9 Pre Employment Testing

8/13/2019 9 Pre Employment Testing

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Pre - employment testing


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Pre employment testing policies

The written policy should specify the :

Objective

Organization commitment to compliance laws

Which applicants to be tested Who analyses and interprets the results

Format of declaration

Description of all the tests used


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Testing categories


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Definition of Ability Tests

Ability Tests

Are standardized measures of knowledge (e.g.,

physical, mental, mechanical, and clerical abilities)

that results from formal learning experiences Traditional Forms of Ability Tests

Aptitude tests

Measure knowledge acquired without formal training

Achievement tests Measure current levels of previously acquired knowledge


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Mental Ability Tests

Development of Mental Ability Tests

Binet and Simon

Developed an intelligence test to measure the

mental age (academic achievement) of Frenchschool children

Published as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

in the U.S.

Otis Self-Administering Test of Mental Ability

The first group-administered mental ability test to

have widespread use in industry


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What Is Measured by Mental

Ability Tests Content and Academic Achievement

Mental ability tests are validated by correlating test

scores with educational achievement as criteria.

Measured Abilities Mental ability tests measure several distinct abilities

but all tests do not measure the same abilities

Scoring of Tests

General tests provide an overall mental ability score

Other tests either provide separate scores on each

abilities, then sum scores to report a total score or

they measure separate abilities and do not combine

the scores into a general ability measure.


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Abilities Measured by Various Mental Ability Tests

Memory Span Figural ClassificationNumerical Fluency Spatial Orientation

Verbal Comprehension Visualization

Conceptual Classification Intuitive Reasoning

Semantic Relations Ordering

General Reasoning Figural Identification

Conceptual Foresight Logical Evaluation


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The Wonderlic Personnel Test

Wonderlic Personnel Test

Developed in 1938, in wide use thereafter

Is a 50 multiple-choice item test taken in 12 minutes

Contentvocabulary, commonsense reasoning,

formal syllogisms, arithmetic reasoning and

computation, analogies, perceptual skill, spatial

relations, number series, scrambled sentences, and

knowledge of proverbs.

Primarily measures verbal comprehension, with

deduction and numerical fluency being the next two

factors in order of importance.


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Example Items Similar to Items on the Wonderlic

Personnel Test

NOTE: An (*) indicates the correct response.


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Mechanical Ability Tests

Mechanical Ability

Characteristics that tend to make for success

in work with machines and equipment

Testing Methods Manual performance (assembly/manipulation)

Written problems

Abilities Measured Perceptual speed and accuracy

Mechanical information


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Mechanical Ability Tests

The Bennett Mechanical ComprehensionTest

to perceive and understand physical forces and

mechanical elements in practical situations. Uses pictures of familiar objects and scenes to ask

questions requiring logical analysis.

is best used for assessing applicant for positions that

require a grasp of the principles underlying the

operation and repair of complex devices.

Is intended to measure an individuals aptitude for

learning mechanical skills.


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Physical Ability Tests

Reasons for Physical Ability Testing More female applicants for male-dominated

jobs

Reducing the incidence of work-relatedinjuries

To determine the physical status of job

applicants


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Physical Ability Tests

Physical Abilities Analysis

Static strength

Dynamic strength Explosive strength

Trunk strength

Extent flexibility

Dynamic flexibility

Gross body coordination

Stamina


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Definition of Personality

Personality

The unique set of characteristicsthat define

an individual and determine that persons

pattern of interaction with the environment.

Characteristics

What people habitually want, say, do, feel, or

believe, and these attributes are combined

distinctly in each person.

Environment

Includes both human and nonhuman elements

(organizational demands, work conditions, physicalenvironment, etc.).


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Personality Traits

Trait

A continuous dimension on which consistent

individual differences in reactions to the same

situation may be measured (or explained) by

the amount of the characteristic the individual

exhibits.

