Selection
Problem 2 1.7
Selective selection
1. What is the meaning of validity and fairness in the context of personnel selection
(relevant types of validity)?
2. What types of selection tools and techniques are there?
3. How do the different tools and techniques compare in terms of their
validity/fairness?
Selection
The health and wellbeing of an organisation depends largely on the steady flow of
new people. This flow of new people happens in steps:
1. Planning:
- Fill vacancies (of those who are left)
- Fill new positions
- A comparison of demand/supply is important in choosing the selection approach
or the training approach
2. Recruitment:
- Advertising
- Employee referral
- Employment agencies the choice depends on the ease with
- School recruiters which organizations can recruit
- Walk-ins applicants
- The web
o The higher-level vacancy/the more undersupply = more effort to recruit the right
person
o Organization needs to know what it’s looking for in terms of Knowledge, Skill,
Ability and Other characteristics (KSAO’s) -> directed recruitment is possible
3. Selection:
- More applicants mean they can be more selective and thus a higher chance of
selecting a good employee
- The purpose is to higher those who are likely to be successful on the job and thus
have better organizational performance
- 2 important elements in selection:
1. Criterion – definition of a good employee e.g. performance etc.
2. Predictor – anything assessed in job application that related to the
criterion e.g. measures of KSAO’s
- The predictor has to relate to the criterion -> validation study (quantify
predictor/criterion -> statistical test -> correlation coefficient)
- Cognitive predictor – correlate to task performance
- Non cognitive predictor – correlate to counterproductive work behaviour
- Criterion validity- strength of the
- Concurrent validity- same time. Used more
- Predictive validity- future. More complicated but better
- reliability
, Selection
5 steps in a validation study:
Concurrent validation study:
Choose criteria
Validate Cross-validate
Job analysis
Choose predictors
Tasks involved = replicate the results
KSAO’s in another sample
Psychology test (make sure
Job relevance Biographical correlation isn’t due
inventory to chance) – type 1
Interview error
Schooling/college
Assessment centre
Work sample
-Predictor and criterion are collected at the same time in current employees. The
test scores are correlated with recent performance
◊ Good - No time delay/ less time consuming, don’t have to hire people with ‘bad’
scores
◊ Bad- different population than actual applicants. These people may already have
acquired skills on the job
Predictive validation study:
- Predictor is measured before criterion. Everyone in the sample is hired. After
time has passed, criteria are assessed
◊ Good- vigorous
◊ Bad- practical issues (time and money) and it’s hard to ignore predictor data
during selection
Other forms of validity
- Incremental validity – how much adding another predictor contributes to the
predictive power of selection
- Face validity- when something looks right/logical link between test and job
performance -> positive impact on acceptability -> otherwise applicant may take
legal action. Applicant reactions is correlated to this.
- Content validity- no validity studies, validity is based on a logical basis
- Construct validity- involves relationship between predictors and characteristics
that are not directly observable (psychological characteristics). Measured by
comparing a new test to a well-established pre-existing test
Adverse impact- the impact of a selection method on a protected class. The adverse
impact can be found by comparing the selection ration of such a protected class to a
comparison (usually white males)
Problem 2 1.7
Selective selection
1. What is the meaning of validity and fairness in the context of personnel selection
(relevant types of validity)?
2. What types of selection tools and techniques are there?
3. How do the different tools and techniques compare in terms of their
validity/fairness?
Selection
The health and wellbeing of an organisation depends largely on the steady flow of
new people. This flow of new people happens in steps:
1. Planning:
- Fill vacancies (of those who are left)
- Fill new positions
- A comparison of demand/supply is important in choosing the selection approach
or the training approach
2. Recruitment:
- Advertising
- Employee referral
- Employment agencies the choice depends on the ease with
- School recruiters which organizations can recruit
- Walk-ins applicants
- The web
o The higher-level vacancy/the more undersupply = more effort to recruit the right
person
o Organization needs to know what it’s looking for in terms of Knowledge, Skill,
Ability and Other characteristics (KSAO’s) -> directed recruitment is possible
3. Selection:
- More applicants mean they can be more selective and thus a higher chance of
selecting a good employee
- The purpose is to higher those who are likely to be successful on the job and thus
have better organizational performance
- 2 important elements in selection:
1. Criterion – definition of a good employee e.g. performance etc.
2. Predictor – anything assessed in job application that related to the
criterion e.g. measures of KSAO’s
- The predictor has to relate to the criterion -> validation study (quantify
predictor/criterion -> statistical test -> correlation coefficient)
- Cognitive predictor – correlate to task performance
- Non cognitive predictor – correlate to counterproductive work behaviour
- Criterion validity- strength of the
- Concurrent validity- same time. Used more
- Predictive validity- future. More complicated but better
- reliability
, Selection
5 steps in a validation study:
Concurrent validation study:
Choose criteria
Validate Cross-validate
Job analysis
Choose predictors
Tasks involved = replicate the results
KSAO’s in another sample
Psychology test (make sure
Job relevance Biographical correlation isn’t due
inventory to chance) – type 1
Interview error
Schooling/college
Assessment centre
Work sample
-Predictor and criterion are collected at the same time in current employees. The
test scores are correlated with recent performance
◊ Good - No time delay/ less time consuming, don’t have to hire people with ‘bad’
scores
◊ Bad- different population than actual applicants. These people may already have
acquired skills on the job
Predictive validation study:
- Predictor is measured before criterion. Everyone in the sample is hired. After
time has passed, criteria are assessed
◊ Good- vigorous
◊ Bad- practical issues (time and money) and it’s hard to ignore predictor data
during selection
Other forms of validity
- Incremental validity – how much adding another predictor contributes to the
predictive power of selection
- Face validity- when something looks right/logical link between test and job
performance -> positive impact on acceptability -> otherwise applicant may take
legal action. Applicant reactions is correlated to this.
- Content validity- no validity studies, validity is based on a logical basis
- Construct validity- involves relationship between predictors and characteristics
that are not directly observable (psychological characteristics). Measured by
comparing a new test to a well-established pre-existing test
Adverse impact- the impact of a selection method on a protected class. The adverse
impact can be found by comparing the selection ration of such a protected class to a
comparison (usually white males)
