Work Psychology

Understanding Human Behavior in the Workplace

7th edition

Chapter 3
Analyzing jobs,
competencies ad
selection methods
 The Selection Process

Develop a
Advertise Attract pool of Brief applicants on
competency
vacancies applicants the selection process
model

Multi- Create Select out unsuitable

method person candidates
analysis Pilot and
specification Choose validate
of target
role selection selection
Select in trainees
Identify methods methods
and rank
selection
criteria

Validate Make selection

selection decisions
decisions:
follow-up
selected
candidates in Provide feedback to
the job candidates
 The Purpose of Job Analysis &
Competency Modelling

Job analysis is conducted to define the necessary knowledge,

skills, attitudes and abilities for performance in the target job
role. Applications include:
• Recruitment and selection
• Induction/orientation
• Performance management
• Career development and counselling
• Organisational change and diagnosis
 Definitions of Competency

A competency is defined as the specific

characteristics and behaviour patterns a job holder
is required to demonstrate in order to perform the
relevant job tasks with competence
Trend towards more worker-oriented job analyses
where job tasks are described with reference to the
relevant person attributes (e.g. communicating)
Main aim of competency analysis is to derive a
competency model for the target role
 What are the examples of
competencies?

List of key competencies:

• Analysis/problem solving. ...

• Quick thinking/learning. ...
• Team work. ...
• Communication. ...
• Self confidence/resilience. ...
• Judgement/decision making.
• Integrity
 Job Analysis
Job analysis is an important step in ensuring that the
right candidate is selected. Job analysis helps the
employer in recruitment and selection, performance
management, choosing compensation and benefits, etc.
It helps the employees to have a clear picture of what is
actually required of them.

An analysis is important because it organizes and

interprets data, then structures that data into presentable
information useful for real-world applications. For
example, a marketing analysis interprets buying
patterns, market size, demographics and other
variables to develop a specific marketing plan.
 Job Analysis: Data Collection

Identify competencies by gathering behavioural data

from job holders/employee and existing data sets
Job holders define the role, such as;

• senior managers
• managers
• direct reports/subordinates
• colleagues
• customers/‘user group’
 How To Perform an Effective Job
Analysis

• Review Employee Job Responsibilities

• Research Similar Industry Positions
• Identify and List Outcomes Needed for the Position.
• Identify Necessary Skills, Training and Education.
• Define Compensation and Any Applicable Benefits.
The Recruitment and Selection Process
1. Decide what positions you’ll have to fill through
personnel planning and forecasting.
2. Build a pool of candidates for these jobs by
recruiting internal or external candidates.
3. Have candidates complete application forms and
perhaps undergo an initial screening interview.
4. Use selection techniques like tests, background
investigations, and physical exams to identify viable
candidates.
5. Decide who to make an offer to, by having the
supervisor and perhaps others on the team interview
the candidates.

5–9
Steps in Recruitment and Selection Process

The recruitment and selection process is a series of

hurdles aimed at selecting the best candidate for the job.

Figure 5–1
5–
 Planning and Forecasting
 Employment or personnel planning
– The process of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill,
and how to fill them.
 Succession planning
– The process of deciding how to fill the company’s most important
executive jobs.
 What to forecast?
– Overall personnel needs
– The supply of inside candidates
– The supply of outside candidates

5–
 Linking Employer’s Strategy to Plans

© 2005 Prentice Hall Inc. Figure 5–2

All rights reserved. 5–
Forecasting the Supply of Inside Candidates

Qualifications inventories
– Manual or computerized records listing employees’
education, career and development interests,
languages, special skills, and so on, to be used in
selecting inside candidates for promotion.

5–
13
Manual Systems and Replacement
Charts
 Personnel replacement charts
– Company records showing present performance and
promotability of inside candidates for the most
important positions.
 Position replacement card
– A card prepared for each position in a company to
show possible replacement candidates and their
qualifications.
 Management
Replacement Chart
Showing
Development Needs
of Future Divisional
Vice President
© 2005 Prentice Hall Inc.
Computerized Information Systems
 Human Resource Information System (HRIS)
– Computerized inventory of information that can be
accessed to determine employees’ background,
experience, and skills that may include:
• Work experience codes
• Product or service knowledge
• Industry experience
• Formal education
The Matter of Privacy of HR Information
 The need to ensure the security of HR
information
– There is a lot of HR information to keep
secure.
– Control of HR information can be established
through the use of access matrices that limit
users.
– Legal considerations: The Federal Privacy Act of 1974
gives employees rights regarding who has access to
information about their work history and job
performance.
Forecasting the Supply of Outside
Candidates
 Factors impacting the supply of outside
candidates
– General economic conditions
– Expected unemployment rate
 Sources of information
– Periodic forecasts in business publications
– Online economic projections
• Bureau of Labor Statistics

