Human Resources

HUMAN RESOURCE
PLANNING AND RECRUITMENT

TheHumanResource
PlanningProcess

Humanresourceplanningistheprocesswherebyorganizationsdeterminethe
staffingsupporttheywillneedtomeetbusinessneedsandcustomerdemands.
Thereareavarietyofconsiderationsthatimpactthisplanning,including
impendingretirementsandtransitions,theavailabilityofemployeeswithcertain
skillssetsandchangesintheenvironmentthatmayrequiretrainingforexisting
employees.

Humanresourcesplanningisoneoftheimportantpartofoverallhuman
resourcessystemoftheorganization.Thequalityofthissystemdecidesthe
overallhumanresourcesqualityintheorganization.
Itisveryimportanttostudyandevaluatehumanresourcesplanningprocessin
ordertounderstandtheoverallstatusofhumanresourcessysteminan
organization.Thisisaforwardlookingprocesswhichdecidesfuture
requirementandqualityofmanpowertoachieveorganizationalgoals

Forecasting
Forecastinghumanresourcedemandistheprocessofestimatingthefuture
humanresourcerequirementofrightqualityandrightnumber.
Demandforecastingisaffectedbyanumberofexternalandinternalfactors.
Intheabsenceofthisplanitisverydifficulttoprovidetherightkindof
peopleattherighttime.

FACTORS AFFECTING HR
DEMAND FORECASTING
HumanResourceDemandForecastingdependsonseveralfactors,someof
whicharegivenbelow.
 Employmenttrends;
 Replacementneeds;
 Productivity;
 Absenteeism;and
 Expansionandgrowth.

labor demand forecasting is about finding the right number of people,
with the right skills, at the right time.
Businesses don’t want a surplus of employees nor do they want gaps in
their employee pool which results in reduced productivity, performance
and profitability.
When business owners are considering labor demand forecasting,
their first questions are likely to be:

 Where are we going as a business – what is our intended growth in the next
3-5 years (or longer)?

 Will we be developing or expanding our services or product range?
 What technological advancements may affect what we do and will this affect
our need for differing staffing levels?
 What are our absenteeism and turnover rates like?
 Do we have sufficient management support to progress our objectives and
will they be behind the plans?

When undertaking labor demand forecasting there tend to be
two approaches – quantitative and qualitative.
The quantitative approach is often led by HR and computer
specialists who focus on this area and who use a variety of
statistical and mathematical approaches to determine the
needs, including indexation (forecasts determined in relation
to one or more fixed organizational indices) or trend analysis
(forecasts based on the study of past human resource
growth). These are often complex and expensive – but a real
need, especially for larger organizations.

Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) often prefer to rely on qualitative
approaches to determine labor demand forecasting. These approaches tend to use
experts within the business to determine future need i.e. the employees, managers and
business owners themselves.
Popular approaches include the Delphi Technique (uses problem solving and expert
consultation methods in a structured manner); managerial judgement (business
owners and managers assess their own labour requirements taking into account factors
such as retirements, promotions, new technologies etc); and the Nominal Group
Technique (using group processes to compare predictions on the staffing needs for the
future).

One of the major advantages of using qualitative methods, especially with SMEs
is that the techniques used involve the people that are likely to be affected by any
changes to the business in relation to human resources practices. Therefore,
there is likely to be greater commitment and acceptance of policies and practices
by those involved. One of the downsides however is the time and cost of
involving employees, managers and business owners in the processes.
Having a HR Consultant on hand, able to lead the process and adopt the most
appropriate processes to lead businesses through these processes, can help to
achieve effective forecasting of future employee needs.

Labor Supply
Analysis
Once a business has forecast what it’s future requirements are likely to be, it is then
important to determine what number of employees will be needed, with what skills
and when. Labor supply may come from within the organization or outside.
The first step therefore, is to do an analysis of the skills currently within the
business. If skills are not available internally, then they may need to be sought
externally. Once looking externally factors such as availability of skills within the job
market will be a major consideration.

Balancing the
Supply and
Demand
If a business is short of employees to achieve the business
objectives, effective recruitment strategies will need to be
devised. Considerations will then relate to job design,
career development, flexible work options, remuneration
and reward programs. If a business has too many
employees, effective strategies will need to be created to
manage retirements, redundancies and if appropriate,
dismissals.

Basedontheforecastsforlabordemandandsupply,theplannercan
comparethefigurestodeterminewhethertherewillbeashortageor
surplusoflaborforeachjobcategory.
Determiningexpectedshortagesandsurplusesallowstheorganizationto
planhowtoaddressthesechallenges.
Determining Labor
Surplus or Shortage

Options for Reducing a Surplus
Downsizing
Pay
reductions
Demotions
Transfers
Work
sharing
Hiring
freeze
Natural
attrition
Early
retirement
Retraining

Options for Avoiding a Shortage
Overtime
Temporary
employees
Outsourcing
Retrained
transfers
Turnover
reductions
New external
hires
Technological
innovation

Changing workforce demographics
Age distribution – considerations for businesses may include:
 Do we have many/any employees nearing retirement?
 Do we have the skills and experience within the business to take on the roles of
those retiring?
 What valuable information and experience do we need to capture before those
retiring leave the business?
 What succession plans do we have in place?
 How are we going to successfully manage and integrate those joining the
business who are already in their 60s + ?

