Initial Screening

MANA 5341Dr. George Bensonbenson@uta.edu

Selection Mechanisms

Personality testsPhysical ability testsJob knowledge testsWork sample testsSimulatorsSituational interviewsUnstructured interviewsAssessment centersRecommendationsMany others…..

ApplicationsResumesBiographical informationBackground investigationsChecking referencesCredit reportsPolygraph testsHonesty testsGraphologyDrug testingCognitive ability tests

Why Use Selection Tests?

Why Use Selection Tests?

Individual judgment is poor and inconsistent Perceptual biases Individual biases

Match applicant KSA’s with job requirements

Ensure that new hires will perform well on the job.

Selection Bias

White Sounding NamesThe professors at U. of Chicago and MIT sent about 5,000

resumes in response to want ads in The Boston Globe and Chicago Tribune.

“White" names received 1 response for every 10 resumes mailed, while "black" applicants with equal credentials received 1 response for every 15.

Texas Accents Y’allStudy by U. of North Texas researchers has found that Texas

hiring managers look favorably on applicants with pronounced Texas accents.

Speakers from California and Minnesota, whose regional accents are less distinguishable, generally do better with managers all across the country.

Choosing Selection Methods

Multiple factors need to be considered.

Specificity of skills required Risk of bad hire or mistakes made by employees Employee reactions

Level of adverse impact

Cost Administration time “Screening-in” vs. “Screening out” methods

Developing A Selection Plan

List each of the KSA’s required for the job Does it need to be assessed? What are the minimum qualifications?

List potential selection mechanisms for those KSA’s that need to be assessed along with costs and benefits.

Validity and reliability $$$ Costs Level of adverse impact

Detail the selection sequence Data to be collected at each point Criteria to be used to move applicants through the

sequence

Most Common Methods

ApplicationReference checksInterviewEducation levelTraining and experienceResumesLicensing and certificationPersonality testingBiodataAssessment Centers

ApplicantsCandidates

FinalistsOffersHires

InitialInitial

SubstantiveSubstantive

DiscretionaryDiscretionary

ContingentContingent

Methods and Applicant Flow

Initial Selection

Initial SelectionApplication FormsResumesReference Checks

Initial / ContingentBackground ChecksDrug Tests

Application Forms

Only ask info related to job KSA’s Link to job performance Use thorough job analysis and validation techniques Consider potential adverse impact Use “knockout” questions

Careful collecting personal characteristics Race, National Origin, Gender, Age etc. Law assumes all questions are used in hiring More is not necessarily better Rules differ state to state

Different applications for different jobsProvide Instructions and DisclaimersNot particularly valid (r = .10 - .20)

Application Forms

How to ask non-discriminatory questions? You are always permitted to ask if applicant is

qualified and able to perform primary job duties. You should never ask questions that indicate

protected class status. Allow people to “self-select” as much as possible.

What if you need to collect demographic information for EEO purposes? Race, National Origin, Gender, Age etc

How to ask…

Do you have child-care for your children?Do you own a car?How old are you?Do you have a physical or mental disability? Height? Weight? What is your maiden name?Are you a U.S. citizen?Have you every been arrested?Do you smoke or use tobacco?

Resumes

Applicant controls the information Many examples of fraud or omission Up to 50% contain some inaccuracy What are possible indicators of resume fraud?

Jobs and education should be verified One question honesty test

Requirements for education and experiences should be job-related.

Potential Problems

AP May 11, 2004 WASHINGTON“At least 28 senior-level federal employees in eight

agencies have bogus college degrees, including three managers at the office that oversees nuclear weapons safety, congressional investigators have found.”

MSNBC June 24, 2004 WASHINGTON“More than 100 federal air marshals have been fired

or stripped of their flight status in recent weeks for problems stemming from their security clearance background investigations”

Potential ProblemsNY Times Sept 12, 2005

Ronald L. Zarrella, the chief executive of Bausch & Lomb, claimed to have had a master's in business administration from New York University. Shares in the company dropped 3 percent the day the company divulged Mr. Zarrella's resume-fudging.

David J. Edmondson, the chief executive of RadioShack, was fired after a newspaper investigation showed that his resume was padded with two degrees in psychology and theology, degrees he never got from a university that was not even accredited.

The Rutgers University Career Services office did an audit last year and found that 20 percent of students submitting resumes had inflated their grade-point averages.

Reference Checking

Relatively low reliability and predictive validity Used primarily as a “screening out” mechanism

80% - 95% of organizations attempt Two-thirds of organizations limit info they will share.

Companies decline to report negative information to protect from defamation suit.

What type of questions are more likely to get good responses?

Should ask for applicant permissionFailure to conduct reference check may create

negligent hiring liability.

Reference Checking

1. Verify resume or application information Education Work history

2. Information on personality or character3. Motivation and job performance4. Willingness to rehire

“Qualified Privilege”

Aimed at protecting companies that provide “good faith” reference information Information must be given without malicious intent Information can be substantiated Information given is limited to specific inquiry Information must be given at proper time, through proper

channels, with proper methods.

