Selection – In addition to Presentation Please refer

to this material/

The selection process helps to select the right person with appropriate skills,
qualifications and experience for different positions and jobs in an
organisation.

Your company's employee selection process will determine the quality of your new
hires and can have an impact both on daily operations and your company's long-
term success.

Choosing the wrong employees can make your workforce less productive, reduce
quality, lower customer satisfaction and cost you more money.
On the other hand, choosing the right employees can boost morale and
organizational performance and can even give your company a strategic advantage.

SELECTION AFFECTS DAILY OPERATIONS

The importance of employee selection will have a major impact on day-to-day
operations in terms of work productivity and quality.
If you select employees based solely on their credentials and skills on their resume
and don't get a good idea of how they actually work, you take the risk of hiring
someone who might not be fast enough to keep up with the rest of your team or who
may prefer to slack off and make other employees take up the workload.
Even worse, your selection choice may not focus on doing quality work, costing you
money and lost productivity time to redo the work.

SELECTION IMPACTS LONG-TERM SUCCESS

Selecting employees who can simply do the jobs needed today can limit you if your
company needs to make changes to job duties in response to innovation in your
industry.
Your selected workforce should be adaptable so that they can take on new roles and
learn new technologies if necessary. Otherwise, your company may not keep up with
competitors and can see bad effects on its bottom line and reputation as a result.

EFFECTIVE SELECTION SAVES YOU MONEY

Regardless of which position you need to fill, hiring a new employee can cost your
company thousands of dollars when you consider costs for recruiting, employee
relocation, referral bonuses, advertising agency fees and travel expenses. If you
rush the selection process, you risk hiring someone unfit for the job and having to
restart the expensive recruitment and selection process.
In the meantime, your unfit hire can cost you more money in terms of poor customer
service, quality and psroductivity. Also know that ineffective employee selection can
have costly legal implications if you discriminate or hire unqualified candidates. At
 the same time, if you hire someone with a fake credential, you might face a lawsuit if
he causes harm.

SELECTION IMPACTS EMPLOYEE MORALE

If you hire the right people, your existing employees can benefit from productive and
positive new colleagues who make the workplace a more enjoyable place. However,
if you choose the wrong people, you can end up with a disgruntled workforce with
employees who don't get along and argue over issues such as personality conflicts,
taking on the work assigned to others and fixing mistakes the new hires make.
In the worst case scenario, poor employee morale can increase your turnover
rate and cause you to lose your long-time workers. At the least, it can disrupt job
processes and team projects and waste valuable work time.

Steps of the selection process for hiring employees

● Telephone call.
Pre employment test.
● In-person interviewing.
● Background checks.
● Reference checks.
● Decision and job offer.

After receiving applications the recruitment team Screens the CV’s to ensure they
meet the job specifications and other qualifying criteria … Foe this they read the CV
and ensure it meets the qualification experience and other criteria required for the
job.

Telephone interviews
These take place with the Candidates whose Cv meets the job specifications .
Phone interviews are a quick, lower-cost alternative to conducting a first-round interview in
person. An initial phone conversation can give the employer a wealth of information about a
candidate's overall communication skills, sense of humor, ability to listen, attitude and
professionalism. During the call, employers first try to determine if a candidate has the right
education, experience and knowledge to do the job. They also focus on the prospect's
motivation for applying for a particular job to make sure he or she has realistic expectations.
A typical pre-screening telephone interview lasts 20 to 30 minutes and includes questions
designed to eliminate candidates who are not eligible for consideration.
Within a relatively short period of time for a minimal investment, employers can decide to
schedule a face-to-face meeting or determine that they have no further interest in the
candidate.
Examples of questions include the following:
 ● Is the salary range for this position within your acceptable range?
● Why are you searching for a new position?
● What are the top three duties in the job you now have or in your most recent job?
● Are you aware of the job description and main responsibilities

Definition of an Employment test

Employment tests usually are standardized devices designed to measure skills, intellect,
personality or other characteristics, and they yield a score, rating, description or category.
Any test or screening tool needs to have two important characteristics :
1) Reliability – Yields consistent scores when the person takes the test on two
different occasions
2) Validity - tells whether the test is measuring what it is supposed to be
measuring .
Thus when selecting a test ..the HR function needs to be sure of the reliability and
validity of the test

Why do employers use pre-employment testing?

Employers have many reasons to use pre-employment testing, including:

To accelerate the hiring process - Employers may use these tests to quickly
narrow down the number of applicants they're trying to hire, especially if they have a
lot of resumes to sort through.

