6.1  Describe why the selection process is so important to the company.

Selection is important primarily because we need the best possible person in each job in order to maximize productivity. Unproductive members of the organization can cause lower motivation and employee engagement in all of a company’s employees. Second, organizations have a responsibility to avoid negligent hires—people who may pose a danger to others within the organization. The company can incur legal liability if we don’t screen potential applicants carefully.

6.2  State the importance of the three main types of “fit” in the selection process.

The three types of fit are personality-job fit, ability-job fit, and person-organization fit. They are important because managers are supposed to get the best productivity out of their workforce. But not everyone can do everything equally well, so managers have to treat people differently, but fairly, in order to put the right person in the right job. They do this by assessing the three types of fit between the person and the company.

6.3  Summarize the major points in the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP).

The UGESP are guidelines on how to avoid discriminatory hiring practices. They identify what the federal government considers to be an employment test and how those tests can be used in making employment decisions. The UGESP also identify the acceptable types of validity that can be used to validate employment tests, and they note that these tests must be reliable.

6.4  Discuss the use of applications and résumés as selection tools.

Applications and résumés are used in a fairly interchangeable manner, except that the application gives the company information on the applicant that is in a standard format. This makes it easier to quickly scan and evaluate the different applicants. Applications also typically have some legal language or disclosures that must be agreed to by the applicant. Both documents should be used to review and verify both the work experience and the education of the applicant. This experience and education should always be verified, though, because evidence shows that a high percentage of people exaggerate or lie on applications and résumés.

6.5  Recall the major types of written testing available as selection tools.

The major types of written tests are skills tests, which evaluate the candidates’ ability to apply their knowledge to a specific type of problem; personality tests, which evaluate the applicants’ personal traits or characteristics so that they can be matched up with appropriate types of jobs; interest tests, which identify what an applicant is interested in and therefore most likely motivated to learn; cognitive ability tests, which are assessments of intelligence or aptitude for a specific type of work; and honesty or integrity tests, which evaluate the individual’s philosophy concerning theft and other forms of dishonesty.

6.6  Explain the three primary types of selection interviews by the value they bring to the selection process.

The interview gives the manager a chance to make a face-to-face assessment of the candidate, including the person’s ability to communicate, and personality, appearance, and motivation. It also gives the candidate a chance to learn about the job and the organization. The three primary types of interviews are the unstructured interview, in which the interviewer has no preplanned questions or topics; the semistructured interview, where the interviewer may ask both planned and unplanned questions; and the structured interview, where all candidates are asked the same set of questions. Most interviewers prefer the semistructured interview.

6.7  Defend the use of various background checks as tests for employment.

Credit checks are one of the most commonly used background checks. They should not automatically disqualify a person for a job, but if a credit report shows a pattern of dishonesty, then it can be valuable as a tool for selection. Criminal background checks may or may not be allowed by state law. Any criminal conviction should have something to do with the essential job functions; otherwise, we should not use it to disqualify an individual. Reference checks will usually not provide a lot of information, but we should complete them anyway in case they do provide valuable information. And, finally, social media and Web searches frequently turn up information on the morals, values, or honesty of potential employees; companies use these when they are allowed under state and local laws.

6.8  List the two basic methods used to make final selection decisions.

There are two basic methods that can be used to make final selection decisions for the organization. The multiple-hurdle selection model requires that each applicant must pass a particular selection test in order to go on to the next test. If an applicant fails to pass any test in the process, that person is immediately removed from the running. The compensatory selection model allows an individual to do poorly on one test but make up for that poor grade by doing exceptionally well on other tests. Using the compensatory model allows the employer to rank each of the candidates based on their overall score from all of the testing.