Examples: sociability, independence, andneed for achievement


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Personality Traits for a Sample of Jobs Studied in

Selection

Job Personality Trait

Executive Conscientiousness, emotional stability, extraversion, ambition (especially)

Supervisor Persistence, endurance, emotional stability, nurturance

Salesperson Conscientiousness, achievement (especially), ambition, extraversion

Secretary Conscientiousness, dependability (especially), emotional stability,

agreeableness

Computer Programmer Conscientiousness, original thinking, openness to new experiences

Insurance Agent Conscientiousness, extraversion, original thinking

Newspaper Writer Conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness to new experiences

Carpenter Conscientiousness, dependability (especially), emotional stability


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Interaction of Traits and

Situations Powerful Situations

Cause individuals to interpret events in the same way

Create uniform expectancies of appropriate behavior

Provide incentives for the performance of a behavior Require commonplace skills

Weak Situations

Cause individuals to not uniformly interpret events in the same

way Do not create uniform expectations of desired behavior

Do not offer incentives for one type of behavior

Require a variety of skills


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Interaction of Traits and

Situations Effect of Powerful Situations

Powerful aspects of the situation influence an

individuals behavior more than the individuals traits.

Effect of Weak Situations Situational uncertainty causes an individual to act in

accordance with personal traits.

Implications

Personality is less important in powerful situationsthan in weak situations.

Personality characteristics are more important for

selection devices and job assignments in weak

situations than in powerful ones.


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Personality Measurement

Methods Inventories in Personality Measurement

Use the written responses of an individual as

the information for determining personality

Major Types of Inventories

Self-Report Questionnaires

thoughts, emotions, and past experiences.

Projective Techniques Require verbal responses to intentionally

ambiguous inkblots, pictures, or sentence stems

that provide insights into an individuals

personality.


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Personality Characteristics

Inventory (PCI) 150 multiple choice items

Each item has three possible responses

Requires 30-45 minutes to complete Measures the Big Five personality

dimensions

Extraversion Stability

Agreeableness

Conscientiousness

O enness to ex erience

S l d R t ti It f Bi Fi


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Scales and Representative Items of Big Five

Personality Dimensions

*Based on the revised Personality Characteristics Inventory by Murray P. Barrick

and Michael K. Mount, published by Wonderlic, Inc., Libertyville, Illinois.

Personality Scale* Typical Item

Extraversion I tend not to say what I think about things.

Agreeableness I tend to trust other people.

Conscientiousness I approach most of my work steadily and persistently.

Stability Whenever Im by myself, I feel vulnerable.

Openness to Experience I enjoy eating in new restaurants I know nothing about.


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When Specific Traits are Useful

Extraversion, openness to experience, and emotional

stability are associated with effective leaders.

Conscientiousness, emotional stability, and

agreeableness predict teamwork and performance in

jobs involving interpersonal interactions. All Big Five traits except openness to experience predict

success either as an expatriate or an entrepreneur.

High conscientiousness and agreeableness scores

indicate less likelihood of deviant behavior.

Motivation is the means through which personality

operates; emotional stability, extraversion, and

conscientiousness support job satisfaction, commitment,

and job performance.


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The Interview in Personality

Measurement Traits are the most frequently assessed

constructs in the employment interview.

Conscientiousness is the most frequently measured.

Interviewer ratings of applicant personality aremoderately related to job performance.

Interviewers tend to attribute others behavior to

personality rather than to situational causes.

Raters often interpret even small amounts of behavior

as signs of underlying traits and motives.

Unstructured interviews can increase the accuracy of

the raters assessment of an applicants personality.


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The Appropriate Use of the

Interview Limit the scope of the interview

Do not attempt to assess the complete

personality

Limit the number of personality traits to be

judged and identify more carefully the ones

that are assessed.

