed ‘The following personal traits and qualities are the important things to consider in the preliminary screening process: Aptitude and interest indicate our natural abilities, capacity for learning, and desires to do certain jobs. b. Attitudes and needs indicate an applicant's frame of mind, emotional and mental maturity, sense of responsibility and authority, and future motivation.Analytical and manipulative abilities indicate our thinking process, intelligence level and ability to use knowledge effectively in any assigned task. Skills and technical abilities indicate ability to perform specific operations and technical aspects of the job. This results from education, training, and experience and tends to predict what one can do if properly placed, oriented, developed and motivated, ¢. Health, energy and stamina indicate physical ability to perform the assigned. task satisfactorily especially those involving manual and managerial duties {The person‘s value system provides a clue to motivation, goals, objectives and work values and perseverance. Applicants who pass the preliminary interview are asked to fill out an application form provided by the company. The interviewer usually asks the applicant to answer specific questions and looks for significant reactions and expressions. The interview is ‘usually directed toward discussions of points that the interviewer considers important. These are some styles of interview: 4. Structured interview followsa set a procedures and the interviewer sets the leads. Directive interview is usually structured. Structured interviews are Usually more effective in promoting equal opportunities for all applicants. b. Unstructured interview is: where the applicant takes the lead. The unstructured interview provides no specific reference and the applicant is given a free hand in talking about himself and the interviewer makes an assessment. © Panel or round-table interview is usually done for managerial and supervisory employees. The applicant meets a panel of interviewers and. seeks to facilitate the polling of judgments with prominent members of the ‘working organization. 2. The Application Form ‘The applicant is required to fill out the company’s official application form after passing the preliminary interview. The company’s application forms contain ‘more information that the company may need in MIS files or some information that may be required during the in-depth interview. Application forms vary from company to company. Employment details are important during the interview process. as By careful screening the employee's information about education, the school where courses were attended, employment data, years of experience in a particular job, salary received and membership in organizations may be found closely related success on the job. i}Graphology ~ some companies would require the applicant to write in not less than 200 words his work or life experiences. This would reveal some personality analysis of the person’s characteristics. Graphology is the art and science in the analysis of the individual's traits through his handwriting. It can reveal the level of intelligence, emotional stability imagination and ability to work with others as well as discover talents and capacities. Testing and Evaluation of Results ‘Testing inthe parlance of HRM, is commonly associated with the prediction and selection of subsequent performance onthe job. Tests are sil the commonly used instruments for determining the qualifications and talents ofthe application for a particular job. It is the most objective ofall selection instruments in the selection process Tests can be classified on the bases of personal characteristics sought from the applicant. They are the following: Indractery a, Intelligence Test it is widely used to measure mental ability or general Ieamingability, Thereisnogood definition ofintelligencebutitis commonly associated with one’s personal capacity for learning and doing things that he learns. The outstanding feature of this type of testis its ability to predict the general capacity for learning or problem-solving. Intelligence tests that are designed by the psychological Society of the Philippines are adaptable to the local conditions. They are now available for use by practitioners of HRM. Examples: Culture Fair Intelligence Test Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test ‘Tabular Description: Test ‘Age [Variable tem Time Raven's Gand Intelligence [Set A-12_ [No Time [Progressive above Set B12 _ [limit but Matrices Set C-12 [can be Test Set D-12 [finished Set E12 | within 60 Proponent: Total- 60 | minutes. John C. Raven Aptitude Test ~ It measures the person's capacity to leam a given job, provided there is adequate training. This type of tests usually administered for mechanical and clerical positions. Examples: Differential Aptitudes Test Occupational Aptitude Survey and Interest (OASIS) - Aptitude 55‘Tabular Description: Test] Age Variable Tem Differential [_13 | Verbal Reasoning 0 [ 30mins. Aptitude [and | Numerical Ability 0 30 if Test above | Abstract Reasoning | 50 25 ‘ ‘Clerical Speed and Proponent: ‘Accuracy 100 8 George Clerical Speed and Benett “Accuracy 2 100 3 ‘Mechanical 8 3» Reasoning 60 25 Spatial Reasoning | 100 10 Language Usage @ 25 Gpelling) Language Usage | Total | _ total- (Grammar) 638_| 181 mins. ©. Interest Test -It is derived from hereditary and environmental factors. It {ties to predict the success in the job if thee person’s interest and the job are properly matched. For example, if the person is interested in operating mechanical instruments he should be placed in a situation where there are ‘mechanical operations. If his interest isin art, the nature of the job must be related to art works. Examples: Thrustone Interest Schedule ‘Occupational Aptitude Survey and Interest (OASIS) - Interest Tabular Description: - Test ‘Age Variable [tem | Time ] Thurstone | Adults | Physical 100 pairs 10 Interest Sciences of minutes. Schedule Behavioral | Occupation Proponent: Sciences ‘Thurstone Computation Business Executive Persuasive { Linguistic Humanistic Artistic MusicalPecheipgizal oom 4. Personality Test ~ It is considered as.an important instrument to test the personality of the applicant especially for supervisory and managerial positions, as they have to relate with their co-worker’ in the industry. Practitioners