Retirement isn’t necessarily at 65 years and the need to find employment and
gainfully employ older workers is going to be a major consideration for
individuals.
If younger people are heading overseas with prospects of better pay and work
experience, how will we find apprentices and those prepared to commit long
term to our business? How do we manage and create mutual benefit when
employing Generation Y?

Education
The level of education levels is rising significantly and employers need to know
how to address this. We need to keep our employees challenged and provide
opportunities to utilize the skills gained through training and education. If
positions are not available to highly qualified candidates, they will likely seek
employment with your competitors or go overseas.
Taking advantage of increased skill levels should be seized as an opportunity to
further develop the strengths and competitive advantage within your
business. Though it is important to understand that in demanding more
challenging positions, employees will likely seek career progression and salaries
to match.

Many more roles are being created within the service industry, with emphasis being on
technical and professional positions. In contract, there is a decrease in manufacturing
and agricultural roles. If businesses seek employees to work in manufacturing roles it is
important to determine where in the future these employees will come from.
How will businesses adapt remuneration packages, career development plans, re-design
jobs to ensure that jobs are satisfying, offer growth yet still ensure productivity and
profitability for businesses. The emphasis on flexible working options is also a major
consideration for businesses – be this in the form of allowing employees to work from
home or work flexible hours. Pluses may include reduced overheads, less time spent in
traffic when commuting to work and greater job satisfaction for many – though equally,
some employees may become isolated working on their own, which could result in
decreased job satisfaction and reduced productivity.
Job Trends

Goal setting and
Strategic Planning

Drawing up action plans and setting goals are the natural follow-
up measures after evolving strategies. The next step is framing
action plans and involving all employees so that they can
responsibly fulfill their part towards accomplishing the set goals.
Business organizations are fully aware that all business goals – be
they short term or long term – have to be achieved by the
employees or rather the human resources at their command.

A sense of dedication and commitment on the part of
each individual employee is, therefore, crucial for a company
to achieve its business goals. It is the ultimate responsibility
of the HR managers to instill in all employees a spirit of
oneness and a feeling of belonging to the company.
HR management professionals have increasingly begun to
realize this type of emotional integration among employees is
the key to the organization's success.

 The purpose of setting specific numerical goals is to focus attention on the
problem and provide a basis for measuring the organization’s success in
addressing labor shortages and surpluses.
 The goals should come directly from the analysis of supply and demand.
 For each goal, the organization must choose one or more human resource
strategies.
 Organizations should retain and attract employees who provide a core
competency (what makes it better than competitors)

Downsizing in any business is generally not viewed by
employees or management as a positive practice, although it
can result in many positives, such as staying in business, cost
savings and business strength. Managers are loathe to be the
ones to carry out the process and typically leave this
unwelcome duty to human resources professionals. Company
downsizing can cause rising stress levels and increased
workloads for HR departments. With knowledge and skill,
however, HR can successfully navigate through workforce
layoffs.

• Downsizing strategy – strategy to improve an
organization’s efficiency by reducing the
workforce, redesigning the work, or changing the
systems of the organization
Survivors – employees remaining with an
organization after a downsizing
Downsizing- activities undertaken to improve
organizational efficiency, productivity, and/or
competitiveness that affect the size of the firm's
workforce, it's costs , and it's work processes.

• Alternatives to Downsizing:
- Hiring freeze
- Mandatory vacation
- Reducing the workweek
- Reducing overtime
- Reducing salaries (and extending if necessary)
- Short-term facility shutdowns
- Obtaining cost-reduction ideas from employees
- Voluntary sabbaticals
- Lending employees
- Exit incentives

• Planning for Downsizing
• If an organization has decided to embark on a downsizing
strategy, planning is essential. Here are some key issues:
-Determining how many people will lose their jobs
-Determining who will be let go; and on what basis
(seniority, performance, or potential)
-Determining how the reduction will be carried out; which
methods will be used (attrition, early retirement,
severance, layoffs or termination)
-Determining the legal consequences; will there be
violations (wrongful dismissal, employment standards ,
collective agreement or human rights)

-Designing current and future work plans (Represents a key
challenge for the organization and is frequently neglected)
-Implementing the decision
-Performing follow-up evaluation and assessment of the downsizing
efforts (This step is crucial, but is often ignored)
Downsizing and restructure has a huge impact on those employees
left. Human Resources and the perception employees have.
Personally I had to downsize several employees in 2011 and the
impact on HR was very negitive. Though most employees
understand it may be required it still has a negitive impact on the HR
department and how other see you.

• Survivor Reactions:
There is considerable evidence that downsizing may produce a number of
dysfunctional behaviours among the employees who remain with the
organization, such as:
- Negative attitudes and behaviours
- Reduced performance capabilities
- Lower organizational productivity
• A study has also found that a higher level of job insecurity was associated with:
- Less effort to ensure that the quality of the individual's work was higher than
his or her peers
- A lower score on "organizational citizenship behaviour" (which involves
engaging in activities such as volunteering for thingsnot required by the
organization or helping out new employees)
- Lower organizational loyalty (commitment to the organization)
- Higher levels of career loyalty (a focus on the individual's career)
- More job-search behaviour (seeking alternative employment)

• Downsizing and "High Involvement" HRM
High Involvement Human Resource Management-a commitment to human
resource management practices that treat people as assets.
Human resources experts have a considerable role to play in downsizing
and restructuring:
Advising on restructuring the organization to maximize productivity and
retain quality performers.
• Develop skill inventories and planning charts to evaluate the impact of
downsizing on HR needs and projected capabilities.
• Communicating the downsizing decision effectively.
• Evaluating the downsizing program after completion. Includes the
assessment of who left the organization and who remains. Key issues
include job design and redesign, worker adjustment to change, the need
for employee counselling, organizational communication and a review of
the appropriateness of HRM policies and programs.