Concentrate on previous behaviors

Use the Behavior Description Interview to

assess previous instances of applicantbehavior


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Behavioral Assessment in

Personality Measurement Methods of Behavioral Assessment

Structured situations

Group interaction and individual role in solving an

organizational problem

Example: Leaderless group discussion (LGD)

Observation of behavior

Supervisors record instances of work performance

Example: the Critical Incidents Technique


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Behavioral Assessment in

Personality Measurement

Limitations of Behavioral Assessment

How job-related are the situations in which the

individuals are placed?

How clearly has the recorded behavior been

defined?

How extensively have those evaluating the

behavior been trained?


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Performance Tests

What Performance Tests Do

Ask the applicant to do a representative part of the

job for which he or she is being evaluated.

Provide directevidence of the applicants ability andskill to work on the job.

Limitations of Performance Tests

Creating work samples representative of job activities

Relying on the assumption that applicants already

possess KSAs to complete the job behavior

Costs of time, materials, and equipment required to

develop and administer performance tests


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Examples of Performance Tests

Motor Tests operating a machine, installing a piece ofequipment, or making a product.

Verbal Tests

spoken or written messages or interpersonal

interaction

Trainability Tests

for jobs that do not presently exist and

specialized jobs for which extensive training

is necessary.

Examples of Work Sample Tests Used in


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Examples of Work-Sample Tests Used in

Selection

Test Job

Motor:

Lathe Machine operator

Drill press

Tool dexterity

Screw board test

Packaging

Shorthand Clerical worker

Stenographic

Typing

Blueprint reading Mechanic

Tool identification

Installing belts

Repair of gearboxInstalling a motor

Vehicle repair

Tracing trouble in a complex circuit Electronics technician

Inspection of electronic defects

Electronics test

Examples of Work Sample Tests Used in


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Examples of Work-Sample Tests Used in

Selection (contd)

Test Job

Verbal:

Report of recommendations for problem solution Manager or supervisor

Small business manufacturing game

Judgment and decision-making test

Supervisory judgment about training, safety,

performance, evaluation

Processing of mathematical data and Engineer or scientist

evaluating hypotheses

Describing laboratory tests

Mathematical formulation and scientific judgment

Oral fact finding Customer service representative

Role playing of customer contacts

Writing business letters

Giving oral directions


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Assessment Centers

What Is an Assessment Center (AC)?

A procedure for measuring KSAs in groups of

individuals (usually 12 to 24) that uses a

series of devices (exercises), many of whichare verbal performance tests.

Uses of ACs

Selectionidentifying participants who demonstratebehaviors necessary for the position considered.

Career developmentdetermining those behaviors

each participant does well and those in which each is

deficient.

Behavioral Dimensions Frequently Measured in


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Behavioral Dimensions Frequently Measured in

Assessment Centers

Dimension Definition

Oral Communication Effectively expressing oneself in individual or group situations (includes gestures andnonverbal communications)

Planning and Organizing Establishing a course of action for self or others in order to accomplish a specific goal;

planning proper assignments of personnel and appropriate allocation of resources

Delegation Utilizing subordinates effectively; allocating decision making and other responsibilities

to the appropriate subordinates

Control Establishing procedures for monitoring or regulating the processes, tasks, or activities

of subordinates; monitoring and regulating job activities and responsibilities; taking

action to monitor the results of delegated assignments or projects

Decisiveness Expressing a readiness to make decisions, render judgments, take action, or commit

oneself

Initiative Actively attempting to influence events to achieve goals; showing self-starting actions

rather than passive acceptance. Taking action to achieve goals beyond those called

for; originating action

Tolerance for Stress Maintaining a stable performance under pressure or opposition

Adaptability Maintaining effectiveness in varying environments, with various tasks, responsibilities,

or people

Tenacity Staying with a position or plan of action until the desired objective is achieved or is no

longer reasonably attainable

SOURCE: George C. Thornton III,Assessment Centers in Human Resource

Management (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1992).


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Assessment Devices Used in

ACs Performance (Simulation) Tests

In-Basket

A paper-and-pencil test designed to replicate

administrative tasks of the job under consideration.

