HR Exam 2- Study guide latest update

Advantages and disadvantages of using technology in recruiting - answer-o Advantages of using technology in recruiting comes down to being to use technology to recruit new employees, ability to match the best applicants for the job. Ability to advertise open positions o Disadvantages in using technology is that the chance of you not getting a job could be lower due to your resume not matching up with what the company is calling for. Also, there isn't any person-to-person involvement when it comes to interviews sometimes, since some interviews are video calls. Some applicants might not have internet access, so the ability to apply is slim. Advantages and disadvantages of internal recruitment - answer-Advantages: Improves morale of "promote"; provides more accurate performance history; lowers recruiting costs; offers hope and motivation to employees; facilitates succession planning, future promotions, and career development; improves organization fit because current employees understand the company's culture, hierarchy, and policies/practices o Disadvantages: "Inbreeding" may lead to less diverse workforce; tunnel vision thinking may lead to a lack of new ideas; may lower morale for individuals not promoted; employees may engage in "political" infighting for promotions; employees promoted may need to be trained or developed; some managers may block the internal movement of good performers Know what yield ratios are and how they work - answer-Comparison of the number of applicants at one stage of a recruiting process to the number at the next stage (pg. 210); helps to visualize how many individuals are transitioning from each stage of recruitment and what the needed 'pool size' is for effective recruitment Know the recruiting function - answer-Recruiting is not just an administrative function; recruiting aligns with strategic decisions and assists in meeting company objectives and benchmarks Understand the term 'mining resumes' and how that impacts/assists recruitment - answer-Key word searches that are into one big Database How do we measure recruiting effectiveness? - answer-Fig. 6-12 (pg. 209) o Quantity/quality, satisfaction, time to fill, cost per rec. method, process metrics, yield ratios, selection rates, acceptance rates, and success base rates Understand how recruiting efforts can be perceived; for example, gender-neutral recruiting (pg. 192) - answer- What is a professional employer organization and its function? (pg. 187) - answer-PEO: an organization that hires staff and 'leases' individuals back to a company o Advantageous as paychecks, taxes, HR policies etc., are all the legal liability of the PEO - the company just uses individuals to work (removes the HR burden from the organization) o Disadvantageous as it is costly and can increase total payroll costs as it is an additional 'fee' to the PEO What is the selection process? Be able to define selection - answer-Applicant Job Interest Pre-employment Screening Application Form Test/Interview Background Investigation Additional Interview (If Needed) Conditional Job Offer Optional medical exam/drug test is after the job offer for some employment o Selection: the process of choosing individuals with the correct qualifications needed to fill jobs in an organization; ultimate purpose of selection is placement Know the difference between person/organization, person/job, and person/group fit - answer-Person/Organization Fit: the congruence between individuals and organizational factors o Person/Job Fit: matching the knowledge, skills, abilities, and motivations of individuals with the requirements of the job. o Person/Group Fit: the congruence between individuals and group or work unit dynamics What are predictors and how are they used in selection? - answer-Predictors of selection criteria: measurable or visible indicators of selection criteria. They are used in selection to determine whether candidates possess certain selection criteria. Understand the difference between reliability and validity - answer-Reliability is the extent to which a test or measure repeatedly produces the same results over time; predictors must be reliable o Validity is the extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure Recognize the difference between 'multiple hurdles' and the 'compensatory approach' to predictors - answer-o Multiple Hurdles- a minimum cutoff is set for each predictor and each level must be 'passed' to move forward. For example: at least three years of work experience in the field, PLUS at least a masters degree PLUS a score of 'X' on an aptitude test (Think: Jumping over the hurdles to advance) o Compensatory Approach - scores from individual predictors are added and combined or an overall score to allow lower-scoring predictors to be offset by high-achieving areas; holistic performance view What is pre-employment screening and how does it benefit an organization? - answer-o 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. o The use of electronic pre-employment screening or assessment has grown. Computer software is often used to review resumes and application forms received during the recruiting and application process. Large companies often use software to receive, evaluate, and track the applications of many potential employees in order to save time during the screening process. Ability - answer-: Ability to perform specific manners are grouped as ability tests. These are sometimes further categorized into aptitude tests and achievement tests Cognative - answer-: Tests that measure an individual's thinking, memory, reasoning, verbal, and mathematical abilities Physical ability: - answer-Tests that measure an individual's physical abilities such as strength, endurance, and muscular movement Psychomotor tests: - answer-Tests that measure dexterity, hand-eye coordination, arm-hand steadiness, and other factors Work Sample test: - answer-Tests that require an applicant to perform a simulated task that is a specified part of the target job Situational judgment tests - answer-Tests that require an applicant to perform a simulated task that is a specified part of the target job interview structured - answer-involves a set of prepared job-related questions that are asked of all applicants so that comparisons can be made more easily, resulting in better selection decisions Unstructured: - answer-Free-flowing conversation between the interviewer and the candidate, with no set questions or specific format. This type is designed to reveal the candidate's personality and assess their fit with the organizations Group interview - answer-: Several job candidates are interviewed together by a hiring authority Nondirective interview - answer-Interview that uses questions developed from