HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Chapter 6
Employee Testing
and Selection
WHERE WE ARE NOW…
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Explain what is meant by reliability and validity.
2. Explain how you would go about validating a test.
3. Cite and illustrate our testing guidelines.
4. Give examples of some of the ethical and legal
considerations in testing.
5. List eight tests you could use for employee selection
and how you would use them.
6. Give two examples of work sample/simulation tests.
7. Explain the key points to remember in conducting
background investigations.
 Why Careful Selection is Important

The Importance of Selecting

the Right Employees

Costs of recruiting and

Organizational Legal obligations
hiring (eliminates
performance (through wastage of resource on
and liability can be
job-person fit) failed recruitments) avoided

Vicarious
liability
Avoiding Negligent Hiring Claims
• Carefully scrutinize information on employment
applications.
• Get written authorization for reference checks, and
check references.
• Save all records and information about the applicant.
• Reject applicants for false statements or conviction
records for offenses related to the job.
• Balance the applicant’s privacy rights with others’
“need to know.”
• Take immediate disciplinary action if problems arise.
LO1: Reliability & Validity of a Test
 Basic Testing Concepts
• Employers use various testing techniques (written tests, interviews, FGD’s,
presentation etc.) to assess and select job candidates. These tests should be
appropriate and the appropriateness depends on two parameters/
CHARACTERISTICS.
• Reliability
 Describes the consistency of scores obtained by the same person when retested with the
identical (Retest Estimate) or alternate forms of the same test (Equivalent form Estimate).
IELTS,GRE TEST
 Are test results stable over time?
 Reliability varies due to varying physical conditions(ENVIRONMENT,AC TIMECLOCK),
test taker conditions (SICK) and test administrator’s conditions(SIR TAKES MY PAPER)
 Reliability can be checked using a reliability coefficient. This is basically a correlation
coefficient. NEXT SLIDE
• Validity
 Indicates whether a test is measuring what it is supposed to be measuring.(memorize or
analytical)
 Does the test actually measure what it is intended to measure?
 Validity is more crucial for “Projective Personality Tests”.
Reliability coefficient of a test taker

MR.A MR.B GOOD

 Types of Test Validity
Types of
Test Validity

Criterion validity Content validity

• A test demonstrates Criterion Validity when it becomes apparent that those

who do well on the test also do well on the job, and that those who do poorly
on the test do poorly on the job.(POSITIVE RELATION) i.e C Unit written
test (bad)Vs. Beep Test(good fit)

• A test demonstrates Content Validity when it is apparent that test constitutes a

fair sample of the job’s content. ( i.e BCS Preli exam(mobile court ,ac
land)Vs. Pilot Simulation tests

• A test demonstrates Construct Validity when the test measures a construct

(abstract idea such as morale or honesty) and that construct is important for job
performance. Ex. Cashier.
LO2: How to Validate a Test
Evidence-Based HR: How to Validate a Test

Steps in Test Validation

Analyze the Job: predictors (abilities/traits needed for a job) and criteria (Success
1 benchmark/measurement)

2 Choose the Tests: test battery(combination of written and viva ..)or single test

Administer the Test: concurrent (on current employees) or predictive validation (on potential
3 employees)

4 Relate Your Test Scores and Criteria: Assess relationship with scores and actual performance.
This can be done through correlation tests, expectancy chart.

5
Cross-Validate and Revalidate: repeat Steps 3 and 4 with a different sample of employees
LO3: ethical and legal considerations in testing.
Test Takers’ Individual Rights
and Test Security
• Under the APA’s standard for educational and
psychological tests, test takers have the following
rights:
 The right to the confidentiality of test results.
 The right to informed consent regarding use of these results.
 The right to expect that only people qualified to interpret the
scores will have access to them, or that sufficient information
will accompany the scores to ensure their appropriate
interpretation.
 The right to expect the test is fair to all. For example, no one
taking it should have prior access to the questions or
answers.
Legal Privacy Issues
• Defamation
 Libeling or slandering of employees or former employees
by an employer. Failure to protect the
confidentiality/privacy of test results of employees could
expose the employer to possible defamation suit.

• Avoiding Employee Defamation Suits

1. Train supervisors regarding the importance of employee
confidentiality.
2. Adopt a “need to know” policy.
3. Disclose procedures impacting confidentially of information
to employees.
How Do Employers Use Tests at Work?
• Major Types of Tests
 Basic skills tests - ability to read instructions, write reports, and
do basic arithmetic
 Job skills tests- whether employee possesses specific skills
required for the work
 Psychological tests

• Why Use Testing? Slide 04 same

 Increased work demands = more testing

 Screen out bad or dishonest employees

 Reduce turnover by personality profiling (I.e Outback

steakhouse has turnover % of 40%-60% compared to industry
standard of 200%)
 LO4: Types of Tests
EMPLOYEE
ASPECT

What Different Tests Measure

Cognitive Motor and Personality Current

abilities physical abilities and interests achievement
 Types of Tests

• Cognitive tests include tests of general reasoning ability

(intelligence) and tests of specific mental abilities like
memory and inductive reasoning.(RELATED TO THE
BRAIN)- cerebral function
• Tests of motor and physical abilities measure motor
abilities, such as finger dexterity, manual dexterity, and
reaction time.
• Personality tests measure basic aspects of an applicant’s
personality, such as introversion, stability, and motivation.
• Achievement tests measure what someone has learned.
Most of the tests you take in school are achievement tests.
They measure your “job knowledge” in areas like
economics, marketing, or human resources.
 Types of Tests
• Cognitive tests:
 Intelligence test: IQ tests measure range of abilities such as
memory, vocabulary, verbal fluency, numerical ability etc.

