Personnel Selection Standards Personnel selection is the method by which companies decide who will or will not be allowed to join the organization. The selection process should be set up so that the organization can identify the individuals who have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to best perform the job. This strategic approach to selection means measuring and confirming the effectiveness of the selection tools that are used. The tools are most effective when measured against these standards: reliability, validity, generalizability, utility, and legality. Review the section in your textbook on "Selection Process." The five standards against which to measure the selection tools used by an organization contribute to their effectiveness. Effective tools, in turn, help ensure an organization selects the best candidates for a particular job. This activity is important because you will review terms related to the selection process and think about to which of the standards they best apply The goal of this activity is to define ways to measure the success of a selection method. Read each scenario, then match it to the correct category it represents. 1. An intelligence test is an example of a measure that should yield similar results each time an individual takes the test. Click to select) 2. The HR manager of a manufacturing company has discovered a great personality test for choosing sales personnel, but it's rather expensive. He needs to show that using this test will benefit the company. Click to select) 3. Your HR assistant points out that the employment application used at one of the company's branch offices asks for a high school graduation date Click to select) 4. A company performed a successful validity study on a new selection tool for their sales department and now wonders if it would be acceptable to use that tool for different jobs throughout their organization Click to select)

RELIABILITY: means that the test is free from random errors, therefore, results should be consistent over time. If one employee takes the test today and scores 99%, and the next week takes it again and scores 40%, then the test is not reliable.

2. The HR manager of a manufacturing company has discovered a great personality test for choosing sales personnel, but it's rather expensive. He needs to show that using this test will benefit the company.

UTILITY: Is it worth applying the test? This standard applies to everything in life, e.g. you want to buy a new car. You can prepare your own crash text that specifically applies to your family plus all the rest of safety measures that you can imagine, but it will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The new car itself is probable worth around $40 - $50 thousand. Your life is on stake, but who actually pays that money to test a potential purchase (you might even have to spend millions testing other possible cars). So, you must rely on the tests performed and paid by the car companies themselves. A personality test might be great and 100% certain, but if it costs too much, then it is useless.

3. Your HR assistant points out that the employment application used at one of the company's branch offices asks for a high school graduation date.

LEGALITY: Is it legal for you to ask about someone's graduation date? The answer is NO.

4. A company performed a successful validity study on a new selection tool for their sales department and now wonders if it would be acceptable to use that tool for different jobs throughout their organization.

GENERALIZABILITY: This is about whether this tool or test is applicable in other contexts, businesses, industries, or in other business units or departments of the same company.