HR Tests - Recruitment, assessment, and personnel selection

Bryan—I think we’re on the same wavelength. A big ...

2009-07-08T06:37:47.618-07:00

Bryan—I think we’re on the same wavelength. A big fuss was made about this case but when the decision came down it repeated what we’ve been hearing for some time: disparate treatment (intentional discrimination) is bad, disparate impact (unintentional discrimination or adverse impact) is bad, and oh by the way, committing one type of discrimination to avoid the effects of another is also bad. Like we didn’t know that already!

Great insight! EQ is really getting interests from...

2009-06-25T22:43:13.090-07:00

Great insight! EQ is really getting interests from the recruiters now, the smarter ones at least, because of the reasons you mentioned. Also behaviors, at times, are more important than mere skills specially in large companies with open organizational culture. For this purpose, at HireLabs we have included behavioral aspect in our customized tests. For details, please visit http://www.hirelabs.com

I completely agree! Interview has importance but i...

2009-06-25T22:02:04.979-07:00

I completely agree! Interview has importance but it should be a final step not a base for selection.
In fact, I believe the first step towards any recruitment is proper assessment according to the desgination and organization. As at HireLabs (http://www.hirelabs.com) we make customized tests according to individual organization and job requirement. It really helps and fast companies are adopting it quickly!

Very interesting issue has been raised. Well, in m...

2009-06-24T05:01:32.439-07:00

Very interesting issue has been raised. Well, in my opinion the vendor size is relevant but it is not a make or break issue. I think product quality is much more important than the size.
With good assessment techniques even the small companies can solve their succession planning issues like we do at HireLabs. We use latest pre-employment techniques to have people who, in the first place, rarely leave us and if they do we can hire the next with the appropriate fit with our organization. Leaving no room for such issues. Thanks to our latest testing and evaluation techniques!

This post pointed out some things I haven't given ...

2009-06-22T11:40:54.278-07:00

This post pointed out some things I haven't given much thought to. In the past I have applied for several jobs that use a PEO to administer assessment tests. In these tests I have been asked questions ranging from what kind of experience I have to personality. Now when I think about these past tests, there were questions that asked how much work load you like, how much stress can you handle, etc. Those questions gave the employers a better idea if the job is right for you, however. The jobs that I have left were not because of the job itself. It was true to the test questions in workload, stress levels, etc. It was for personal reasons for leaving the job. In some cases I left because of other employees, and other cases I left because the job just wasn't what I thought it would be. In other words- misleading. Maybe some assessment tests should start to focus more on personality assessment and go more in depth.

Good question. I'd like to say that in most cases...

2009-06-15T20:48:59.961-07:00

Good question. I'd like to say that in most cases there is some sort of logical (mathematical) combination based on job analysis information. But in most cases the interview probably trumps the work sample--particularly if the interview doesn't go well. Of course that may depend on the order of the selection process.

You are right on about this. Cognitive ability tes...

2009-06-15T14:34:42.666-07:00

You are right on about this. Cognitive ability tests are great, but provide general information. Work samples are fantastic supplements for selection. Of course, this means that selection agent must have a clear grasp of the job they are selecting for (not always a given).

Further the job sample should be validated. Perhaps the biggest obstacle for the use of these test is the insistence that an interview be used. To the extent that the information gleaned from interviews counter-indicates the information gleaned from other tests, how will the typical selection agent synthesize the information?

My team has been researching EQ for over a decade....

2009-06-11T07:51:06.261-07:00

My team has been researching EQ for over a decade. In 1997, we developed an EQ assessment that was broken down into a number of factors. The factor structure has changed over the years as we gained more and more insight, but essentially, we always reported two subfactors - 1) Self-reported traits and attitudes, and 2) Knowledge component (assessed by situational questions).

Our EIQ Test assesses ability to identify emotions and emotional insight (into self and others), ability to express and manage emotions, social insight and empathy, goal-orientation and motivation, and integration of emotions. The Knowledge scale focuses the individual’s ability to recognize or identify the responses (emotional, cognitive and behavioral) that in the given situation present the most effective way of achieving the desired outcome, whether it’s dissipating an explosive situation, getting others to go along with what you want, or soothing yourself or others. The scale also assesses how well you can read a situation from overt behaviors of others.

The correlations between the self-report and knowledge components in our studies is in the 0.35 range (p < 0.0001), which is higher than the one reported in this blog, but it still goes to show that what people say and what they do is not the same thing.

There are several reasons why, in general, self-reports are less reliable – impression management is a big one, especially in a pre-employment testing situation. Self-deception and true cluelessness (or lack of self-awareness) about one’s ability to read others (and self, for that matter) are also likely to contribute to the “noise” found in assessments using self-reports.

