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Students: Chapter 3

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Quizzes

Self-test Questions

  1. Describe six tendencies by interviewers that hamper a consistent and objective decision being taken on a candidate (i.e. bad interviewing techniques).
  2. What are the main reasons for holding a panel interview?
  3. When evaluating the selection process, what are three indicators of success?
  4. What are the two main approaches used to reduce the number of applicants to a shortlist?
  5. Name five essential features of a structured interview.
  6. The UMIST research into recruitment methods, structured interviews had a higher prediction score than biodata. True or false?
  7. What is a situational or hypothetical question?
  8. What is the difference between an ability test and an aptitude test?
  9. In the Pret A Manger case, what is a ‘job experience’ day?
  10. List four activities that can take place at an assessment centre.
Answers

1. Select  six from:

  • Deciding intuitively
  • Making a decision too early in the interview
  • Preferring candidates like themselves
  • Stereotyping candidates
  • Influencing candidates’ behaviour
  • Being unable to take on board all the information given
  • Raising their ratings if they feel pressurised to select

2.  When it is considered essential for a number of stakeholders to be present and for a decision to be taken on the day the interviews are held.

3. Select three from:

  • How quickly the positions were filled
  • Average length of tenure of person recruited
  • Proportion of employees recruited that are promoted within five years
  • Response costs per candidate
  • Proportion of applicants who met the minimum requirements specified

4. Screening and inclusion.

5. Select five from:

  • A sense of direction and purpose
  • The process attempts to predict how candidates will perform in the work situation
  • Question format is laid down and agreed beforehand
  • Controlled prompting and follow-up questions
  • No questions from candidates
  • Consistent approach with all candidates
  • Interviewers trained in process
  • Candidates evaluated using the same scale

6. True.

7.  A question where a specific scenario, usually related to the work situation, is explained to the candidate and they are asked what the options would be and how they would act.

8.  An ability test measures a candidate’s existing ability, whereas an aptitude test measures whether the candidate is likely to be able to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to perform the job.

9. Candidates for positions spend a day at the workplace, carrying out as many roles as possible. The existing staff vote on whether the applicant should be offered a position.

10. Select four from:

  • Group exercises
  • Presentations
  • Role-plays
  • Personality tests
  • Structured interviews
  • In-tray exercises

Annotated Further Reading Guide

Carless, S. (2009) Psychological Testing for Selection Purposes. International Journal of HRM, 20(12): 2517–2532.

Presents five main issues that contribute to the best use of psychological tests in selection.

Clements, A. (2012) Social Networking, Recruitment and Selection. Human Resources, February, 52–56.

A current survey, identifying some emerging trends.

Matthews, V. (2011) Social Media Background Checks: A Minefield for Recruiters. Employers’ Law, October, 14–15.

A legal viewpoint on a form of references, identifying some difficulties in the process.

Suff, R. (2010) DVLA Moves Recruitment and Assessment Back In-house. IRS Employment Review, 12 July.

A useful case study.

For a critique of selection testing for call centre staff, see:

Whitehead, M. (1999) Churning Questions. People Management, September 30, 46–48.

For psychological testing, see:

Carter, P. (2011) IQ and Psychometric Tests. Kogan Page.

Cooper, D., Robertson, I. and Tinline, G. (2003) Recruitment and Selection: A Framework for Success. Thomson Learning.

Gregory, R. (2010) Psychological Testing, 6th edition. Pearson.

Kaplen, R. and Saccuzzo, D. (2008) Psychological Testing. Cengage Learning.

For detailed studies of selection processes, see:

IDS (2011) Recruitment: HR Studies. Income Data Services.

Leary-Joyce, J. (2004) Becoming an Employee of Choice. CIPD.

Nankervis, A., Compton, R. and Morrissey, W. (2009) Effective Recruitment and Selection Practice, 5th ed. CCH.

Roberts, G. (2005) Recruitment and Selection. CIPD.

Extra Case Studies

Case 1

Online assessment – one company’s experience

When DHL Supply Chain wanted to update its graduate recruitment process, it decided to devise an online application and selection process.

Candidates now initially sit SHL’s Talent Screener test, which is tailored around the role for which they are applying, to produce a job-fit score before successful applicants progress to an inductive reasoning test and SHL’s Occupational Personality Questionnaire. Only then do they move on to more conventional methods such as an assessment centre and competency-based interview.

‘There’s always a fear that you might have rejected someone who’s really good, but if they haven’t passed the test then they’re probably not the candidate we were looking for anyway,’ says Alison Bending, graduate programme manager at the logistics firm.

