Recruitment and Selection - 2 | Commerce & Accountancy Optional Notes for UPSC PDF Download

Selection Tests

A test serves as a sample of an individual's behavior, performance, or attitude, and it can be a systematic procedure for comparing the behavior of two or more individuals.

Purpose of Tests

The fundamental assumption behind incorporating tests in personnel selection is that individuals possess diverse job-related abilities and skills, and these skills can be effectively and accurately measured. Tests aim to eliminate the potential bias on the part of interviewers or supervisors, ensuring that selection decisions are primarily based on potential abilities. Another significant advantage is that tests may reveal qualifications and talents that might go unnoticed through interviews or the listing of education and job experience.

Types of Tests

Different types of tests are employed in the selection process, categorized into four main groups: (a) Achievement or Intelligence Tests, (b) Aptitude or Potential Ability Tests, (c) Personality Tests, and (d) Interest Tests.

(a) Achievement or Intelligence Tests: These tests, also known as 'proficiency tests,' evaluate the skills or knowledge acquired through training programs or on-the-job experience.
They assess what the applicant can do and come in two types:

• Test for Measuring Job Knowledge: Also called 'Trade Tests,' these assess the thorough job knowledge of the applicant through oral questions, possibly supplemented by written, picture, and performance components.
• Work Sample Tests: These evaluate a candidate's proficiency in handling specific tasks by assigning a piece of work to gauge efficiency. For instance, a front office desk assistant might be given a guest's room rent calculation and expenses to prepare the bill.

(b) Aptitude or Potential Ability Tests: These tests measure a candidate's latent ability to learn new skills or jobs and identify peculiarities or defects in sensory or intellectual capacity. They focus on specific talents like learning, reasoning, and mechanical or service aptitude, falling into three types:

1. Mental Tests: Assess overall intellectual ability or intelligence quotient (I.Q.) and determine fluency in language, memory, reasoning, perception speed, and spatial visualization.
2. Mechanical Aptitude Tests: Measure a person's capacity to learn specific mechanical work, suitable for selecting apprentices, mechanists, mechanics, maintenance workers, and mechanical technicians.
3. Psychomotor or Skill Tests: Evaluate a person's ability to perform a specific job, emphasizing mental dexterity or motor ability for semi-skilled and repetitive roles.

(c) Personality Tests: These tests uncover clues about an individual's value system, emotional reactions, maturity, and characteristic mood. They help assess motivation, ability to handle life stresses, interpersonal relations, and the capacity to project an impressive self-image. Personality tests focus on traits like self-confidence, ambition, emotional control, decisiveness, and more, primarily used in predicting performance and success for supervisory or managerial roles.
They come in three types:

1. Objective Tests: Measure traits such as neurotic tendencies, self-sufficiency, dominance, submission, and self-confidence.
2. Projective Tests: Ask candidates to project their interpretation onto standard stimuli, revealing values, motives, and personality.
3. Situation Tests: Evaluate an applicant's reactions in peculiar situations, stress endurance, and ingenuity under pressure, often related to leaderless group situations.

(d) Interest Tests: These tests aim to identify a person's areas of interest and determine the type of work that would satisfy them. Interest tests are utilized for vocational guidance and involve answering a well-prepared questionnaire.

Limitations of Selection Tests

• Despite the detailed explanation of tests provided earlier, it is crucial not to assume that these tests can predict an individual's on-the-job success with 100% accuracy. At best, these tests indicate that candidates scoring above predetermined cut-off points are likely to be more successful than those scoring below.
• Tests become valuable when dealing with a large number of applicants; however, they lose their utility if not properly constructed, selected, or administered. While written tests assessing interests, aptitudes, and intelligence have been common in employment screening, their use has declined over the past 25 years. Many tests have proven to be discriminatory, and establishing their job-relatedness in judicial reviews has been challenging. In the service-oriented hospitality industry, where interpersonal relationships are crucial, interviews play a significant role. Some organizations in the hospitality sector use a combination of tests and interviews to effectively select trainees.

Precautions in Using Selection Tests

To obtain the best results and successfully select the right candidates using tests, the following precautions should be considered:

• Develop norms as a reference source for all tests used in selection, based on a representative sample of people in the same organization and on the same job. This is necessary even when using 'standard' tests, as each company has unique requirements, culture, organizational structure, and philosophy.
• Provide candidates with some 'warm-up' by offering test samples or addressing queries before the actual test begins.
• Validate tests for a specific organization before administering them for personnel selection.
• Assign a weightage to each test used in the selection process.
• Have individuals with technical competence and training in testing handle test scoring, administration, and interpretation.

