1
Chapter 7: Selecting Human Resources
Chapter 7: Selecting Human Resources
Table of Contents
Chapter Summary
1
Learning Objectives
1
Lecture Outline
2
Critical Thinking Challenges
14
Case: “To Test, or Not to Test, That Is the Question” for Amtrak, Integra LifeSciences
16
Supplemental Cases
17
Extra Teaching Video
22
Chapter Summary
Chapter 7 addresses the selection of high-quality employees and placement of individuals with
the correct qualifications for jobs in an organization. The first section covers the predictors to use
when selecting applicants. The second section explains the steps of the selection process. Section
Learning Objectives
After students have read this chapter, they should be able to accomplish the following objectives:
• Understand selection and placement and the levels of person/environment fit.
• Explain two important qualities of selection predictors—reliability and validity.
• Discuss the steps of a typical selection process.
• Identify three types of selection tests and legal concerns about their uses.
2
Chapter 7: Selecting Human Resources
Lecture Outline
HR Headline: Lights . . . Camera . . . Action! Firms Use Tryouts and Auditions to Hire
Employees
Some employers are using tryouts and other creative interview activities (e.g., auditions) to
identify the best workers for jobs. Tryouts require individuals to perform actual work duties
while employed on a contract or temporary basis, arrangements that are similar to probationary
employment. Companies utilize other innovative activities to assist with employee selection.
7-1. Selection and Placement
7-1a. Placement
• Placement is fitting a person to the right job.
• Person/organization fit is the congruence between individuals and organizational
factors.
Discussion Starter: Using Figure 7-1, ask students to describe a person who would fit and a
person who would not fit into the current class.
7-1b. Selection Responsibilities
• Selection is a key responsibility for all managers in a company.
• Organizations vary in how they allocate selection responsibilities between HR
3
Chapter 7: Selecting Human Resources
HR Perspective: A Focus on Competencies for Strategic Hiring
SHRM advances a competency-based model as a guide for certification. One of the
competencies included is “critical evaluation,” which has some bearing on assessments made
during selection. Advantages of competency-based models have led many firms to create
competency-oriented strategies for improved hiring.
1. Why should employers consider using competency-based approaches in hiring? What are
the advantages? Are there any possible disadvantages?
Students’ answers will vary. However, they should address the following points:
The advantages of competency-based approaches in hiring include the following:
• Enhances workplace diversity
• Helps employers highlight “transferable skills”
• Enables firms to identify the right soft skills needed to perform work effectively
• Decreases employee turnover
Some disadvantages would include omission of certain competencies and the complex
evaluation process.
2. If you were the HR manager working for a medium-sized company with adequate
resources, how would you highlight competencies in selection decisions? How would you
change the selection process to accommodate this focus on competencies?
Students’ answers will vary. Some might say that HR professionals involved in the
process must be trained well on the competency-based model.
7-1c. Selection, Criteria, Predictors, and Job Performance
• Humans tend to be creatures of habit, so the best predictor of future behavior is often
4
Chapter 7: Selecting Human Resources
HR Competencies & Applications: Understanding Errors in Selection Decision Making
Key Competencies: Critical Evaluation, HR Expertise: People/Talent Acquisition & Retention;
Organization/Technology & Data
If a company administers a test that results in inaccurate assessment of applicants, there is a good
chance that the company might hire the wrong people.
1. Can you explain the results in quadrants C and D?
In quadrant C, the test indicates the applicant is a low performer, and he turns out to be a
low performer. In quadrant D, the test indicates that the applicant will be a high
performer, but he turns out to be a low performer. It is a false positive.
2. What are the implications to those making selection decisions? How can we reduce the
number of false positive and false negative results?
The use of additional testing methods will reduce the number of false results.
7-1d. Reliability and Validity
• Reliability and validity are predictors that are used to determine how error-free
decisions will be.
• Reliability is the extent to which a test or measure repeatedly produces the same results
over time.
Teaching Tip: Using Figure 7-4, ask students to write a question that could be used to
predict a student’s success in the class.
7-1e. Combining Predictors
• Accuracy increases when more than one predictor is used.
© 2020 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
7-2. The Selection Process
• Most organizations follow a series of consistent steps to process and select job applicants.