the answers to previous questions Panel interview - answer-: Interview in which several interviewers meet with the candidate at the same time Situational interviews - answer-Involves questions about how applicants might handle specific job situations. Team interview - answer-applicants are interviewed by the team members with whom they will work Job details - answer-o Title o Overview of job duties o Key responsibilities o Reporting relationships o Full- or part-time status Pay-related items - answer-o Pay grade or level o FLSA-exempt status o Incentive pay details o Pay period and pay dates Employee Benefits - answer-o Health insurance o Retirement or pension plan o Paid time off o Eligibility dates for all plans o Employee costs Working conditions - answer-o Start date o Days and hours of work o Work location o Employment-at-will statement Know the basics of what you should, can (and cannot) ask in an interview...think protected characteristics! - answer-o Yes/No questions - results in limited answering o Obvious questions - things you already know o Questions that rarely produce honest answers o Leading questions o Illegal/inappropriate quesitons that ask about things like: race, age, gender, nationality, marital status, children etc. o Things that are not job related Understand what a learning culture is and the efforts for implementing a learning culture - answer-o Learning culture is a work environment that encourages employees to share their individual knowledge, skills, and experiences with their coworkers. Can be created through these efforts: Get top leadership support for a learning culture. Involve middle managers with development and implementation Focus on how KSAs can be improved Emphasize the importance of learning to all members of the organization Develop and utilize learning programs to crystalize culture Rely on measurement and assessment to determine how learning might be improved moving forward Be able to define what an orientation is - answer-o Orientation is the planned introduction of new employees to their jobs, coworkers, and the organization. Requires cooperation and an established partnership among HR, senior leaders, and operating managers/supervisors o Orientation is not only for new employees but existing employees to prepare for new roles in the company why orientation is beneficial to have an orientation system in place - answer-Establishes a favorable employee impression of the organization and the job (i.e., organized materials, gifts, etc.) Provides organization and job information Enhances interpersonal acceptance by coworkers and builds the new employee's network of resources (i.e., mentors, buddies, etc.) Accelerates socialization and assimilation of the new employee into the organization's values and culture Ensures that employee performance and productivity begin more quickly Active practice - answer-- occurs when trainees perform job-related tasks and duties during training Action learning Experiential learning Project-based learning Overlearning - answer-- repeated practice even after the learner has mastered the training Produces improvement in learner retention Think of a fire fighter or a nurse; they should be continually learning skills related to their dayto-day jobs in case they need those skill Microlearning - answer-breaking up the lessons to be learned in training into smaller pieces Learners will be able to understand and retain more information when its given in small sections Enables employers to provide smaller pieces of instructional content to a dispersed workforce Behavioral modeling - answer-- involves copying someone's behavior The use of behavioral modeling in demonstrations is particularly appropriate for technical skills training in which the trainees must use both knowledge and practice Effective for training supervisors and managers in interpersonal skills Error-based examples - answer-involves sharing with learners what can go wrong when do no use the training properly The after-action review process is a powerful method of identifying decisions and actions taken during an event and evaluating their effectiveness. This type of training uses real cases to emphasize the importance of appropriate decision making Reinforcement - answer-based on the law of effect, which states that people tend to repeat responses that give them a positive reward and to avoid actions associated with negative consequences. Know the ways we can determine the benefits/impacts of training (post, pre-post, pre-post with control) - answer-o Post measure determines whether the effectiveness is performed according to standards after attending training. This has impacts and benefits because it provides information and orientation to the introduction of the job itself. This evaluates if an employee can do what they are taught in training. o Pre-/Post- measure is designed that also considers the pre-level test skills beforehand. This has impacts and benefits because it takes into consideration the different levels of achievement and further successes that a person is willing to overcome and do. Pre-/Post- measure evaluates if an employee can do better than how they came in. o Pre-/Post- measure with a control group is an evaluation method that will use a control group, in an HR perspective, to determine if the training process is effective and useful in the first place. This is beneficial and impactful because it determines if the training is effective. Know the advantages and disadvantages of E-Learning - answer-o Advantages: better access than conventional training for employees; self-paced, interactive, automated, quick, incorporates built-in guidance, easy to update content, allows flexibility for trainee's "on the go" or "just in time," and learners can contribute content o Disadvantages: Trainee anxiety, reliability on technology, reliability on user self-direction, not appropriate for some training content, up-front investment to time and money, support from top management is necessary for success, and security and access concerns. Know the components of a career profile - answer-Interest, skills, personality, and values Understand what a career transition is, and the various components of transitions (entry shock, job loss, retirement) - answer-o Entry Shock- starting a new job can make the employee feel overwhelmed. o Job Loss- career transition that has been most associated with downsizing, mergers, and acquisitions; individuals that lose their jobs due to being fired enter into an unexpected a career transition o Job loss can lead to anxiety or depression. o Retirement- comes at age 50 or 70 and is a major change for me people. Mostly due to downsizing. Know the impact of the 'glass ceiling' on women's advancement in the workplace - answer-Situation in which women fail to progress into top senior level management positions; very few positions are held by women in the corporate executive ranks because of the glass ceiling Know the role of succession planning and the process of succession planning - answer-Preparing for inevitable vacancies in the organization o Includes integration with strategy, involves top management, assesses key management, and follows development practices o It is essential to have succession planning for all key jobs o Succession planning doesn't have to always be leading upward; succession planning (and careers in general) can involve lateral/horizontal movement for growth Be able to recognize various off-site development approaches for talent and development - answer- Classroom courses and seminars - - answer-- classroom-based instruction/seminars on topics of development and job growth (for example, a leadership seminar); are useful for gaining information, but risk the potential of passive listening and lack of impact Outdoor experiential activities - - answer-- teambuilding opportunities outside of the workplace; rock climbing, team retreat etc.; helps identify leaders and those that can work on a team/helps develop team morale Sabbaticals/leaves of absence - answer-- sabbaticals are opportunities for companies to take time away from work and rejuvenate, as well as to participate in activities that help others (e.g. Volunteering opportunities, writing/research publications); can be paid or unpaid but tend to improve morale and satisfaction Know the types of ratings that can take place, definitions and how they are conducted - answer- Supervisor rating employees: - answer-Evaluation done by close supervisors then provide feedback to employees. Employees rating supervisors - answer-Employees evaluating Supervisors help with identifying competent managers, make managers more responsible, and help see career and growth opportunities in managers. Team to team rating - answer-Team members rating each other, more accurate due to close proximity thus more observation of each other's behavior, however, each must be trained to assess accurately and without bias (risk for workplace dynamic bias). Self-rating - answer-Assess themselves encourages self-reflection, each has different (high or low) standards, rubrics are encouraged. Outside source rating employees - answer-"Field Reviews" eliminates internal bias, but risk evaluating without enough knowledge about the job (one example is customer review). 360-degree ratings - answer-A combination of any of the other ratings. Covers more angles on how an employee can improve and help identify strengths. Be familiar with the various types of performance assessment (rating scales, comparative models, forced distribution, narrative models); know their definitions and what they measure - answer- Graphic ratings cale - answer-uses a 1 to 5 scale to measure different characteristics of an employee :soft skills, job duties, and behaviors Behavior rating scale - answer-assesses action over attributes, specifically tend to describe job behaviors BARS - answer-"Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale" describes specific job behaviors that is then measured against a scale of performance level Comparative Models - answer-Ranking - all employees are ranking from highest to lowest based on performance; controversial as someone has to be last, even though their performance doesn't merit 'last place' Forced Distribution - ideal of 'scoring on a curve;' employees are forced into ranking brackets so that the majority of individuals are 'good' then several are 'exceptional' and several are 'underperforming'; hard to support rationale to employees; controversial Narrative Methods - answer-Critical Incident - written record of favorable and unfavorable actions performed are kept; used to assist with performance reviews and rationale for rating/promotion etc. of an employee Essay - short essay to describe employee performance during a period of time; usually used alongside a rating scale to provide supporting narrative Know what an MBO, Management by Objectives, appraisal method is, and the process/steps for implementation - answer-1. Job review and agreement 2. Development of performance standards 3. Setting of objectives 4. Frequent performance discussions Be familiar with the various rater errors discussed in the text/PowerPoint (pgs. 363-364) - answer-o Varying standards o Recency and primacy effects o Central tendency, leniency, strictness errors o Rater bias o Halo and horns effects o Contrast error o Similar-to-me/different-from-me errors o Sampling error Know the difference between red and green-circled employees - answer-Red circled - an employee who is paid above the range set for a job (e.g. if max. of a grade is $13.00 and they are paid $14.00) o Green circled - an employee who is paid below the range set for a job (e.g. if min. of a grade is $10.00 and they are paid $8.00) Know what a prevailing wage is; definition and application - answer-Definition: an hourly wage determined by a formula that considers the rate paid for a job by a majority of the employers in the appropriate geographic area o Application: Assistance with identifying comparable wage; helpful for those requiring data for immigration, visas, etc. Know the differences between the performance and entitlement philosophies of compensation - answer-o Performance: Pay/raises based on performance; no raises for individuals that are poor-performing; outstanding performers are compensated substantially greater than those who perform satisfactory levels o Entitlement: pay and raises are based on length of service; little consideration of performance; majority (if not all) employees receive the same % of pay increase Know the various strategies for setting compensation levels (lag, lead, and match the market) - answer- Lag-the-Market: - answer-paying individuals below market average/level - new company; financial restrictions; low-need/entry level type roles Lead-the-Market: - answer-: paying individuals above market average/level - trailblazing; competitive advantage Meet-the-Market - answer-paying individuals at market average/level - happy medium! Understand the difference between exempt and nonexempt employees - answer-o Exempt: cannot be paid overtime o Non -Exempt: are required to be paid overtime for work conducted over 40 hours a week; must be paid at 1.5 times average hourly pay Understand what a pay survey is - answer- Understand that Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits companies from using different wage scales for men and women - answer-Exceptions are made for individuals when seniority, performance, quality/quantity of work are apparent and supported