To test an applicant's skills - Employers give pre-employment tests to see if your

skills match the requirements within the job description. For example, if an employer
is hiring for a copywriter position, they might administer a writing test to find out if
your skills match their expectations

To increase the quality of interviews -By gathering sufficient data on applicants,

employers can use the results from the test to ask you specific questions related to
your skills and work experience.

How are pre-employment tests used by employers?

Pre-employment tests introduce an element of objectivity into the hiring process by
providing concrete results that can be standardized across all applicants. Employers
can then use these data to make better informed, more defensible hiring decisions.

Common types of Pre-employment tests?

What is the most common pre-employment test?
The most common types, IQ tests, measure general mental ability. Other tests
gauge verbal ability, math skills, spatial perception, or inductive and deductive
reasoning. Physical ability tests measure strength, endurance, and muscular
movement. Aptitude tests measure an applicant's ability to learn a new skill.

1. Job knowledge tests

Job knowledge tests measure a candidate’s technical or theoretical expertise in a
particular field. For example, an accountant may be asked about basic accounting
principles. These kinds of tests are most useful for jobs that require specialized
knowledge or high levels of expertise.

Limitations
A job knowledge test doesn’t take into account a very desirable attribute: learning
ability. A candidate may have limited knowledge but be a fast learner. Or they may
know a lot but be unable to adjust to new knowledge and ideas. Plus, there’s always
a gap between knowing something in theory and applying it in practice.

2)Cognitive ability tests

Cognitive ability tests measure a candidate’s general mental capacity which
is strongly correlated to job performance. These kinds of tests are much more
accurate predictors of job performance than interviews or experience. Workable uses
a General Aptitude Test (GAT) which measures logical, verbal and numerical
reasoning.

Limitations
As with any cognitive ability test, practice can improve test takers’ scores. Also,
cognitive ability tests are vulnerable to racial and ethnic differences, posing a
discrimination risk. Use multiple evaluation methods and don’t base hiring decisions
on these tests alone. Just use the results as a guide.

3). Personality tests

Personality assessments can offer insight into candidates’ cultural fit and whether
their personality can translate into job success. Personality tests measure
characteristics such as attitudes, emotional adjustment, interests, interpersonal
relations, attitude , temperament and motivation.

Psychologist often focus on big five personality dimensions – extraversion, emotional

stability/ neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to
experience. In personality research Conscientiousness has often been the most
consistent and Universal predictor of job performance.

Personality traits have been shown to correlate to job performance in different roles.
For example, salespeople who score high on extraversion and assertiveness tend to
do better.
Limitations
Social desirability bias plays an important role in self-reported tests. People tend to
answer based on what they think you want to hear and end up misrepresenting
themselves.

4. Emotional Intelligence test

Emotional Intelligence (EI) refers to how well someone builds relationships and
understands emotions (both their own and others’). These abilities are an important
factor in professions that involve frequent interpersonal relationships and leadership.
In general, tests that measure EI have some predictability of job performance.

Limitations
People don’t always tell the truth when reporting their own EI abilities. You can ask
experts or observers to give their input but be prepared to spend more money and
time in the process.

5. Skills assessment tests

Skills assessments don’t focus on knowledge or abstract personality traits. They
measure actual skills, either soft skills (e.g. attention to detail) or hard skills (e.g.
computer literacy). For example, a secretarial candidate may take a typing test to
show how fast and accurately they can type. Other examples include data checking
tests, leaderships tests, presentations or writing assignments.

Limitations
Skills assessment tests are time-consuming. Candidates need time to submit work or
give presentations. Hiring managers also need time to evaluate results. You can use
skills assessments during later stages of your hiring process when you have a
smaller candidate pool.

6. Physical ability tests

Physical abilities tests measure strength and stamina. These traits are critical for
many professions (like firefighting). So they should never be neglected when
relevant. By extension, they’ll help reduce workplace accidents and worker’s
compensation claims. And candidates won’t be able to fake results as easily as with
other tests.

Limitations
Sometimes physical ability tests may resemble medical examinations that are
protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you’re not careful, you could
face litigation. You should also allow for differences in gender, age and ethnicity
when interpreting your candidates’ results, for the same reason.

.7. Integrity tests

The story of pre-employment testing began with integrity tests. They can help
companies avoid hiring dishonest, unreliable or undisciplined people. Overt integrity
 tests ask direct questions about integrity and ethics. Covert tests assess personality
traits connected with integrity, like conscientiousness.

