Developments in Selection Methods Have Led to a More Scientific Approach to the Design of Selection Events. Critically Evaluate the Contribution and Validity of a Range of Methods of Employee Selection.

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In tray exercises

Role play

Presentations

One of the most popular activities found in assessment centers are work simulations. As the name suggests, candidates are asked to perform certain tasks that can be found in the job that they are applying for. These tasks can be done individually, as a group or as part of a role play scenario. In using this activity, higher validity is gained by the organisation, and they are able to choose candidates who are more likely to be able to perform at the job being offered should they decide to hire them. The performance of the candidate can only be assessed fairly if the assessors agree in advance to what they will be looking for in the candidate in terms of their behaviour and competencies (Foot and Hook 2011).

Assessment centers are very efficient because many different candidates can be assessed at the same time. They also offer many advantages in comparison to other selection methods due to the fact that it consists of many different selection techniques. Due to the amount of selection techniques used, the organisations carrying out the tests will gain a greater insight as to who will be better suited for the job and therefore this selection method offers high face validity and high criterion related validity (Harris et al 2005). Another advantage of using assessment centers is because they are high in face validity. This is because every candidate has to complete the same task and will therefore will receive equal treatment.

Although assessment centers provide many different selection methods to be carried out, the overall validity of this method is subject to how well the organisation organises and carries out the chosen activities due to the large amount of variables that occur within this method. It is important that the organisation provides clear instructions to the candidates on the tasks that they need to carry out. If they are unclear/ vague in their explanation, the overall validity will be decrease and thus jeopardise the organisation’s potential to hire candidates that are well suited for the job (Banfield and Kay 2012). It is also important that work simulations that are carried out give an accurate representation of the environment in which the selected candidates will work in order to increase the predictive validity of this method (Banfield and Kay 2012). One way that the organisation can overcome these validity issues is to have current job holders to carry out the activities within the assessment center. If the scores they achieve from the tests have a strong correlation with their job performance then the test will have greater predictive validity for the potential candidates.

Psychological testing

Also known as psychometric testing, psychological testing is a selection method used to acquire information from candidates regarding their abilities and traits. When candidates take these tests, they all answer the same questions, they are all carried out in the same environment. The scores that are received from these tests are administered in a standardised manner, and can be compared to the norms of the population, meaning that they are not subject to individual interpretation and thus providing high reliability and validity (Foot and Hook 2011). Psychological tests are created by professionals who invest large amount of research into making the test as valid and reliable as is possible which (when used by organisations in conjunction with other selection methods such as interviews) will improve the probability of hiring well suited candidates for their vacant job role. Psychological tests are also used on candidates in order to gain an insight into their maximum performance and their habitable performance, giving an increase in the predictive validity of the end decision (Foot and Hook 2011). Because of the complexity of psychological tests, they should only be carried out by people who are trained to do so. The British Psychological Society has approved standards of training that is to be expected of assessors in order to be able to administer,interpret, and provide feedback from the tests (Foot and Hook 2011).

There are many different types of psychological testing available to organisation which are provided by suppliers, who offer different tests and will advise organisation as to what test they should be using in regard to the job that they are offering. Organisations are advised to only use psychological tests if: they are recruiting for a high position role within the organisation and poor recruitment would prove costly to the organisation, or if there are a large amount of applicants and psychological test will help narrow down potential candidates. Some of the psychometric tests are as follows:

Ability and Aptitude tests - Ability and aptitude testing tests the candidate’s specific mental abilities, assesses the candidate’s potential to develop ability (Foot and Hook 2011) and also gives the employer an indication as to how well the candidate can cope with change. Some of the abilities that are tested are: verbal ability, numerical ability, perceptual/ diagrammatic ability, spatial ability, mechanical reasoning clerical and sensory or motor aptitudes (Harris 2005).

Ability and aptitude tests are multiple choice examinations that are administered under exam conditions (Psychometric-success.com, 2015). It is important that the tests are issued consistently by having everyone do the same examination with the same time constraints, with the exams being scored by qualified individuals in order to gain a high validity for this selection method. These test results will provide standardised score to then be able to compare with relevant populations. The results from these tests are high in face validity and predictive validity due to the controlled conditions of with they are taken with (Harris 2005).

Personality Questionnaires - Personality questionnaires are another selection method used by organisations in order to find candidates that are better suited for the job vacancy based on their personality and how their personality could influence their performance. Keenan (1995) found that personality tests were used by 80% of all organisations in the recruitment of graduates and managers (Harris 2005), as the use of these questionnaire grow more and more popular within the UK. The majority of the time, these personality tests are carried out by the individual, which immediately raises the issue of candidate being self delusional, or faking their response in order to increase their chances of getting the job, which in turn decreases the predictive validity of these tests. There are many different personality tests available for