7-2a. Legal Considerations in Selection
• Federal regulations and guidelines, particularly the Uniform Guidelines on Employee
7-2b. Applicant Job Interest
• Individuals seeking employment can indicate interest in many ways.
7-2c. Pre-Employment Screening
• Many employers conduct pre-employment screening to determine if individuals meet
the minimum qualifications for open jobs before they are allowed to fill out an
application.
6
Chapter 7: Selecting Human Resources
© 2020 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
networking profiles.
Discussion Starter: Ask students if social media should be used by employers to gather
information about applicants.
7-2d. Applications and Résumés
• Properly prepared, the application form serves the following five purposes:
o It is a record of the applicant’s desire to obtain a position.
• Application forms typically include disclaimers and notices so that appropriate legal
protections are clearly stated.
o Recommended disclosures include the following:
▪ At-will employment
• Organizations should retain all applications and hiring-related documents and records
for three years.
• Guidelines from the EEOC and court decisions require that the data requested on
application forms must be job related.
• Figure 7-7 provides a sample application form.
• EEOC standards require that an employer treat a résumé as an application form.
HR Perspective: The Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval?
Job seekers can purchase verification services from a number of third-party vendors. The
pre-verified résumé may demonstrate that the applicant is honest and truthful, but it won’t
give the applicant any preference because the applicant must still fit the job.
1. Would you consider using a service to pre-verify your résumé before you begin a job
search? Why or why not?
Students’ answers will vary. Most students or new graduates would not find this
7-3b. Personality Tests
• Personality is a unique blend of individual characteristics that can affect how people
interact with their work environment.
• One of the most widely accepted approaches to studying personality traits is the “Big
Five” personality framework.
o It includes extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and
openness to experience.
7-3c. Emotional Intelligence Tests
HR Perspective: Behavioral Assessments
Companies assess job candidates on a wide range of attributes to improve P/E fit. AMC Theaters
found that using behavioral assessment reduced turnover to well below industry averages and
improved employee engagement by 40 percent. This led to increased customer satisfaction
scores, which in turn resulted in higher revenue at its theaters.
1. What ethical and legal concerns does the use of behavioral assessments raise? Do you
believe that these assessments might be more subject to bias than skill and knowledge tests
might be?
Students’ answers will vary. They should consider that behavioral assessment might reveal
disabilities. Personal biases based on the results could be more likely than skill and
knowledge tests because the answers are not right or wrong.
10
Chapter 7: Selecting Human Resources
that are asked of all applicants.
• Structured interviews can be one of the following:
o Biographical interview: It focuses on a chronological assessment of the
candidate’s past experiences.
HR Competencies & Applications: Catching Star Employees
Key Competencies: Communication, Ethical Practice, HR Expertise: People/Talent Acquisition
& Retention
Managers trained in the STAR interviewing method can better determine the quality of each
applicant’s experience as it relates to the job. (STAR is an acronym for Situation, Task, Action,
Result.) It is a formal process for evaluating job interview responses.
1. Compare the pros and cons of using a technique like the STAR method to conduct
employment interviews.
Students’ answers will vary. They should consider that it is not a good method for
evaluating students or new graduates who may not have faced a crisis. For more
experienced applicants, it could be an opportunity to shine in the interview.
2. Would you anticipate that managers might resist using a formal method such as the STAR
system? Might they perceive that it would limit their discretion in the hiring process?
Students’ answers will vary. They might consider that managers accustomed to
unstructured interviews might resist any attempts to use formal methods.
7-4c. Less-Structured Interviews
• An unstructured interview occurs when the interviewer improvises by asking questions
that are not pre-determined. A semistructured interview is a guided conversation in
© 2020 Cengage Learning®. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
7-4d. Who Conducts Interviews?
7-4e. Effective Interviewing
• Questions commonly asked in selection interviews can be categorized as follows:
o General questions
o Problem-solving questions
• Figure 7-11 illustrates the categories of questions.
• The following types of questions should be avoided in selection interviews:
o Yes/no questions
• Interviewers should use friendly but neutral comments and gestures during the
interview.
7-4f. Problems in the Interview
• Possible problems in interviews include the following:
7-5. Background Investigations