Interviews

Now, let's delve into the interview process following the completion of the application form, excluding the preliminary interview.
The personal interview stands out as the most widely used selection method globally.
Definition and Objectives: An interview is a purposeful conversation between one person or a group and another individual or individuals. In an employment interview, three key objectives should be met: (i) gathering information, (ii) providing information, and (iii) motivation. The interview should assess the candidate's personality by acquiring pertinent details about their background, training, work history, education, and interests. Simultaneously, the candidate should receive information about the company, the specific job, and personnel policies. It should foster a positive relationship between the employer and the applicant, motivating a qualified candidate to express interest in working for the company. However, in practice, it often becomes a one-sided affair, primarily serving the purpose of obtaining information about the candidate.
Interviews can take various forms:

• Informal Interview: This spontaneous interview can occur anywhere, with the employer or a manager casually asking questions about the candidate's name, place of birth, and previous experience. It is commonly used when there is a tight labor market and a urgent need for workers.
• Formal Interview: Conducted in a more structured environment, typically in the employment office by an employment officer using well-organized questions. The time and place are predetermined by the employment office.
• Planned Interview: A formally arranged interview where the interviewer has a pre-defined plan, specifying the time allocated to each candidate, the type of information to be sought, information to be provided, and the interview format.
• Patterned Interview: Similar to a planned interview but executed with a higher degree of accuracy and precision. The interviewer follows a carefully prepared list of questions and areas to be covered.
• Non-directive Interview: This format allows the interviewee to freely express their thoughts. The interviewer acts as a patient listener, encouraging the candidate to discuss their qualifications without being guided by specific questions.
• Depth Interview: Designed to thoroughly explore the candidate's background and thoughts, delving into significant detail on a specific subject of interest to the candidate.
• Stress Interview: Structured to evaluate the candidate's behavior under stressful conditions, assessing their conduct and reactions in challenging situations.
• Group Interview: Intended to observe how candidates interact with and respond to each other. Candidates may be brought together for an interview or given a topic for discussion, allowing the interviewer to assess their leadership skills, participation, presentations, and reactions to each other's views.
• Panel Interview: Conducted by a group of interviewers, usually for supervisory and managerial positions. This approach leverages the collective judgment and wisdom of panel members, and candidates may meet with the panel individually for a detailed interview.

Interview Rating

Crucial aspects of an individual's personality can be categorized under the following seven main headings:

• Physical Make-up: This encompasses health, physique, age, appearance, bearing, and speech.
• Attainments: This includes education, occupational training, and experience.
• Intelligence: Assessment of both basic and 'effective' intelligence.
• Special Aptitudes: Evaluation of written and oral fluency of expression, numeracy, organizational ability, and administrative skill.
• Interests: Examination of intellectual, practical, physically active, social, and artistic interests.
• Disposition: Evaluation of self-reliance, nature, motivation, and acceptability.
• Circumstances: Consideration of domestic, social background and experience, and future prospects.

This framework is referred to as 'The Seven Point Plan.' The significance of each of these points may vary depending on the organization and the specific job. Therefore, appropriate weightage should be assigned to each point based on its importance to the job. For instance, in the hospitality sector, all these points should be considered to ensure the organization stands out in the competitive landscape, especially when competing with international brands. Consequently, following an interview, each candidate should be rated for each of the points mentioned above as (i) outstanding, (ii) good, (iii) above average, (iv) below average, or (v) unsatisfactory. Marks should be allocated to each of these ratings, and the score for each point is determined by multiplying it by the assigned weights. The total of these scores will determine the candidate's final position after the interview.

Limitations of Interviews

Interviews are not without their shortcomings, and Richard Nehboro has identified three common defects that can lead to inaccurate information about job applicants:

• Power Dynamics: The inherent power imbalance in the interview situation can impact the quality of information. The interviewer, being experienced and at ease, contrasts with the interviewee, who may be inexperienced and uneasy as the job holds significant importance for their livelihood, career, and self-image.
• Phoney Behavior: Candidates may adopt artificial or 'phoney' behavior in an attempt to present an image that they believe the interviewer will find acceptable. This can lead to situations where a qualified applicant's inauthentic presentation is evident, and a less qualified person projecting a genuine image may be offered the position.
• Open-ended Questions: Open-ended questions such as "Tell me about yourself" may make applicants feel uncomfortable, resulting in superficial answers or causing the interviewee to second-guess the interviewer. The interview should ideally focus on the job requirements and the interviewee's abilities and skills.