Most graduates tend to be technology-savvy, so not having the ability to apply for jobs online could count against DHL Supply Chain as an employer, she says. ‘The only negative feedback we get is when they feel they’re being tested for testing’s sake, so we’ve been very careful to make the testing relevant to the jobs for which they’re actually applying.’

The new system went live in September 2008, and during that period the number of applications rose from 500 to 3,700, with anything up to 7,000 expected in 2009–10. ‘Without online testing there is no way our small central team would be able to administer or manage that volume,’ adds Bending.

Source: Martindale, N. (2009) Testing and Selection: The Pros and Cons of Online Assessment. Personnel Today, 13 October.

Case 2

Analysing Myers-Brigg tests

Katharine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers – arguably the most famous double act in psychometrics – would have had little idea that the personality questionnaire they developed more than 60 years ago would still be going strong today. Based on Carl Jung’s theories on psychological archetypes, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), as the tool is now known, is widely used in areas such as group dynamics, leadership training and personal development. Anecdotal evidence indicates it is also used for recruitment even though it is inappropriate for this purpose.

Find your type

For those who haven’t come across it, the MBTI comprises about 100 questions, each with 2 possible logically opposed answers. Using this instrument and a consultation session with a qualified MBTI assessor, subjects find their personality type.

The questions include: ‘Would you rather be considered a practical person or an ingenious person?’ and ‘Does following a schedule appeal to you or cramp you?’

The results will then be used to plot where a subject stands on four dimensions: extraversion and introversion; sensing and intuition; feeling and thinking; and judgement and perception. This gives rise to the 16 four-letter descriptions – such as ISTJ – that describe the subject’s traits and character. According to MBTI and Jungian theory, these are innate.

Critics of the test say this procedure attempts to put people in a box or that it is an inaccurate way of measuring personality. Also, it is not unknown for subjects’ MBTI types to change every time they take the questionnaire. John Hackston, lead learning consultant at OPP, the sole European MBTI distributor, says extensive research proves the questionnaire is at least 75 per cent accurate.

But quibbles about percentages of validity miss the whole point, according to Garry Platt, an L&D specialist at training company Woodland Grange. He says the purpose of the test is not to give a definitive prescription of someone’s personality, but to come up with some pointers from which to start a debate.

‘Like all psychometric tests, it leaves something to be desired, but the results must be viewed critically. If a participant disagrees with a finding then this should be discussed, and, through this process, the results are refined,’ says Platt. For Platt, MBTI practitioners who take the initial results as gospel are misusing the tool. He sees the primary findings as simply a sounding board for further analysis of a person’s traits. ‘The strength of the tool is in how people use it,’ he says.

She says the MBTI is particularly helpful in resolving conflict in teams where different personality styles may be at the root of a breakdown in communications. ‘If an individual can be shown they have a certain style and that others operate differently, they are better equipped to flex their style to accommodate their peers,’ she says.

Understand traits

Sabatier also thinks L&D professionals can use MBTI in leadership development and coaching to help senior managers understand their traits and the way they must adjust their approach when dealing with different people. But, says Graham O’Connell, head of organisational learning and standards at the National School of Government – a business school serving the public sector – it is likely that many of today’s potential leaders will have already completed a MBTI questionnaire at some time or another, so popular and widespread is the tool.

If this is the case, he suggests L&D heads try a different tool, for instance those aimed at teams, such as Belbin and TMS (Team Management Systems) or Marshall Sashkin’s instrument for visionary leaders. ‘MBTI is extremely valid, but if someone has already done the test before why not try another instrument? People are bound to get more out of looking at themselves through a different lens,’ he says.

Case study 3

OPP

The days of filling in a psychometric test using a pencil may be numbered. This is because, according to John Hackston, a lead learning consultant at OPP, an increasing number of practitioners are now using the Internet to deliver the questionnaire. Whereas the form was traditionally paper-based and the onus was on the practitioner to analyse the results, OPP’s web-based service uses purpose-built software to calculate the findings and deliver the results.

‘In general, the use of paper and pencil is now seen as old-fashioned and the take-up of electronic reports has accelerated dramatically since we introduced them three years ago,’ said Hackston. 

While OPP charges for the Internet service, its streamlined delivery should also bring savings to practitioners, who currently pay about £80 for 10 paper questionnaires.

Source: Bentley, R. (2007) The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: Fit for What Purpose? Personnel Today, 17 April.