If carefully constructed, integrity tests can be good predictors of job performance.

Plus, they’re less biased than other tests, as few differences have been spotted
between people of different age groups or race.

Limitations
Candidates faking answers is always a concern. Especially with overt integrity tests.
If a candidate is asked whether they ever stole something, how likely are they to
answer yes? If they did, they’d be (paradoxically) honest enough to tell the truth.
Employers should consider the fact that people can repent and change.

8) Work Sampling and Simulations

It measures the actual job tasks so difficult to fake the answers. Designed
properly work samples exhibit better validity than other tests designed to predict
performance.

9) Situational Judgments Tests - These are designed to assess an applicants

judgement regarding a situation encountered in the workplace. Video based
simulation presents situation followed by multiple choice questions.

10) Graphology
11) Handwriting analysis to determine writers personality characteristic , moods, mental
illness etc . Computer programs exist of the same.

In Person Interview / Selection

Management Assessment Center -

Used for Senior Management professionals .

Costly and time consuming exercise so used by few companies

Background Check

The background check is one of the most effective tools in the hands of recruiters. It
not only helps in hiring the right candidate, but also in eliminating the risk of white-
collar crimes. Sidestepping this crucial process is just not an option—Up to 50% of
all job applications are said to contain factually-inaccurate information.

A background check helps employers verify a candidate’s claim on employment

history, address verification, education check, criminal record, gap verification.
What do employers look for in a background check?
In the background check process, there are different types of background verification
conducted. Through a background report, employers look to verify these details
about an applicant:

● Work history: An employer may check which companies you worked with
and verify the work details that you performed there.
● Educational certificate: In this check, the employer verifies the genuineness
of the degrees you have mentioned in your job application.
● Credit history: This check verifies if the applicant is financially responsible.
This test is important if you will have access to the company's funds to
perform your work duties.
● Motor vehicle record: Via a motor vehicle record check, the employer can
attempt to verify if you have a clean driving record or have some history of
accidents. This is especially important if your role involves driving.
● Criminal record: With this background check, the employer often wants to
verify if there is any criminal record against your name or if there are any
outstanding warrants.
● Social media use: Employers may check the applicant's social media
account to understand how you are in your personal life and if you will be
suitable for the organisation's work culture.
● Drug screening: This check helps the employer verify if the applicant uses
drugs and can be of any harm to other employees of the company.
● Gap Verification - To verify gap in education or employment and check if
reasons given are true
●

Reasons for Conducting Background Check

• SAFETY - A major reason to conduct background and reference checks is to

avoid harm or legal liability of various types to the employer or to others. 
• MAXIMIZE PRODUCTIVITY - Hire the best and reject the rest, the saying goes.
Typically, past performance is a strong indicator of future performance and
can reveal an individual's professionalism, productivity, job skills and
interpersonal communication abilities
• DATA VERIFICATION - Verifying the information provided by the applicant
regarding his or her education and credentials, employer history, tenure, and
other data will not only confirm required qualifications but can provide some
insight into the applicant's reliability and motivation.
•

Background Checks are to be done within ambit of the state and national privacy
laws.

What is a Reference Check?

The reference check is a common stage, late in the hiring process. It is one of the
many background checks an employer may want to conduct before confirming a job offer.
 A reference check is when an employer contacts people who can verify a job candidate’s
skills, experience, education and work history. Employers may ask to contact previous
employers, teachers, professors or other people who the candidate has worked with on a
professional or voluntary basis—these people are called referees. Employers should gain
permission from the candidate to contact the referees before collecting a reference check. 
Employers conduct professional references for a few reasons. The reference check can be
used to verify if the candidate has the skills and experience they claim to have on their CV—
this is sometimes called performing due diligence. Speaking to someone who knows the
candidate in a professional capacity can help the employer decide whether the candidate
would be a good fit for the role. Additionally, a reference check can help the employer decide
between their top candidates for the role. 

Here are a list of common reference check questions.

● Can you verify the job candidate’s employment, job title, pay, and
responsibilities? Why did they leave that job?
● How do you know the job candidate?
● What makes the candidate a good fit for this job?
● If you had the opportunity, would you re-hire this job candidate? Why?
● What are the candidate’s biggest strengths and weaknesses?
● Did the candidate get along with their co-workers and management?
● How did (name) handle conflict? How about pressure? Stress?