 Aptitude tests: These measure specific abilities such as

deductive reasoning, verbal comprehension(passage inharent
context), visual spatialization(architecture) etc.
 Types of Tests
• Motor and Physical abilities test:
These tests are used for certain occupations that require
candidates to possess a level of physical and motor abilities. For
example, a data entry operator must possess quick typing
ability (thus, swift finger dexterity). Similarly, individuals vying to
get into the defense force must first pass a physical ability test.

• Achievement test:
Achievement tests measure what someone has learned

• Personality tests:
These tests measure the personality dimensions of a potential
employee. There are many such personality tests with the “big
five” model being the most famous.
 The “Big Five”

Extraversion

Emotional stability/
Conscientiousness
Neuroticism

Openness to
Agreeableness
experience
LO5: Work Sample & Simulations
 Work Samples and Simulations
With work samples, examinees are presented with situations
representative of the job for which they’re applying, and are
evaluated on their responses. These tests measure job
performance directly and are thus more effective..

Measuring Work Performance

Directly

Management Video-based Miniature job

Work
assessment situational training and
samples
centers testing evaluation
 Work Samples and Simulations
• Work Samples: Select a sample of crucial tasks involved in a job and then let
candidates perform those tasks. An observer rates the employees on how well
they perform the tasks.

• Management Assessment Centers: Day long or multi-day assessments mainly

focusing on testing leadership ability and managerial ability of the candidates.
(i.e In Basket, Leaderless group discussions, presentation, personality test etc.)

• Situational judgment tests: Employees will be given a situation and asked how
they would have handled the situation. The situation could also be shown in a
video. .

• Miniature Job Training and Evaluation: Provide Employees with short training
and evaluate them on their performance during training period but prior to hire.
Ie. Many auto manufacturers use this test.
 So, which selection test/tests should a
company use?

Ans:

The selection tests to be used will depend on the nature

of the job, its importance etc. Typically, for managerial
jobs work sampling techniques are better. The validity,
adverse effects, cost of administration of the tests should
also be considered.
TABLE 6–2 Evaluation of Assessment Methods on Four Key Criteria

Costs (Develop/
Assessment Method Validity Adverse Impact Administer) Applicant Reactions
Cognitive ability tests High High (against minorities) Low/low Somewhat favorable
Job knowledge test High High (against minorities) Low/low More favorable
Personality tests Low to Low Low/low Less favorable
moderate
Biographical data inventories Moderate Low to high for different High/low Less favorable
types
Integrity tests Moderate to Low Low/low Less favorable
high
Structured interviews High Low High/high More favorable
Physical fitness tests Moderate to High (against females and High/high More favorable
high older workers)
Situational judgment tests Moderate Moderate (against High/low More favorable
minorities)
Work samples High Low High/high More favorable
Assessment centers Moderate to Low to moderate, High/high More favorable
high depending on exercise
Physical ability tests Moderate to High (against females and High/high More favorable
high older workers)

Note: There was limited research evidence available on applicant reactions to situational judgment tests and physical ability tests. However,
because these tests tend to appear very relevant to the job, it is likely that applicant reactions to them would be favorable.
LO6: Background Investigation and other
selection methods
Background Investigations and
Other Selection Methods
• Investigations and Checks
 Reference checks
 Background employment checks
 Criminal records
 Driving records
 Credit checks

• Why?
 To verify factual information provided by applicants
 To uncover damaging information
 i.e Temporary workers fraud in a private bank in BD
Background Investigations and
Reference Checks

Former Employers

Current Supervisors

Sources of Commercial Credit

Information Rating Companies

Written References

Social Networking Sites

Limitations on Background Investigations
and Reference Checks

Legal Issues:
Defamation

Background
Employer Legal Issues:
Guidelines
Investigations and Privacy
Reference Checks

Supervisor
Reluctance
 Limitations on Background Investigations
and Reference Checks
• Defamation: Providing untrue and damaging information about an ex-employee could
expose the firm to possibility of defamation suit. A communication is defamatory if it
is false and tends to harm the reputation of another by lowering the person in the
estimation of the community or by deterring other persons from associating or dealing
with him or her.
• Privacy: Employees can sue employers for disclosing true but embarrassing private
facts about the employee. Truth is not a defense.
• Employer Guideline: In practice, many firms have a policy of not providing any
information about former employees except for their dates of employment, last salary,
and position titles.
• Supervisor Reluctance
• To avoid potential invasion of privacy issues, employers should obtain the applicant’s
written permission before checking into the applicant’s background information, even
if that information is publicly available (e.g., published on social networking sites).
Making Background Checks More Useful
1. Include on the application form a statement for
applicants to sign explicitly authorizing a background
check.
2. Use telephone references if possible.
3. Be persistent in obtaining information.
4. Compare the submitted résumé to the application.
5. Ask open-ended questions to elicit more information
from references.
6. Use references provided by the candidate as a source
for other references.
Physical Examinations
• Reasons for preemployment medical
examinations:
 To verify that the applicant meets the physical
requirements of the position.
 To discover any medical limitations to be taken into
account in placing the applicant.
 To establish a record and baseline of the applicant’s
health for future insurance or compensation claims.
 To reduce absenteeism and accidents.
 To detect communicable diseases that may be
unknown to the applicant.
Substance Abuse Screening
• Types of Screening
 Before formal hiring
 After a work accident
 Presence of obvious behavioral symptoms
 Random or periodic basis
 Transfer or promotion to new position

• Types of Tests
 Urinalysis
 Hair follicle testing