• Human Costs of Downsizing: As Cascio suggests, most
reduction programs fail to meet their objectives: "Study
after study shows that following a downsizing, surviving
employees become narrow-minded, self-absorbed, and
risk averse. Morale sinks, productivity drops, and survivors
distrust management."
There are some benefits of losing a job:
Time to reflect
• Grow new ideas, direction and career plan
• Get out of a job that was substandard
• Spend more time with family and hobbies

EARLY RETIREMENT
PROGRAMS AND
BUYOUTS

A retirement buyout is a form of early retirement package
that employers occasionally offer workers. Typically, they
are given to older workers already nearing retirement.
Buyouts amount to compensation packages designed to
provide incentives for employees to retire ahead of
schedule. Companies often create retirement buyouts for
older employees to reduce their payroll, removing those
who have earned larger compensation packages because of
their tenure and experience.

Voluntary or Forced
Retirement buyouts typically are voluntary, but they can be forced,
too. In a voluntary retirement buyout, an organization offers
compensation incentives to employees who have the option of
taking or leaving the offer. The buyout offers might be tailored to
specific employees, or they might be
applied to any employee that fits a certain
profile. The buyout offers might be
available for only a short period of time,
or they might be part of an ongoing
program. Forced retirement buyouts are
more akin to layoffs in that workers must
accept the buyouts. However, the design of
the buyout typically gives workers some of
the benefits of retirement, including years
of credit toward pension benefits, and the
workers targeted are nearing retirement.

Financial Impact
The most significant potential benefit of a retirement buyout is the
financial reward that accompanies it. Retirement buyouts tend to be
generous because employers are hoping to persuade workers to
accept payments and sacrifice future compensation. The size of a
buyout offer's financial component typically is tied to a worker's
years of experience at an organization. Compensation can come in
the form of a lump sum or an annuity. The drawback is that workers
have to give up the security and size of their current salary earlier
than they likely had planned.

Health Insurance Implications
Organizations differ in the way that they handle health insurance
coverage for retirement buyout candidates. Some organizations
provide low-cost or no-cost health insurance as part of retirement
buyout offers, extending coverage until the workers turn 65 years
old and become eligible for Medicare, according to
MyRetirementPaycheck.org, a website of the National Endowment
for Financial Education. However, other organizations do not offer
aid for health insurance costs in their buyout packages, creating a
new financial burden for the retirees.

Layoff Risk
A retirement buyout offer might not make sense for some
employees, but declining a retirement buyout carries a certain risk.
In particular, retirement buyouts sometimes are strategic steps that
a company takes when it is struggling and attempting to cut costs.
The buyout offer could prove to be one of multiple workforce
reduction steps. Retirement buyouts do not always precede a wider
reduction in staff, but in some cases substantial retirement buyouts
do precede layoffs. Workers, therefore, face the risk of turning
town a retirement buyout offer that is superior to the severance
package that comes with later layoffs.

 Temporary employees are hired to assist employers to meet business
demands yet allow the employer to avoid the cost of hiring a regular
employee. Sometimes, it is the expectation of the employer that if the
temporary employee is successful, the employer will hire the temporary
employee.
 A temporary employee who demonstrates a good work ethic, fits the
company culture, learns quickly, regularly lends a helping hand, and doesn't
need a manager to tell her what to do next, may receive an offer of
employment.
 This is a win for both the employer and the temporary employee.
 Most frequently, though, hiring temporary employees serves a business
purpose for the company and the objective is to hire temps rather than taking
on the cost of a regular employee.

 In some instances, the temporary employee may want to work part-time
without committing to a full time job within a company.
 Temporary employees, who are pursuing a career as a freelance writer or
developing their own product with the intent to start a company, are good
prospects as temporary employees.
 Business purposes include: seasonal customer demand, temporary surges in
manufacturing orders, an employee on sick or maternity leave, and short-
term, clearly defined work such as that of a census worker.
 Temporary employees allow employers to maintain a cushion of some job
security in employment for regular workers. Employers can let the temporary
employees go first in a business or economic downturn.

 Temporary employees work part or full-time. They rarely receive benefits or the
job security afforded regular staff. A temporary assignment can end at any time
depending on the employer’s needs.
 In other ways, temporary employees are often treated like regular employees and
attend company meetings and events.
 When using temporary employees or seasonal employees, do not feel that you
are compelled to hire them just because they’ve worked for you for ninety days
or more. In fact, examine the success of a temp at thirty days.
 If you are not certain that he will make a superior employee, replace him with
another temp. Your supervisors tend to settle for good enough because the temp
comes to work every day and does the job.

 Employers will experience increased difficulty when scheduling temporary
employees due to the rules of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Here's
a summary of how it affects how you schedule temporary employees and
how many days they can work before they are eligible for health care through
the temporary employer.
 Temporary employees are hired directly by the company or they are obtained
from a temporary staffing agency. If an agency provides the temporary
employee, the employer pays a fee over and above the compensation
collected by the employee.
 Temporary employees, who work through an agency, may have paid benefits
such as health care insurance. These employees remain the employee of the
agency, though, not the employee of the company where they are placed.