Additional limitations in the selection process through interviews include:

• Subjective Judgement: The interviewer's assessment may be influenced by personal prejudices, likes, dislikes, biases, etc.
• Dominance of a Single Characteristic: One standout characteristic of a candidate might disproportionately influence the overall evaluation of their personality.
• Interviewer's Experience: The interviewer's past experiences may create a close association between a specific trait and a particular personality type.
• Pseudo-Scientific Methods: Some managers may rely on pseudo-scientific methods for character analysis, guided by their own perceived abilities in this area.

Qualities of Effective Interviewers

Effective interviewers possess the following qualities:

• Job Knowledge: They should have a good understanding of the job or relevant topics related to the interviews.
• Emotional Maturity: A stable personality and emotional maturity are essential traits for effective interviewing.
• Sensitivity and Sympathy: Interviewers should be sensitive to the feelings of the interviewees and approach the process with a sympathetic attitude.
• Extroverted Behavior: A good interviewer should exhibit extroverted behavior and have both physical and mental stamina.

Guidelines for Improving Interviews

To enhance the effectiveness of interviews, the following guidelines should be considered:

• Definite Time Schedule: Interviews should have a well-defined time schedule, allowing ample time for the process without rushing.
• Avoid Impersonal Approach: An impersonal approach should be avoided, and the interview should incorporate a personal touch.
• Ensure Privacy: Interviews should take place in a private setting to maintain confidentiality.
• Active Listening: Interviewers should listen attentively to the applicant, and information collected should be carefully recorded.
• Observe Non-Verbal Cues: Pay attention not only to spoken words but also to the interviewee's facial expressions and mannerisms.
• Know When to End: Conclude the interview when sufficient information has been gathered.
• Provide Feedback: Clearly communicate the next steps to the interviewee, whether it involves further contact, visiting another person, or indicating that the organization may not be able to utilize their abilities.

Pseudo-Scientific Methods of Selection

In the past, and to some extent today, stereotypical impressions of personality were used for selection based on pseudo-scientific methods. These methods include:

• Phrenology: This method believes that the bumps on specific parts of the skull indicate the strength of different faculties.
• Physiognomy: Physiognomy suggests a correlation between facial features and psychological functions and behavior, such as associating thin lips with determination or broad jaws with tenacity.
• Graphology: Graphology posits a relationship between handwriting and personality. Applicants are sometimes asked to fill out application forms in their own handwriting as part of this method.

Physical Examination

Candidates who successfully clear one or more preliminary hurdles are subjected to a physical examination, either conducted by the organization's physician or an approved medical officer.
The purposes of this examination include:

• Assessing the candidate's fitness for the specific job.
• Identifying existing disabilities, maintaining a record for potential compensation claims.
• Preventing the employment of individuals with contagious diseases.
• Facilitating the placement of employable individuals with physical handicaps into suitable roles.

The physical examination encompasses various aspects, such as the applicant's medical history, physical measurements (height, weight), general examination of skin and musculature, assessment of special senses (visual and auditory activity), clinical examination of eyes, ears, nose, throat, and teeth, chest and lung examination, blood pressure and heart check-up, pathological tests of urine and blood, X-ray examination, and neuro-psychiatric examination if indicated.
The importance of these characteristics varies based on the job requirements, necessitating different weightages for an overall evaluation.
Following the physical examination, reference checks are conducted, where applicants provide the names and addresses of individuals familiar with them. Typically, these references include previous employers, friends, or professional colleagues. References are contacted via mail or phone, seeking their unbiased opinion on the candidate's suitability. Confidentiality is assured, but responses may vary, with some being favorable or receiving no response.
In addition to these steps, new employees should be introduced to co-workers and immediate supervisors to foster a sense of encouragement and prevent feelings of inadequacy compared to more experienced colleagues.

Conclusion

This unit has aimed to guide you through the entire selection process within an organization, starting from the initial idea of identifying a suitable candidate for a specific job to the final stage of selecting the most qualified person. The goal is to ensure that the chosen individual feels comfortable, at ease, and integrated into the organizational culture, alongside fellow employees and supervisors.
Throughout the unit, you have gained an understanding of the different stages involved in the selection process and the sequential order in which these stages are executed. It has provided insights into various alternatives and methods applicable to different activities, emphasizing the circumstances under which each approach is advisable. Moreover, the unit has highlighted the importance of taking precautions at each step to ensure that efforts yield the desired results.