1.

In selection process, the challenge is finding the ultimate eligible candidates closest to the
specifications meticulously identified as part of the job analysis process. As the HR manager,
assessment tool is indispensable t to ensure the success of hiring the best or the ideal employee
in the organization. Validity is the extent to which the selection method predicts one or more
important criteria.

A comparative chart (Andrews, 2010) is used as an assessment tool with validity coefficient to
show that the higher coefficient, the greater is the relation between a selection method and
ultimate performance.

As the HR manager, you may agree or disagree to the validity assessment tool and justify your
stand or rank the test according to your judgment and justify the same based on your
experience, observation and theories.

Comparative Chart
Assessment Tool Validity
Aptitude Test 0.51
Structured Interviews 0.51
Unstructured Interviews 0.31
Work Samples 0.54
Job Knowledge Tests 0.48
Personality Tests 0.31
Biographical Information 0.35
Situational Tests 0.34
Attitude Tests 0.41
Assessment Centres 0.37
Reference Checks 0.26

A company that makes successful hiring decisions tends to have higher efficiency and lower

turnover, positively affects the performance of the organization. Hiring the wrong people can have a

negative impact on organizational performance, management’s time, and can waste valuable training

and development costs. Pre-employment assessment and new screening tools and technology can

help HR professionals minimize hiring time and select the most qualified individual who best fits the

organization.

The comparative chart presented above shows the relationship between the various assessment tools

and ultimate performance. In job analysis and selection process assessments should be categorized

into KSA-based (Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes) assessment and task-based assessment. KSA-

based assessment includes cognitive ability tests, job knowledge tests, personality tests, biographical
 data, integrity tests, structured interviews, and physical fitness tests. Task-based assessment includes

situation judgment test, work sample tests, assessment centers, and physical ability tests.

The most important consideration in evaluating an assessment method is its validity. Validity refers

to whether or not the assessment method provides useful information about how effectively an

employee will actually perform once he or she is hired for a job. Validity is the most important

factor in considering whether or not to use an assessment method, because an assessment that does

not accurately identify who will perform effectively on a job has no value to the organization.

The comparative chart presented above shows that the range of validity from the different

assessment tools are from 0.26 (Reference Checks) to 0.54 (Work Samples). Although these are less

than the maximum possible validity of 1.00, assessments with validities in this range of coefficient

shows a “moderate” relationship, nonetheless provide very useful and valuable information for

making selection decisions. In order to show that the assessment is a valid predictor of performance,

it must be shown that individuals who score higher on the assessment perform better on the job and

individuals who score lower on the assessment perform less well on the job. Thus, validity in this

case would be defined as a meaningful relationship between how well people performed on the

assessment and how well they subsequently performed on the job.

2. Interviews no matter how objectively intended are cannot escape the different pitfalls due to
the indifference of the interviewer. Identify some of these causes and discuss how the same
should be treated free from personal biases of the interviewer to bring about a more likely
successful hiring.

Employment Interview is utilized by virtually every company to hire prospective employees at all

job levels. Those individuals who are still viable applicants after the examination of application

forms, initial screening interview, and required tests have been completed are then given an

employment interview. The applicant may be interviewed by personnel, HR department

interviewers, line managers, executives within the organization, or some combination of these. The
employment interview is designed to probe into areas that cannot be addressed by the application

forms or tests; these areas usually consist of assessing one's motivation, ability to work under

pressure, and ability to 'fit in' with the company.

In the selection process, HR should conduct both structured and unstructured interview and balance

both. In practice, interviews usually fall between these extremes. In the unstructured (nondirective)

interview, the interviewer asks probing, open-ended questions. Some interviewers believe that this

type of interview is comprehensive, and has greater effectiveness in obtaining significant

information by encouraging the applicant to do much of the talking. The structured (directive or

patterned) interview normally consists of a series of predetermined job-related questions that are

consistently asked of each applicant for a particular job in order to minimize the chance for

irrelevant information to be gathered and for prejudice and bias to influence the choice. The

interviewer usually has advanced knowledge of the best answers based upon the analysis of

responses from superior performers on the job, hence, the structured interview may be effective in

predicting subsequent job performance.

For the selection process to be successful, the main purposes of the interview should achieve the

following considerations:

 Obtain information about the applicant: since the information obtained with other selection

tools may be incomplete or unclear, an interview provides an opportunity for factual

information to be clarified and interpreted.

 Sell the company: the employment interview provides a good opportunity for the

interviewers to sell the company to the applicant. Interviewers should not 'oversell' the

company, instead they should provide a realistic picture of the organization's advantages and

disadvantages and provide a positive explanation of why they have chosen to work for the

company.
  Provide information about the company: general information about the job, company

policies, its products, and its services should be communicated to the applicant during the

interview.

 Establish friendship: if nothing else, the interview should be a friendly, interpersonal

exchange. After the interview, both parties should leave with the feeling that they are

personal friends.

3. Stress interviews are intentional attempt to upset a candidate to see how he/she reacts under
pressure by asking the candidate with uncomfortable questions. Do you agree or disagree?
Justify.

Stress interviews are meant to place the applicant/interviewee in an uncomfortable situation, to see

how they respond under stress. Some positions require staff to work under stress, and some

interviewers just want to see how stressful questions are dealt with by candidates. Stress interviews

will allow interviewers to accurately assess and analyze the emotional control of work applicants in

highly stressful environments.

The purpose of stress interview is to find out how the candidate behaves in a stressful situation. That

is, whether the candidate gets angry or gets confused or gets frightened or gets nervous or remains

coo' in a stressful situation. The candidate who keeps his cool in a stressful situation is selected for

the stressful job. Here, the interviewer tries to create a stressful situation during the interview. This is

done purposely by asking the candidate rapid questions, criticizing his answers, interrupting him

repeatedly, etc. Then the behavior of the interviewee is observed and future educational planning

based on his/her stress levels and handling of stress.

A stress interview helps in determining the actions of a job candidate under very different

conditions, but the use of such an interview form reflects negatively on the interviewer and the

company itself. The interviewer is a reflection of the kind of people and culture an organization has.
On the part of the applicant, they may think that why should they want to work for a company in

which the culture is treating employees with anything less than respect.

As stress interviewing is a legitimate form of assessing applicant’s behavior under pressure if used

correctly, still it creates an atmosphere for the candidate that is excessively stressed, insulting,

humiliating, stressful, and demotivating. Also, a hostile environment created by the interviewer may

cause for a potential employee to turn away or reject the offer. Furthermore, it may cause the

applicant to have a negatively biased perception of the company. This could lead to possibly

reducing the good reputation of the company. Therefore, as much as I agree with stress interview in

the field of sales, since dealing with different customers will be the most difficult task for

salespeople, stress interviews should be done in a professional manner without exploiting, harassing,

or intimidating the applicant negatively.