Outsourcing refers to an organization contracting work out to a 3rd
party, while offshoring refers to getting work done in a different
country, usually to leverage cost advantages. It's possible to
outsource work but not offshore it; for example, hiring an outside
law firm to review contracts instead of maintaining an in-house staff
of lawyers. It is also possible to offshore work but not outsource it;
for example, a Dell customer service center in India to serve
American clients. Offshore outsourcing is the practice of hiring a
vendor to do the work offshore, usually to lower costs and take
advantage of the vendor's expertise, economies of scale, and large
and scalable labor pool.

Benefits
There are several reasons for companies to both offshore and outsource.
Outsourcing Benefits
 Why do companies outsource? There are several reasons why a company
might outsource. While this can be a politically sensitive topic, management
experts generally agree that outsourcing - when done right - increases
competitive advantage with a natural division of labor that evolves in any
society. Reasons for outsourcing include:
 Cost advantage: Costs are arguably the chief motivation behind outsourcing.
Often companies find that contracting work out to a 3rd party is cheaper.

 Focus on core competency: There are a lot of business functions in a company.
For example, human resources, information technology, manufacturing, sales,
marketing, payroll, accounting, finance, security, transportation and logistics
among others. Most of these are not "core" to the company. A "core" activity is
one which offers the company competitive advantage over its competitors. It is
an activity that the company does better than the competition, which is the
main reason its customers do business with the company. Having to handle
non-core functions is a distraction, so many companies outsource them.
 Quality and Capability: Often companies don't have in-house expertise for
certain activities. In these cases, it is more efficient to outsource, and resulting
products and services tend to be of higher quality when provided by
outsourcing vendors.

 Labor flexibility: Outsourcing allows a company to ramping up
and down quickly as needed. For example, a company may
need a large number software programming experts for 6-8
months to develop an application. It would be infeasible to
hire people for only 6 months. Outsourcing, however, can
provide flexibility so the company does not have to worry
about hiring and firing.

Offshoring is when a business relocates or moves some or part of
its operations to another country. Outsourcing involves contracting
with another company (onshore or offshore) to perform some
business-related task. For example, a company may decide to
outsource its accounting operations to a company that specializes
in accounting, rather than have an in-house department perform
this function. Thus a company can outsource the accounting
department, and if the function operates in another country, this
would also be offshoring. The focus of this chapter will be on the
HRM function when work is offshored.

Outsourcing refers to an organization contracting work out to a 3rd party,
while offshoring refers to getting work done in a different country, usually to
leverage cost advantages. It's possible to outsource work but not offshore it; for
example, hiring an outside law firm to review contracts instead of maintaining an in-
house staff of lawyers. It is also possible to offshore work but not outsource it; for
example, a Dell customer service center in India to serve American clients. Offshore
outsourcing is the practice of hiring a vendor to do the work offshore, usually to
lower costs and take advantage of the vendor's expertise, economies of scale, and
large and scalable labor pool.

Benefits of offshoring
Offshoring provides many of the same benefits as outsourcing,
including:
Cost savings: Companies usually offshore manufacturing or
services to developing countries where wages are low, thus
resulting in cost savings. These savings are passed on to the
customers, shareholders and managers of these companies.

 Skills: The competitive advantage of nations often means that some countries or
regions develop a much better ecosystem for certain types of industries. This
means there is better availability of skilled human resources in that region for
specific types of tasks. For example, India and the Phillipines have a large pool
of English-speaking, college educated youth; as well as a mature training
infrastructure; that makes it ideal for business process outsourcing. Therefore,
many companies choose to offshore certain business functions (e.g. call centers
for customer support) to these locations. These can either be captive or
outsourced.
 Note that you do not need to outsource in order to offshore. Captive offshore
units are set up to leverage the benefits of offshoring without having to
outsource to vendors. This is usually done when companies believe that their
offshore centers for production/service will provide them with an edge over the
competition.

Risks and Criticism
 Offshoring and outsourcing have both been subject to a lot of criticism, especially from
a political standpoint. Politicians and laid-off workers often blame offshoring for
"stealing jobs". Most economists, however, agree that offshoring lowers costs for
companies and passes on benefits to consumers and shareholders.
 There are, however, risks associated with offshoring. These include project failure due
to poor communication; civil or political unrest impacting production or service
delivery; arbitrary changes in economic policy of governments may force unncessary
restrictions on MNCs; and poor infrastructure in the developing country
may affectquality or timeliness.
 While the benefits of outsourcing and offshoring largely overlap, they do not face the
same disadvantages. Outsourcing, when done within the country, does not face the
same political criticism of loss of jobs. Risks associated with outsourcing can largely be
attributed to the vendor's lack of familiarity with the client's business. Another risk is a
lack of alignment of long-term business objectives of the client and the vendor.

Offshoring Outsourcing
Definition Offshoring means
getting work done in
a different country.
Outsourcing refers to contracting work out to
an external organization.
Risks and
criticism
Offshoring is often
criticized for
transferring jobs to
other countries.
Other risks include
geopolitical risk,
language differences
and poor
communication etc.
Risks of outsourcing include misaligned
interests of clients and vendors, increased
reliance on third parties, lack of in-house
knowledge of critical (though not necessarily
core) business operations etc.
Benefits Benefits of
offshoring are
usually lower costs,
better availability of
skilled people, and
getting work done
faster through a
global talent pool.
Usually companies outsource to take
advantage of specialized skills, cost
efficiencies and labor flexibility.