5–
18
 Sample Acceptable Questions
Once A Conditional Offer Is Made
1. Do you have any responsibilities that conflict with the job vacancy?
2. How long have you lived at your present address?
3. Do you have any relatives working for this company?
4. Do you have any physical defects that would prevent you from
performing certain jobs where, to your knowledge, vacancies exist?
5. Do you have adequate means of transportation to get to work?
6. Have you had any major illness (treated or untreated) in the past 10
years?
7. Have you ever been convicted of a felony or do you have a history of
being a violent person? (This is a very important question to avoid a
negligent hiring or retention charge.)
8. Educational background. (The information required here would
depend on the job-related requirements of the position.)

20
 Recruiting Yield Pyramid

Recruiting yield pyramid

– The historical arithmetic relationships between recruitment

leads and invitees, invitees and interviews, interviews and
5–
offer accepted.
Internal Sources of Candidates: Hiring from
Within
 Advantages  Disadvantages
– Prior knowledge of – Failed applicants
candidates’ strengths become dissatisfied
and weaknesses – Time wasted
– More accurate view of interviewing inside
candidate’s skills candidates who will not
– Candidates have a be considered
stronger commitment to
the company
– Increases employee
morale
– Less training require
5–
21
Finding Internal Candidates
 Job posting
– Publicizing an open job to employees (often by
literally posting it on bulletin boards) and listing its
attributes.
 Rehiring former employees
– Advantages:
• They are known quantities.
• They know the firm and its culture.
– Disadvantages:
• They may have less-than positive attitudes.
• Rehiring may sent the wrong message to current
employees about how to get ahead.
5–
22
Finding Internal Candidates (cont’d)
 Succession planning
– The process of ensuring a suitable supply of
successors (who inherits the position after the
employee leaves his/her position) for current and
future senior or key jobs.
 Succession planning steps:
– Identifying and analyzing key jobs.
– Creating and assessing candidates.
– Selecting those who will fill the key positions.
Outside Sources of Candidates
 Advertising
– The Media: selection of the best medium depends on
the positions for which the firm is recruiting.
• Newspapers (local and specific labor markets)
• Trade and professional journals
• Internet job sites
• Marketing programs
 Constructing an effective ad
– Wording related to job interest factors should evoke
the applicant’s attention, interest, desire, and action
(AIDA) and create a positive impression of the
firm.
 Outside Sources of Candidates
 Employee referrals
– Applicants who are referred to the organization by
current employees
• Referring employees become stakeholders.
• Referral is a cost-effective recruitment program.
• Referral can speed up diversifying the workforce

 Walk-ins
– Direct applicants who seek employment with or
without encouragement from other sources.
– Courteous treatment of any applicant is a good
business practice.
5–
25
 Outside Sources of Candidates
 Recruiting via the Internet
– More firms and applicants are utilizing the
Internet in the job search process.
 Advantages of Internet recruiting
– Cost-effective way to publicize job openings
– More applicants attracted over a longer period
– Immediate applicant responses
– Online prescreening of applicants
 Issues in Recruiting a More Diverse
Workforce
 Single parents
– Providing work schedule flexibility.
 Older workers
– Revising polices that make it difficult or unattractive for
older workers to remain employed.
 Recruiting minorities and women
– Understanding recruitment barriers.
– Formulating recruitment plans.
– Instituting specific day-to-day programs.
Issues in Recruiting a More Diverse
Workforce (cont’d)
 The disabled
– Developing resources and policies to recruit
and integrate disable persons into the
workforce.
Developing and Using Application Forms
 Application form
– The form that provides information on education,
prior work record, and skills.
 Uses of information from applications
– Judgments about the applicant’s educational and
experience qualifications
– Conclusions about the applicant’s previous
progress and growth
– Indications of the applicant’s employment
stability
– Predictions about which candidate is likely to
succeed on the job 5–
29
Questions??