EMPLOYEE TESTING, SELECTION, PLACEMENT AND INDUCTION

LESSON 9

EMPLOYEE TESTING, SELECTION,

PLACEMENT AND INDUCTION

CONTENTS

9.0 Aims and Objectives

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Selection Process

9.2.1 Basic Testing Concepts

9.2.2 Types of Test

9.2.3 Assessment Centre Technique

9.2.4 Work Sampling Tests

9.3 Simulation

9.3.1 Monte Carlo Simulation

9.3.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Simulation

9.3.3 Selection Techniques

9.3.4 Interview

9.3.5 Types of Interviews

9.3.6 Common Interviewing Mistakes

9.3.7 Designing & Conducting the Effective Interview

9.4 Placement

9.5 Induction

9.5.1 Objectives of Induction

9.5.2 Format Induction

9.5.3 Information Induction

9.5.4 Making Induction Programme Successful

9.5.5 Effective Induction Needs

9.6 Computer Aided Interview

9.7 Let us Sum Up

9.8 Lesson End Activity

9.9 Key Words

9.10 Questions for Discussion

9.11 References

9.0 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

After reading this lesson you should be able to:

 Define testing and selection,

 Explain what is simulation,

 Understand placement and induction and

 Analyse small business application.

9.1 INTRODUCTION

To select means to choose. Selection is the process of

picking individuals who have relevant qualifications to fill jobs in an

organisation. The basic purpose is to choose the individual who can

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most successfully perform the job, from the pool of qualified

candidates.

9.2 SELECTION PROCESS

The selection process is a series of steps through which

applicants pass.

1. Preliminary Reception: Selection starts with a visit to the

HRM office or with a written request for an application. If an

applicant appears in person, an impromptu preliminary

interview may be granted as a courtesy, simply as a matter of

good public relations.

2. Employment Tests: Employment tests are devices that

assess the probable match between applicants and job

requirements. When tests are used for these positions,

however, they often are a simulation of real-life situations.

i. Test Validation: For a test to be relied upon, it should

be valid. Validity means that the test scores have a

significant correlation to job performance or to some

other relevant criterion.

ii. Testing Tools: There is a wide variety of employment

tests. But each type of test has only limited

usefulness. The exact purpose of a test, its design, its

direction for administration and its applications are

recorded in the test manual, which should be

reviewed before a test is used.

9.2.1 Basic Testing Concepts

Another important decision in the selection process involves

applicant testing and the kinds of tests to use. A test is a

standardised, objective measure of a person’s behaviour,

performance or attitude. It is standardised because the way the test

is carried out, the environment in which the test is administered and

the way the individual scores are calculated – are uniformly applied.

It is objective in that it tries to measure individual differences in a

scientific way, giving very little room for individual bias and

interpretation.

Over the years, employment tests have not only gained

importance but also a certain amount of inevitability in employment

decisions. Since they try to objectively determine how well an

applicant meets job requirements, most companies do not hesitate to

invest their time and money in selection testing in a big way. Some

of the commonly used employment tests may be stated thus:

9.2.2 Types of Test

1. Intelligence tests: These are mental ability tests. They

measure the incumbent’s learning ability and also the ability

to understand instructions and make judgements. The basic

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objective of intelligence tests is to pick up employees who are

alert and quick at learning things so that they can be offered

adequate training to improve their skills for the benefit of the

organisation.

2. Aptitude tests: Aptitude tests measure an individual’s

potential to learn certain skills – clerical, mechanical,

mathematical, etc. These tests indicate whether or not an

individual has the ability to learn a given job quickly and

efficiently. In order to recruit efficient office staff, aptitude

tests are necessary. Clerical tests, for example, may

measure the incumbent’s ability to take notes, perceive things

correctly and quickly locate things, ensure proper movement

of files, etc.

3. Personality tests: Of all the tests required for selection,

personality tests have generated lot of heat and controversy.

The definition of personality, methods of measuring

personality factors and the relationship between personality

factors and actual job criteria have been the subject of much

discussion. Researchers have also questioned whether

applicants answer all the items truthfully or whether they try

to respond in a socially desirable manner. Regardless of

these objections, many people still consider personality as an

important component of job success. Personality tests are

used to measure basic aspects of an applicant’s personality

such as motivation, emotional balance, self-confidence,

interpersonal behaviour, introversion, etc.