of HRM believe that selected personality characteristics may be even more important than job knowledge or skill, as emotional maturity influences the ability to withstand stress and strain fo be objective and gain the respect and cooperation of others in the organization. Examples: 16 Personality Factor Questionnaires (16PF) ‘Comrey Personality Scale (CPS) Edwards Personal Preference Schedule ‘Minnesota Multiphasic Personality inventory California Test of Personality The Hand Test House Tree Person Sentence Completion Tabular Description Test ‘Age Variable Comrey 16 Trust vs, Personality | years | Defensiveness Scales (CPS) | old Orderliness vs. Proponent: | and | Lack of Compulsion Andrew L. | above | Social Conformity vs. Comrey Rebelliousness Activity vs, Lack of Energy Emotional Stability vs Neuroticism Extraversion vs, Introversion Empathy vs. Egocentrism Masculinity Feminity ie or abetgact AchiedSinent of Proficiency Test ~ It tries to measure the applican’s jowledge of a given job. It tries to eliminate "trade bluffers” who profess “to know a particular type of work. Trade bluffers are people who claim knowledge of a particular type of work or experience that they do not actually possess. Work sampling is commonly used to determine the individual ability to perform certain to type of work. A trade Test isa part of this type of measuring the ability to perform a certain type of task. Example: Flanagan Industrial Testt Tabular Description Test Age ‘Variable Flanagan | Adults “Arithmetic ‘S mins. Industrial Assembly 5 Test ‘Components 5 Proponent: Coordination 5 Dr.John Electronics 6 Flanagan Expression 5 Ingenuity 5 Judgment and 18 Comprehension 6 Mathematics and 15 Reasoning, 5 Mechanics 5 Memory 6 Patterns 5 Planning 5 Precision 5 Scales 15 Tables Vocabulary ‘Tests that measure specific skills, knowledge and abilities are the most useful selection tests. Intelligence and personality tests on the other hand, are normally of limited utility. Intelligence tests may indicate a person's potential practical to analyze and digest information quickly but may do little to show a person's skills ‘Neither will an intelligence test predict an applicant's motivation, confidence, or need for achievement. Personality and honesty are important but tests provide little help in evaluating these characteristics in a selection setting. Applicants can easily fake answer and these tests are often offensive, prying into people's personal lives in areas that are not job related, Interaction with applicants especially curing the interview, canbea more useful ‘means evaluating attitudes and personality. Honesty tests may be prohibited by law in some instances and it is doubtful that they are very helpful. This trait may bbe measured in part by checking references. What are the requirements for effective testing? A test can be made more productive and rewarding if it conforms to the following: a. It should be properly tested and validated, b. It should be used with proper discretion and used along with other instruments.‘c._Usea battery of tests to determine the person’s real worth. . Set the critical cut ~ off score in advance. . Donot use raw scores: Interpret them. 4. In-Depth Interview +» waive, te, ele of wadertonding meoraing Ta fon ponte ‘The in-depth interview fs the most important part of the selection process. After passing all tests required, the applicant is now ready to formally enter into the selection process. All the relevant information about the applicant is brought into focus,at this point as the final decision to hire the individual is made during, this interview. 7 ‘The factors of aptitude, proficiency and personality as measured by the energy, drives, social adaptability, emotional control and conscience are reiated to the employee's productivity. These subjects should be thoroughly discussed during the interview. Relatively important is the interviewer must be able to attempt to evaluate the person's ability to utilize available resources in solving problems and to search for the right atitude, knowledge and skills needed for successful performance on the job. Experience is valuable in interviewing techniques. Increased training, of interviewer is a promising method for improvement as it is crucial factor in the interview process. Some types of significant information may surface during the interview that may not be available from other sources. An example of this is the hardship that the applicant experienced while working and at the same time studying, Experiences along this line are contributory factors to the perseverance and consistency of the applicant to go through college to get a better job and better employment. This would not surface in the preliminary interview or in any test condiicted to assess the applicant's qualifications, ‘There are three important characteristics that the interviewer must possess. 1, Knowledge ~ Better understanding of the psychology of the person is an important factor in the interview. The interviewer must know the behavior of the person and must be able to determine and decipher the answers to questions as he may take down important details during the interview process. He must be able to relate the qualities and qualifications of the individual according to the needs and culture of the organization. Empathy ~ The interviewer must be able to discover the inner behavior of, the individual by understanding his own personality and relate this with the feelings of the applicant. The interviewer must be able to understand, anticipate and infer what the interviewee is feeling and draw out a more accyrate reflection of the person’s characteristics. It is establishing rapport and opening the communication channel that develops better understanding. This requires tact and experience. Communications Skills - The interviewer must. have facility of ‘communication. This refers to the use of language, gestures and voice inflection, Words must be carefully chosen to put the individual at easeduring the interview and draw from him in the inner self that is necessary to fully assess the individual's fitness to the job. The questions must be clearly stated and the interviewer must be a good listener in order to evaluate the desired personal characteristics of the individual 5, Evaluating References References are important in finally assessing the applicant's worth for the