IMPLEMENTING AND EVALUATING THE HR PLAN
 When implementing the HR strategy, the organization must hold some
individual accountable for achieving the goals.
 That person must also have the authority and resources needed to
accomplish those goals.
 Regular progress reports should be issued.
 The evaluation of results should not only look at the actual numbers, but
should also identify which parts of the planning process contributed to
success or failure.

 HR RECRUITMENT PROCESS
 The role of human resource recruitment is to build a supply of
potential new hires that the organization can draw on if the
need arises.
 Recruiting: any activity carried on by the organization with the
primary purpose of identifying and attracting potential
employees.
 Recruitment Sources: Internal Sources
 Job Posting: the process of communicating information about a
job vacancy:

On company bulletin boards
In employee publications
On corporate intranets
Anywhere else the organization
communicates with employees

PART II THE
HUMAN
RESOURCES
RECRUITMENT
PROCESS

Recruiting Human Resources
• The role of human resource recruitment is to
build a supply of potential new hires that the
organization can draw on if the need arises.
• Recruiting: any activity carried on by the
organization with the primary purpose of
identifying and attracting potential
employees.

Figure 5.2: Three Aspects of Recruiting

PERSONNEL POLICIES
The role of human resource recruitment is to
build a supply of potential new hires that the
organization can draw on if the need arises.
Recruiting: any activity carried on by the
organization with the primary purpose of
identifying and attracting potential employees.

Personnel Policies
 An organization’s personnel policies are its decisions about how it will
carry out human resource management, including how it will fill job
vacancies.
 Human resource policies are the formal rules and guidelines that
businesses put in place to hire, train, assess, and reward the members of
their workforce.
 Each of these strategies has a particular set of pros and cons. Policies
should be evaluated as to their ability to support the organization’s long-
term strategy.

Personnel
Policies
Internal versus
external recruiting
Lead-the-market pay
strategies
Employment-at-will
policies
Image advertising
Several personnel
policies are
especially relevant
to recruitment:

Role of Personnel Policies
There are numerous laws and regulations which regulate the nature of the
relationship between an employee (and volunteer, in the case of nonprofits)
and his or her organization. They are intended primarily to ensure that
everyone is treated fairly and equitably regardless of their race, creed, color or
sexual orientation. They are intended to ensure that the treatment of
employees and volunteers is based primarily on their job performance.
Common types of activities guided by the laws and regulations are, for example,
hiring and firing, benefits and compensation, affirmative action, rights of
privacy, discrimination and harassment, and wrongful termination.

One of the fastest growing types of lawsuits brought by employees
against their organizations is wrongful termination of employment.
Other common types of lawsuits are in regard to allegations of
discrimination and harassment. It is far better for organizations first
to ensure that these types of improper types of behaviors do not
occur, than to have to defend themselves in courts of law. The best
way to ensure occurrence of proper behaviors is to enact
comprehensive guidelines regarding how employees and volunteers
are treated in the workplace. These general guidelines are called
personnel policies. Specific sequences of activities resulting from the
guidelines are often called procedures.

Sample List of Personnel Policies
The following is a sample list of policies. Consider the following list to get an
impression of some of the major policies in an organization. This list is by no means
definitive for every organization. The policies developed by an one organization
depend on the nature and needs of the organization.
Work Schedule, Work day hours , Lunch periods
Holidays
Vacation
Sick Time
Personal Leave
Leave of Absence
Severe Weather
Workers' Compensation Information and
Procedures
When there is an injury or accident on the job
What is covered under Workers' Compensation
Type of injury covered by Worker's Compensation
Insurance
Medical expenses resulting from a work-related injury

Training on Policies
If employees’ or volunteers’ (in the case of nonprofits) behaviors do not conform to
the written personnel policies for your organization, and if an employee or volunteer
sues your organization, then courts will consider your written policies to be
superseded (or replaced) by your employees’ or volunteers’ actual behaviors that
you appeared to be permitting to occur.
For example, if policies specified that employees should not discriminate on the
basis of race, creed or color, yet there was a history of your employees clearly
discriminating against other employees on that basis, then courts will conclude that
your policies are to permit discrimination. Therefore, it is critical that employees and
volunteers have clear understanding of each personnel policy and that their
behaviors conform to those policies. The best way to accomplish that understanding
if for employees and volunteers to be trained on the policies and for their
supervisors to always be sure that policies are followed.

 All employees and volunteers receive an orientation that includes overview of
the policies and procedures.
 All employees and volunteers sign a document that indicates that they have
reviewed the policies and will act in accordance with them.
 Supervisors regularly issue reminders to employees and volunteers about key
policies.
 All supervisors themselves act in accordance with the policies.
 Any violation of terms of the policies is immediately addressed with
reprimand or termination of the employee or volunteer, depending on the
nature of the violation.

INTERNAL VERSUS
EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT

Recruiting employees can be a somewhat precarious process.
With the exorbitant cost of hiring and training an employee
with job and soft skills matching the job description, making a
mistake in this arena can substantially harm net profit for the
entire year. One major consideration in recruitment is whether
to hire externally or promote from within your organization.
There are advantages to either method of filling openings

Internal Recruitment
An internal recruitment strategy is characterized by promoting
employees from within an organization to fill upcoming positions.
Many firms use such devices as job posting boards, email flashes,
intranet posts and fliers to advise existing employees of positions they
may vie for. This recruitment may be in the form of creating and
shuffling temporary teams to fill certain tasks or may be permanent
changes. Internal recruitment may be primarily horizontal or it may
be for promotions in which the promoted employee's former position
may not be filled.