The bottom line is: the ability to figure what others are feeling and adjust one’s behavior and communication style accordingly is an extremely valuable skill for anybody who deals with people, regardless of whether that means working with clients, teammates, direct reports or management. As such, it should be assessed, developed and used in performance evaluations.

Ilona Jerabek, PhD
PsychTests.com

I am glad to see researchers are taking another lo...

2009-06-03T08:03:08.514-07:00

I am glad to see researchers are taking another look at this construct. I think it is potentially useful, though we have to make sure we conceptualize it clearly.

Other researchers have taken this approach; distinguishing between emotional intelligence-related behavior and traits (the reference escapes me, sorry). I think this direction is a positive one for the study of emotional intelligence.

Just as grass versus artificial turf can make a di...

2009-04-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

Just as grass versus artificial turf can make a difference in speed, so can good organization versus bad organization make a difference in employee performance. In other words, if an employee doesn't appear to be a high-performer, this could be due largely to a disorganized, malicious, or otherwise dysfunctional workplace. I think it would help if employee performance reviews allowed a set amount of time for the employee to critique the organization.

Another over lap: Different normative data for lin...

2009-04-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

Another over lap: Different normative data for lineman vs wide receivers (i.e. banding of subgroups).

Other differences: No EEOC requirements. Strong BFOQs.

For another sports personnel article, check out this article on basketball metrics and performance. This one really gets at the conflict of aligning individual performance with team performance. (i.e. defining the criterion).

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15Battier-t.html?pagewanted=all

Topgrading is just another thing in a long line of...

2009-04-03T18:13:00.000-07:00

Topgrading is just another thing in a long line of BS management fads. It's 15 minutes of fame ended last year. Good riddance.

this has been really interesting to look at compar...

2009-03-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

this has been really interesting to look at compared with the eneral job misery people are going through just a couple of years later, now it is all about finding any job that pays to survive rather than thinking in term of happiness or convienience. I'm lookig for work and am being helped by a recruitment website called recruitment revolution and they are really helping to build my confidence with great advise on finding work, taking my previous experience and making it work over a range of areas to maximise the chance of finding something sooner rather than later.

I think this should be case by case. There is no e...

2009-03-04T13:19:00.000-08:00

I think this should be case by case. There is no education like real world education and if someone is applying for a position and they have ten years of good experience but maybe a 2 year community college degree that isn't worth much shouldn't be held against that person. They took a different path to get into the hot seat in front of you.

Thanks for posting this Bryan, great summary of th...

2009-03-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

Thanks for posting this Bryan, great summary of the article. I have always been puzzled by the low correlations for education level observed in Hunter and Schmidt, so interesting to see it reiterated by another meta-analysis.

Thanks for your insightful comment, Joe. I look f...

2009-02-20T09:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks for your insightful comment, Joe. I look forward to opportunities in the future to see first hand what the VJT can do.

As Brian notes, the multi-media nature of video ga...

2009-02-20T08:16:00.000-08:00

As Brian notes, the multi-media nature of video gaming is what candidates expect from an on-line experience. For that to work in an assessment environment there must be a low or no threshold learning curve on mastering the technology interface. Most gamers get better over time. Multi-media assessment must deliver a fair and consistent first-time experience on a level playing field. Second Life for example, requires about 20 hours of practice to become a proficient navigator. Candidates will not tolerate, nor is it fair, for that degree of learning commitment to get into a job application.

Over 90% of candidates completing the Virtual Job Tryout® state they will refer friends and family to this job opportunity based on the nature of the application experience. When your candidate evaluation experience creates viral attraction, that is employment brand power at its finest. In today’s economy, the experience is the marketing.

While video-game like qualities are a worthy target to strive for, Web 2.0 principles provide a framework for fast and cost effective custom on-line candidate evaluation experiences. The Virtual Job Tryout® platform and methodology has been developed to deliver a job specific, company branded, highly engaging and informative candidate experience. We deliver custom development and validation at or below the cost of many off-the shelf solutions. We know this because of the number of clients that have chosen the Virtual Job Tryout® in competitively bid projects.

Tom is correct, (and thanks for the mention), the validity correlations achieved by the Virtual Job Tryout® demonstrate next-in-class capabilities of robust measurement methods. This is due in a large part to two factors: 1. The multi-method nature of the approach taken for candidate evaluation. 2. The proprietary techniques used to capture a comprehensive data set of subjective and objective measures of on-the-job performance. When it comes to quality validation analytics, size does matter.