Is the employee eligible for rehire?

Potential Problems

FW Star-Telegram 2.12.04ARLINGTON - A University of Texas a Arlington official voiced regrets

that a part-time lecturer's background was not checked after he talked about his personal life in class and alarmed students….Ronnie Robert Molina was fired after his first lecture on communications law. In August, Molina was fired as an attorney for Dallas for inappropriate behavior.

Shorthorn 1.28.04Several students in the class said Molina spent the first day discussing a

range of personal topics and that many in the class were appalled and disturbed….After arriving 25 minutes late, Molina started a monologue about religious values, sexual orientation and drug use…Students said Molina wrote the initials of the attorney that he previously worked for and distinguished his initials D.L., as devil and Lucifer.

How can organizations encourage honesty in applications and resumes?

Training and Experience Evaluations (Checklists) Holistic Judgment Point Method Task-based and KSA-based Grouping (high med low) Behavioral Consistency (tied to high performers)

Weighted Applications

Methods to Improve Initial Selection

Validity

Weighted Application Blanks

High Tenure

Low Tenure

ScoreWeight

Education Level

Some H.S. 5% 5% 0

H.S. Diploma 85% 15% +2

Some College 5% 20% 0

College Degree 5% 60% 0

Experience

None 5% 70% 0

1-2 Years 60% 20% 2

2+ Years 35% 10% 1

Developing WAB’s

1. Choose criterion Performance characteristics of the job

2. Identify groups Typically high performers and low performers

3. Select application items and response categories Select characteristics that are relevant to performance Test the relationship with performance

4. Determine weights based on group differences5. Validate weights using a holdout sample6. Set cutoff scores based on validation results

Biodata Inventories

Reliable – Valid (r = .32 to .37)Series of questions on a wide variety of

subjects Background (e.g. hobbies, jobs, and education) Situational questions Personality and Values

Compared to a profile generated from successful employees or database for occupations.

Examples of Biographical Questions

How many jobs have you held in the last five years?Were you ever class president?Have you ever repaired a broken radio so that it later

worked?While growing up, did you collect coins?When you were a teenager, how often did your father

help you with schoolwork?About how many fiction books have you read in the

past year?How many hours a week do you spend studying?By the time you were 18 had you traveled at least

500 miles from home by yourself?

Profile Matching

D2 = Σ (P(ideal) – P(applicant))2

1. Develop a set of target or “ideal” scores by sampling high performers.

2. For each item subtract the applicant’s scores from the ideal score and square the result.

3. Sum the squares of the difference scores.4. Smaller D scores more closely resemble the

“ideal” candidate.

Why use Biodata?

Why not use Biodata?

Why use Biodata? Good predictor of behavior Targets candidates similar to your best

employees

Why not use Biodata? Largely atheoretical approach to selection Social desirability responses Legal challenges Can you “profile” your best performers?

Initial / Contingent Assessment

Background Checks Criminal record

State and federal records Sex offender databases

Credit check Consent required Fair Credit Reporting Act (the "FCRA") requires notification

Drug Tests

Criminal History Checks

Employers can obtain criminal background information by: (1) Asking applicants for certain information during the

interview process or on a job application(2) Obtaining criminal record information from a state agency

(with the consent of the applicants)(3) by hiring an investigator or security firm

Before the information is gathered, employers should have specific guidelines for how they will use the information.

U. of Texas Background Checks

It is the policy of The University of Texas at Arlington to obtain:

a.    Criminal history record information on an applicant who is the finalist for a position designated by System Administration or a component institution as security-sensitive position.

b.    Criminal conviction record information available to the public on an applicant who is the finalist for a position that is not so designated as security-sensitive.

As of 09-17-2002 this policy does not apply to current or prospective employees with faculty titles.

Security Sensitive PositionsAll senior level administrator positions including all

executive officers and System administrative officials.

Positions that have responsibility for providing patient care or for providing child-care in a child-care facility, as that term is defined in Texas Human Resources Code § 42.002(3), as it may be amended from time to time.

Positions that have direct access to, or responsibility for, pharmaceuticals, select agents, or controlled substances.

“Many are worried that these checks will hamper efforts to attract the most qualified employees.” UTA Shorthorn 9/18/02

“What kind of statement are we making when we, at UT System, require these checks when other schools in the state don’t have the same policy,” University Provost George Wright.

Currently, the university pays a flat monthly rate of $450 to have the checks conducted.

Decision Criteria

The hiring official will determine on a case-by-case basis whether the individual is qualified based on factors such as:

Specific duties of the position; Number of offenses; Nature of each offense; Length of time intervening between the offense and the

employment decision; Employment history; Efforts at rehabilitation; and Accuracy of the information that the individual provided on

the employment application

Negligent Hiring

1. The person causing harm was an employee.

2. The person was incompetent (rather than a competent employee acting negligently).

3. Employer knew or should have known about the incompetence.

4. Injury or harm was a foreseeable consequence of hiring the incompetent employee.

5. Hiring of the unfit employee was proximate cause of the injury or harm.