There are three types of PIP tests: projective (personality),

interests and preferences. Let’s examine these in detail:

i. Projective tests: These tests expect the candidates

to interpret problems or situations based on their own

motives, attitudes, values, etc. Many personality tests

are projective in nature. A picture is presented to the

person taking the test who is then asked to interpret

or react to it. Since the pictures are clouded, the

person’s interpretation must come from inside – and

thus get projected.

ii. Interest tests: These are meant to find how a person

in tests compare with the interests of successful

people in a specific job. These tests show the areas of

work in which a person is most interested. The basic

idea behind the use of interests tests is that people

are most likely to be successful in jobs they like.

iii. Preference tests: These tests try to compare

employee preferences with the job and organisational

requirements. This test shows how people differ in

their preferences for achievement, meaningfulness,

discretion etc., in their jobs.

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4. Achievement tests: These are designed to measure what

the applicant can do on the job currently, i.e., whether the

testee actually knows what he or she claims to know. These

tests are of two types; Motor, involving physical manipulation

of things (e.g., trade tests for carpenters, plumbers,

electricians) or Verbal, involving problem situations that are

primarily language-oriented or people-oriented (e.g.,

situational tests for supervisory jobs).

5. Simulation tests: Simulation exercise is a test which

duplicates many of the activities and problems an employee

faces while at work. Such exercises are commonly used for

hiring managers at various levels in an organisation. To

assess the potential of a candidate for managerial positions,

assessment centres are commonly used.

9.2.3 Assessment Centre Technique

An assessment centre is an extended work sample. It uses

procedures that incorporate group and individual exercises. These

exercises are designed to simulate the type of work which the

candidate will be expected to do. Initially a small batch of applicants

come to the assessment centre (a separate room). Their

performance in the situational exercises is observed and evaluated

by a team of 6 to 8 trained assessors. The assessors’ judgements on

each exercise are compiled and combined to have a summary rating

for each candidate being assessed. The assessment centre

approach, thus, evaluates a candidate’s potential for management

on the basis of multiple assessment techniques, standardized

methods of making inferences from such techniques, and pooled

judgements from multiple assessors.

The assessment centre technique has a number of

advantages. The flexibility of form and content, the use of a variety of

techniques, standardised ways of interpreting behavior and pooled

assessor judgements account for its acceptance as a valuable

selection tool for managerial jobs. It is praised for content validity

and wide acceptance in corporate circles. By providing a realistic job

preview, the technique helps a candidate make an appropriate

career choice. The performance ratings are more objective in nature

and could be readily used for promotion and career development

decisions. However, the method is expensive to design and

administer. Blind acceptance of assessment data without

considering other information on candidates (past and current

performance) is always in advisable.

i.

Graphology tests

: Graphology involves using a trained

evaluator to examine the lines, loops, hooks, strokes, curves

and flourishes in a person’s handwriting to assess the person’s

personality and emotional make–up. The recruiting company

may, for example, ask applicants to complete application forms

and write about why they want a job. These samples may be

finally sent to a graphologist for analysis and the results may be

put to use while selecting a person. The use of graphology,

however, is dependent on the training and expertise of the

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person doing the analysis. In actual practice, questions of

validity and just plain scepticism have limited its use.

ii.

Polygraph (lie-detector) tests

: The polygraph (The lie

detector consists of a rubber tube around the chest, a cuff

round the arm and sensors attached to the fingers that record

the physiological changes in the examinee as the examiner

puts questions that call for an answer of yes or no) records

physical changes in the body as the test subject answers a

series of questions. It records fluctuations in respiration, blood

pressure and perspiration on a moving roll of graph paper. The

polygraph operator forms a judgement as to whether the

subject’s response was truthful or deceptive by examining the

biological movements recorded on the paper. Polygraphs,

despite strong resistance by many applicants, are increasingly

being used by companies which have problems with inventory

and security of funds. Government agencies have begun to use

the polygraph, though in a limited way, after the passage of the

Employee Polygraph Protection Act in USA in 1988, especially

for filling security, police, fire and health positions. Critics,

however, question the appropriateness of polygraphs in

establishing the truth about an applicant’s behaviour.

The fact is that polygraph records biological reaction in