• Advantages of Internal Recruitment
Internal recruitment has some natural advantages. You do not have to
"reinvent the wheel" with an internal recruit. He will likely understand
your business model, your culture and your processes before assuming
the new position. The resulting outcome is that he will assimilate into
the new position faster than a new employee who will need to be
trained on the many formalities of your firm from benefits to where
your fire exits are before he can begin job-specific training. These
employees take longer to find, longer to train, more money to prepare
for the job and may not fully integrate into your culture after all of the
training process. Often, the opportunity to advance provides a strong
motivation in a firm that employs a strong internal recruitment
strategy.

External Recruitment
An external recruitment strategy is one which a human resources department
will systematically search the employee pool outside its own employees to fill
positions. Many firms will use advertisements in newspapers, job search
websites, job fairs and referrals from current employees to fill positions. Some
companies will utilize a temporary employee agency to fill positions that can
be completed quickly and with less company-specific skill required to
complete the desired task. Other firms will use headhunters or hiring
consultants to seek, screen and deliver

Advantages of External Recruitment
External recruitment also has some substantial advantages. Unlike internal recruits, you
are getting an inflow of often completely new ideas with an employee who has not been
exposed or overexposed to your corporate culture. An outside prospect often yields new
ideas. She may bring information or methodologies from her former employer that can be
integrated into your best practices. Internal job pools may cause problems with a larger
company's diversity mix, and lead to problems with the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission in terms of promoting a diverse workplace. External job recruiting allows for
rebalancing in this realm if needed. External recruiting may lead to team stability, as teams
may remain intact when hiring externally.

EXTRINSIC AND
INTRINSIC REWARDS

An intrinsic reward is an intangible award of
recognition, a sense of achievement, or a conscious
satisfaction. For example, it is the knowledge that you
did something right, or you helped someone and made
their day better. Because intrinsic rewards are
intangible, they usually arise from within the person
who is doing the activity or behavior. So “intrinsic” in
this case means the reward is intrinsic to the person
doing the activity or behavior.

An extrinsic reward is an award that is tangible or physically given to you for
accomplishing something. It is a tangible recognition of ones endeavor. For
example, it’s a certificate of accomplishment, a trophy or medal for winning the
race, a badge or points for doing something right, or even a monetary reward for
doing your job. Because extrinsic rewards are tangible, they are usually given to
the person doing the activity; as such, they are typically not from within the
person. Therefore, extrinsic rewards means the reward is extrinsic to the
performer of the activity or behavior
Here is an important distinction that I like to emphasize. When talking about
rewards, intrinsic rewards are those that originate from within the person, and
extrinsic rewards are those that originate from something beyond the person.

Importance of Effective
Recruitment & Selection

Employing the right person for your small business
might be the most important part of your venture. An
effective recruitment and selection process reduces
turnover. These processes match up the right person
with the right job skills. Interviews and background
checks ensure that you employ a candidate who is
reliable and carries out the objectives you planned for
providing quality services and goods to your
customers.

Recruitment
It is important to list the skills your new hire
will need to fulfill his duties. You get much
better results in your recruitment process if
you advertise specific criteria that are relevant
to the job. Include all necessary skills, and
include a list of desired skills that are not
necessary but that would enhance the
candidate's chances. If you fail to do this, you
might end up with a low-quality pool of
candidates and wind up with limited choices to
fill the open position.

Screening and Interview Process
Your screening process provides a vital opportunity for you to focus on
what candidates can offer your company. It is important that you
screen heavily, either by using your own judgment or by enlisting the
help of managers you trust. The interviewer must know what the job is
and what will be required for a new hire to perform well. The interview
process also allows you the opportunity to express your company’s
vision, goals and needs. It is vital that the interview elicits responses
from applicants that can be measured against your expectations for the
position. If you don’t use the interview to effectively eliminate
applicants who don’t fit into your company culture, you might find
yourself dealing with turnover, confusion and disgruntled employees.

Selection
When you choose a candidate based upon the qualifications
demonstrated in the resume, the interview, employment
history and background check, you will land the best fit for
the position. Base your decisions about a specific candidate
upon specific evidence rather than any gut instincts. If you
hire people who can do the job instead of people you
merely like, you will have higher productivity and quality in
your products or services.

The Long Haul
Your goal in hiring responsible and reliable employees should be
to make your small business profitable and efficient on a long-
term basis. The recruitment and selection process is the time
you not only identify a candidate who has the experience and
aptitude to do the job that you are looking to fill, but also to find
someone who shares and endorses your company’s core values.
The candidate will need to fit in well within your company’s
culture. Your selection and recruitment process should provide
you with an employee who adapts and works well with others in
your small business. Failure to recruit and select for the long
term can result in high turnover.

• Reputation
When you effectively recruit and select the right employee,
there is a domino effect. Your new hire will do her job well.
Employees will see that you make wise decisions. You will gain
respect from your workforce, and you will get higher productivity
as a result of that respect. This positive attitude will affect the
quality of your products or services, and ultimately, your
customers' perceptions of your company.

Recruiting yield pyramid
The historical arithmetic relationships between
recruitment leads and invitees, invitees and
interviews, interviews and offers made, and
offers made and offers accepted

The balanced selection of the recruitment sources to be used in the
organization is a key success factor for the effective recruitment process. The
organization can choose from many recruitment sources as it can optimize the
recruitment process. The recruitment sources drive the costs, length and
quality of the job candidates (including the number of job resumes needed to
handle with).
The organization has to choose the recruitment sources, which work best for
the industry. The organization has to find the unique recruitment sources for
the key job positions as it attracts the best job candidates sooner than the
competitors in the same industry, location and function.