It has been well documented that using two or more evaluation methods increases the power of prediction. It has also been well documented that work samples are very sound predictors of on-the-job performance. The Virtual Job Tryout® seamlessly combines four to six experiences comprised of job-specific work samples, job- relevant work history, and performance-appropriate work style. The customized-content nature of these experiences embeds realistic job preview within the evaluation. The candidate takes the job for a test drive. The recruiter gains a work sample that predicts performance. It is a double win for the recruiter and candidate.

Companies are justified in expecting more from their assessment technology. It can no longer be about “the test”. Companies that obtain the best hiring results view candidate evaluation as a measurement discipline for the business process called staffing. With this end in mind, the staffing process is evaluated by statistically exploring the inputs (candidates and candidate data) value-add components (evaluation, decision making and on-boarding) and yields (staffing waste, staffing rework, new hire performance variation).

Companies that view staffing as a business process know that calibration is at the core of process improvement. In the field of assessment validation = calibration. The closed loop analytics deployed with a Virtual Job Tryout® implementation feeds a periodic recalibration which hones in on the performance drivers. The Virtual Job Tryout® gets smarter over time, learning from experience. The staffing process becomes a data source which documents how each hiring decision is contributing to the business.

Brian you are correct about the investment and cycle time for developing a new game. The cost and time to market would have to plummet for even the companies with the greatest appetite for combining the “way cool” with the “way effective.”

There are more lead-time reasonable and cost effective methods for highly engaging and measurement rich candidate evaluation available today.

I too am available for any reader wishing to learn more.
Joseph P. Murphy
Shaker Consulting Group, Inc.
Developers of the Virtual Job Tryout®
Joe.murphy@shakercg.com
www.shakercg.com

Thanks so much, Tom. Joe Murphy of Shaker CG is a...

2009-02-20T06:10:00.000-08:00

Thanks so much, Tom. Joe Murphy of Shaker CG is a friend and I've been impressed with what I've seen of the Virtual Job Tryout. I'm not familiar with the other tools you mention but I'd be very interested in seeing (as I'm sure other readers would) what they look like and whether they are truly interactive.

There are at least a couple of major players in th...

2009-02-19T16:20:00.000-08:00

There are at least a couple of major players in the online high fidelity selection game, with many more on the way. Shaker Consulting Group headed up br Dr. Brian Stern and Joe Murphy have created a facinating combination of sit judge, numerical reasoning, and 'day in the life' animations for Starbucks, and 40 other clients. They call them 'Virtual Job Tryouts'. Select International has something similar. They are pricy compared to more traditional testing on the startup costs but the Starbucks store manager VJT yielded amazing validity and utility in a study done in 2007. Tom Janz, Ph D, Global Human Asset Systems LLC. We have an online Performance Inventory(tm) authored by Dr. George Paajanen of PDI and Unicru fame. We also have an online, coached, Confirmed Achievements(tm) behavioral intervew that appears to have traction wuth the World Health Organization, among other places. I live in the Bay area and you can reach me at 415 690-6437 if interested.

These are 9 types of interview questions as follow...

2009-02-19T03:36:00.000-08:00

These are 9 types of interview questions as follows:
1. Open ended questions
2. Closed questions
3. Summarizing questions
4. Hypothetical questions
5. Leading questions
6. Probing questions
7. Specific questions
8. Complicated questions
9. Reflective questions

Best for community.
rgs

Source: types of questions

I agree with not rushing the hiring process. While...

2009-02-10T12:44:00.000-08:00

I agree with not rushing the hiring process. While it is important to not leave people hanging for too long it is important for companies to hire the right people to keep turnover at a minimum.

In my experience people self-inflate regardless of...

2009-02-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

In my experience people self-inflate regardless of the scale, and HR/supervisors rarely verify experience, particularly with large candidate groups.

I guess what this all points to is a very dire need for more applied research in this area!

Addendum: For a great example of realistic job pre...

2009-01-29T06:11:00.000-08:00

Addendum: For a great example of realistic job previews, check out the Behind the Apron series over at Home Depot

It is always interesting to see how people's minds...

2009-01-26T13:57:00.000-08:00

It is always interesting to see how people's minds react to online advertising. Taking that angle when designing a website can be very rewarding for companies who get it right.

I disagree, but especially with 5. I have found th...

2009-01-21T17:47:00.000-08:00

I disagree, but especially with 5. I have found that the amount of experience works much better than the type of experience. Why? Well amount of experience is easy to verify whereas type is not. Not only that, the way the highest level is worded is - trained or supervised others in job analysis. The problem with that wording is that most people can claim that they have trained or supervised someone, even if it was only answering a few questions.