position, References to be credible must be checked with utmost confidentiality if one would like to get a true picture of the individual who would like to join the organization. Generally there are three kinds of references: 1. Academic Reference ~ This may be requested from applicants who arenew (graduates. This may be addressed “to whom it may concern” which tells about the individual's academic performance together with his transcript of records. Details may include co-curricular activities and the student's performance in college, fas Character Reference © This reference may come from some persons in the community that are familiar with the individual in their place of residence. ‘This may reveal records on the applicant about his relations with the people in the community. A barangay clearance is usually required from the applicant so that the organization will know that he had no adverse records in the community. While this may be of little significance to his employment, as most would like to please the person concerned, the reference check could also work to the company’s advantage. |. Work or Experience Reference ~To get the most valid information about the applicant, the work reference check must be mailed to the previous employer stating the confidentiality of the information. It must be in the form of a checklist for the convenience of the person giving the information. Sometimes the form is delivered personally for more confidential information especially for some critical positions where confidentiality is very strictly necessary. Here are some policy guidelines in reference checking: 1. Thereference should be used to develop the integrity of the whole selection process, . For very important confidential positions, reference should be conducted fon a face-to-face basis since the applicant may be reluctant to divulge significant information. 1. If face-to-face information is impractical, telephone inquiries should be used rather than mailed requests for information. In any kind of follow-up, inquiries should be in structured form to relate information to job and career requirement.5. Inquiries should discover the “why” behind whatever impressions are disclosed. Those who supply information may have their own biases and peculiar standards 6. Physical Examination This may be the last hurdle in the selection process. The applicants undergo physical examination at the company clinic or an authorized hdspitar determine the physical fitness of the applicant for the job. The applicant must pass the physical test ashe is Certified as being in good health, ‘Medical Examinations are important for the following reasons: To screen out those physically incapable of doing the job. >. Topreventemployment of those with high incidence of absenteeism due to illness or accidents. :. To prevent hiring of people with communicable diseases or who are influenced by drugs. Ward off unwanted claims with worker's compensation laws, SSS, medical care and suits for damages, Placements The applicant who is cleared in all requirements is finally offered the job. Final acceptance for production workers is usually dependent on the approval of the immediate manager or supervisor of the department where the applicant will Be assigned. In practice the approval is usually aranged early in the selection process, Practice in placement has been generally more formal and usually covered by company policies and procedures in the hiring ofthe employees. ‘The applicant is now formally introduced in the group and undergoes an intensive orientation and induction program. Some companies assign the buddy system to formalize the new employee with the workings of the department, He is given company manuals, rules andl regulations and company brochures, and other company magazines to familiarize him with the work environment Types of Employees (_ Test He ene bility 1. Probationary ~ An employee is hired_for regular position based_on an organizational staffing pattern. A probationary employee can be terminated if he does not pass required reasonable standards in the performance of the job or there exists a just cause for his termination, The probationary period. is for six months and after that period he is deemed a permanent or regular employee.Regular or Permanent Employee— An employee who passed the probationary. period and is performing a regular activity in the business of the company, covered in the regular company staffing system. Contractual Employee - The employee is hited for a fixed period or specific project of the company, the completion of which is specifically explained to the employee concerned. Direct hiring of contractual employees should not ‘be more than six months or else they may: be converted to regular employees. Hiring of contractual is usually done through an employment agency to avoid regular employment. Casual or Seasonal Employee ~An employee is hired for a particular work or service that is seasonal in nature. Employment is temporary according to the ‘volume of work. “Vor! He chap nfeet ‘Apprenticeships ~ Apprenticeships is the developinent of the required skills for a particular type of work. Itis a leamer’s job to familiarize himself with the required skills: They may be regular or probationary employees after passing, the trade skills test during the apprenticeship period. Some may come from onsthe-job training required of students to graduate with certain degree.CASE STUDY 4 ‘The Case of Mr. Pedro Dela Cruz Mr, Pedro de la Cruz was strongly recommended by Mayor Punongbayan to work at the ABC Company located in the municipality. Mr. Dela Cruz was a new graduate (of management of the local municipal university where the mayor himself as the President. His transcripts of records reveal that he is an average student and had no extracurricular activity in school. His father happens to be the supporter of the mayor in his political career. Mr. Dela Cruz. took the examination given by the company and he failed to make it due to his poor communication skills. ‘To give in to the mayor's request, the human resource manager gave him a position in the production department as machine operator and not a clerical position that the mayor would like him to have. But Mr. Dela Cruz did not want to accept the position and insisted that he should get the job because of the mayor's recommendation. Use the Case Format