Recruitment Sources Evolution
Some years ago, the selection of the recruitment sources was easy. The web job
boards were not in place and newspaper job advertising was ruling the game. It has
changed so much from those times. Almost every company had a specific recruitment
agency, which was able to handle the newspaper job advertising.

Recruitment Sources: Internal Sources
• Job Posting: the process of communicating
information about a job vacancy:
– On company bulletin boards
– In employee publications
– On corporate intranets
– Anywhere else the organization communicates
with employees

Advantages of Internal Sources
1. It generates applicants who are well known to
the organization.
2. These applicants are relatively knowledgeable
about the organization’s vacancies, which
minimizes the possibility of unrealistic job
expectations.
3. Filling vacancies through internal recruiting is
generally cheaper and faster than looking
outside the organization.

One in Three Positions Are
Filled with Insiders

Recruitment Sources: External Sources
Direct applicants
Referrals
Advertisements in
newspapers and
magazines
Electronic recruiting
Public employment
agencies
Private employment
agencies
Colleges and
universities

Figure 5.3: External Recruiting Sources –
Percentage of Employees Hired

The traditional recruitment sources were:
Newspaper Job Advertising
Recruitment Agencies (Job Agencies)
Headhunters (Executive Search)
Referral (Employee’s Recommendations)
The modern recruitment sources are:
Web Job Boards
LinkedIn
Professional Communities Web Sites
Facebook

Traditional versus Modern Recruitment Sources
The traditional recruitment sources are not dead. They still deliver the job
candidates, and they help to build a quality brand name on the job market.
The newspaper advertising is not the best recruitment source anymore, but
it works well for many job positions.
The modern recruitment sources provide the dynamic job candidate who
are familiar with modern technologies. On the other hand, HR Recruiters
have to be competent to use modern technologies, and they have to learn
the art of digging specialized web sites to attract the best talents from them.
There is no winning recruitment source at the moment. Many HR Recruiters
believed the Recruitment Agencies will disappear quickly. They are still with
us. The recruitment agencies still deliverer job candidates to companies.

Here are the top 10 recruitment sources your company should continuously leverage
to reach the best talent out there.
Job Boards. Perhaps one of the main recruitment sources, job boards have grown
thanks to the ease of online job searches. Think of where your talent pool would go
to find a job—if you’re looking for a graphic designer, post your job on boards that
designers usually visit. Post jobs in general job boards as well, especially when
looking for entry-level candidates, as they tend to go there first.
Company Website. Posting all job opportunities on your company’s website is a
given. Whether candidates arrive there directly or are directed there from another
site, this is the place where all your recruiting lives. On your own website, you can
post not only job openings but also FAQ’s about working at your company, like
benefits offered and anything that helps your company stand out.

Social Media. LinkedIn, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, among others—these social media
networks are key recruiting sources. Nowadays most candidates are on one or all of
these networks, making them a perfect place to promote your job openings. Yet social
media is not just for posting jobs; it also offers an opportunity for a conversation. It’s a
place where you can promote your company’s brand and contribute insightful
information about your company and industry. Once you build a foundation with your
followers, they’ll be more likely to come directly to you when seeking a new job.
Referrals. One of the fastest growing recruiting sources out there is employee referrals.
Tapping into your existing workforce to get new talent is a smart strategy. Consider
offering referral incentives, like bonuses. Make sure your employees know that they
can refer candidates to current openings. Establish a system for doing so, whether it’s
having the employee submitting the candidate’s resume for him or specifically asking
for an employee referral in all your job applications.

Direct Contact. Similar to employee referrals, direct contact leverages current employees
specifically going after a candidate. This usually works well with senior-level staff, since
they know very well what the company is looking for and they have wide professional
networks. These employees seek out candidates, cultivate relationships, and bring them in
as referrals when the right time comes.
Temp-to-Hires. Another way to bring in new employees is through temporary or part-time
employment first. Portals that help you find temporary and seasonal employees can all be
seen as a recruiting source. Consider offering good temps and contingent employees a
permanent position in your company.
Career Fairs. Having a company presence at career fairs puts you in the center of a pool of
candidates. This works better if you’re looking for candidates with a certain skill set—like
software development or graphic design—as industry-specific career fairs tend to yield
more potential candidates. Also consider career fairs at colleges and universities, which
offer a great opportunity to reach a pool of potential entry-level candidates.

Agency. Depending on your company’s needs, you may require the help of a recruiting
agency. Recruiting agencies can be cost-effective options for finding top candidates
from wider talent pools, or to find heavily sought-after candidates in more specialized
industries. When considering the services of a recruiting agency, take time to weigh
the pros and cons, since for some companies it’s not worth the cost.
Newspapers. Although they’re old school, print job ads are still playing a role in the
recruiting scene, especially considering the papers’ online presence. Depending on the
job and the industry, more of the candidates you’re looking for may rely on print job
ads when searching for openings. More so, however, is the possibility of reaching a
wider audience by posting ads in the print edition and posting them on the
newspaper’s website as well.
Public employment offices. The U.S. Department of Labor offers job
placement services to some categories of workers free of charge. In many cases, public
employment offices will provide small businesses with lists of pre-screened applicants
for a certain opening.