Leaderless Group Discussion (LGD)

A small group of applicants are each assigned

roles and charged with resolving either acompetitive or a cooperative scenario.

The group must produce a written report that

specifies the action to be taken by the company

relative to the scenario.

Types of Abilities To Be Developed in Training


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Types of Abilities To Be Developed in Training

Assessors

Understanding the behavioral dimensions

Observing the behavior of participants

Categorizing participant behavior as to appropriate

behavioral dimensions

Judging the quality of participant behavior

Determining the rating of participants on each

behavioral dimension across the exercises

Determining the overall evaluation of participantsacross all behavioral dimensions


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Rating Dimensions of Behavior

in ACs5 A great deal of the dimension was shown (excellent).

4 Quite a lot of the dimension was shown.

3 A moderate amount of the dimension was shown

(average).

2 Only a small amount of the dimension was shown.

1 Very little of the dimension was shown, or this

dimension was not shown at all (poor).0 No opportunity existed for this dimension to be shown.


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Situational Judgment Tests

Situation Judgment Tests (SJTs)

Low-fidelity simulations that present a series

of written descriptions of work situations and

multiple responses to each situation.

The participant indicates one of the responses

for each situation as being the one that the

participant endorses.


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Integrity Testing

Why worry about

employee

dishonesty?

Pressure to remain

cost-competitive in a

global marketplace

Wide differences in

perceptions of the

extent of employee

theft


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Polygraph Testing

Polygraph (lie detector)

Employee Polygraph Protection Act (1988)

Made it illegal in selection (with theexception of specific circumstances)


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Permissible Uses of the

Polygraph By Specific Employers

Private employers providing security services.

Manufacturers, distributors, or dispensers of controlled

substances.

Federal, state, and local government employers.

Under Specific Testing Conditions

Workplace theft or other incident has occurred that resulted in an

economic loss to the company.

Employee must have had access to the property that is the

subject of the investigation.

Reasonable suspicion that the employee was involved in the

incident.

Employee has been given specific written information about the

incident being investigated and the reasons for the testing.


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Paper-and-Pencil Integrity Tests

Types of Integrity Tests

Overt integrity tests

Directly ask for information about attitudes toward theft and

the occurrence of previous theft behaviors. Personality-based measures

Do not ask about theft behaviors directly.

Inventory traits linked to several related employee behaviors

that are detrimental to the organization.


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Drug Testing

Issues in Drug Use Measurement

Distinctions related to use (levels and

frequencies of consumption) and impairment

(deterioration in performance)

Drug use varies by:

Occupation

GenderAge

Education


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Types of Drug Tests

Paper-and-Pencil Tests

Resemble paper-and-pencil integrity tests

Limited by prohibition on self-incrimination

Urine Tests

Require screening and confirmation tests

Results are dependent on threshold level set

Hair Analysis

Requires screening and confirmation tests

Allows for longer detection periods


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Types of Drug Tests (contd)

Fitness-for-Duty (Competency) Tests

Compares an individuals response times and

accuracy while operating a computer game to

the individuals previous scores on the game.

Oral Fluid Test

Oral swab taken from inside of individuals

mouth is analyzed for presence of drugs.

A t f D T ti


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Acceptance of Drug Testing

Programs Drug testing is accepted when:

An advance warning of the testing is given

Rehabilitation rather than termination is whenthe presence of drugs is detected

There are fair detection procedures and

explanation of results

There is a perceived need for testing.

Either urinalysis or overt paper-and-pencil

tests are used rather than a personality

inventory.


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Graphology

Graphology The analysis of the handwriting of an

individual in order to infer personality traits

and behavioral tendencies.

Graphologist

The individual who performs the analysis of

handwriting features:

Size of letters, slant, width, zones (top, middle, and

bottom), regularity of letter formation, margin,

pressure, stroke, line of letters (upward, straight,

downward), connections of letters, form of

connection, and word and line spacing.


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Some Examples of Handwriting Features and

Their Interpretation

Documents

9 Pre Employment Testing