Private employment agencies. These organizations match job seekers with potential
employers for a fee, usually paid by the employer once a candidate is hired.
Schools and colleges. Depending on the type of position to be filled, high schools, trade
and vocational schools, colleges, and universities can be good sources of candidates.
Students are particularly good candidates for part-time positions or those in which prior
experience is not needed. College recruiting is generally handled through a placement
office. Companies usually send a representative to campus twice per year to meet with
and interview students. Pinsker emphasizes that business owners should consider college
recruiting as an opportunity to promote their company to both students and faculty.
Alumni placement offices. Many colleges keep resumes on file for alumni who are seeking
job or career changes. Alumni files can be a good source for companies seeking educated
candidates with more work experience than recent graduates generally have.
Understanding what recruiting sources are at your disposal and how to leverage them is
a key first step to maximizing your talent acquisition. Which one of these sources seems
to work best for your company? Have you successfully tried others?

RECRUITING A MORE DIVERSE
WORKFORCE

No matter what the reasons are for why employers are
trying to bolster diversity in the workplace, one thing is
certain: Recruiting minorities is a crucial challenge.
Workforce Diversity: encompasses race and ethnicity,
gender, socioeconomic status, sexual identification and
orientation, philosophy, geography, and physical ability

SUPERVISING OLDER WORKERS
The work force is aging as baby boomer move toward
retirement. Gen X managers need to learn how to motivate and
manage this talent pool of older workers. Both generations have
very different views of the other and will need to learn how the
other generation operates. It is up to the managers, Gen X or
otherwise, to take the lead and create the climate in which older
workers will remain engaged and productive.
Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Varies
Here's How:

Throw out all your assumptions.
You may think older workers are harder workers or that they are difficult to train. Get rid of
your stereotypes. Your older workers are individuals just like everyone else in your group.
Treat them as such.
Remember the range of ages.
You wouldn't treat a seasoned manager of 35 the same as a 21-year old right out of college.
Don't think the 15 year gap is any less in your older workers. A worker at 55 and a worker at
70 have different goals and needs. As a manager, you may need to look at groups getting
ready to retire (55-62), retirement age and still working (62-70), and older worker who
want to keep active or who need to work (70+). Each group presents different management
challenges.

Communicate, communicate, communicate
Don't assume that the older worker knows what you expect of them. They don't have the
same background as you. Be very clear what you want done and what the measurements
of completion and of success will be. "Bill, take care of that for me" is not enough. Try "Bill,
I need you to prepare the department's budget for the next fiscal year. Use the numbers
from last year and add 10% on everything except training which should go up 15%. I need it
by Tuesday".
Value their life experience.
Your older worker have been around. They have seen a lot. They have done a lot. Recognize
the value of this experience. Learn from it. Encourage the younger members of your team
to learn from it. The lessons from the "school of hard knocks" are invaluable.
Train them.
Older workers need training as much as younger workers - just as much, just as often. The
subject of the training may be different, but the need is the same. And don't believe that
older workers can't be trained. They are just as receptive as their younger peers.

Meet their security needs.
Older workers probably need benefits more than the younger workers. They need
medical coverage, vision care, and financial planning. Make sure your company's benefits
plan meets their needs too.
Motivate them.
Any manager's key job is to motivate their employees. Older workers have different
motivational "hot buttons" than their younger counterparts. Opportunity for
advancement is probably less important than the recognition of a job well done, but see
step #1 above.
You don't have to "be the boss".
The older workers grew up in a hierarchical society. They know you are the boss. Most of
them were bosses at some point too. Get on with leading the department and don't
waste time posturing. It won't impress them anyway. They've seen it all before.

Be flexible.
Your older workers, depending on age group (see #2 above) may want flexible hours or
a shorter work week. For those of them that need that, be willing to be flexible. You
need their talent and technical skill so do what you need to to keep it available. Do not,
however, assume that all older workers want to go home early. Some may be
motivated by working the same long, hard hours that they have always done.
Use them as mentors.
Let them coach and encourage the younger workers. Most older workers have a wealth
of knowledge and experience that they would love to pass on. Give them the
opportunity to do so and your entire organization will benefit.

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
 Welfare-to-work
 Developing pre-training programs to overcome
difficulties in hiring and assimilating persons previously
on welfare.
 The disabled
 Developing resources and policies to recruit and
integrate disable persons into the workforce.

Selection Method
Standards for Evaluation
Purposes

 Reliability
 Validity
 Generalizability
 Utility
 Legality
Selection Method Standards for Evaluation
Purposes

Selection Method Standard:
“Reliability”
 Reliability is the degree to which a measure of
physical or cognitive abilities, or traits, is free from
random error.
 Involves selecting applicants based from their
characteristics that the organization is looking for.
 It uses statistical tools and graphs to test
relationships between sets of numbers .
 A perfect positive relationship equals +1.0
 A perfect negative relationship equals - 1.0

“Reliability”
 Examples of Reliability Standards:
 Physical Characteristics (Height, Strength or
Endurance)
 Cognitive Abilities (Mathematical Ability or Verbal
Reasoning Capacity)
 Personality (Initiative or Integrity)

“Validity”
 Validity is the extent to which a performance
measure assesses all the relevant—and only the
relevant—aspects of job performance.
 The measure has the to be RELIABLE (e.g. Height) if
it is to have any VALIDITY.

“Validity”
 Criterion-related validation is a method of
establishing the validity of a personnel selection
method by showing a substantial correlation
between test scores and job-performance scores.
There are two types:
 Predictive validation – A study that seeks to establish an
empirical relationship between applicants’ test scores and
their eventual performance on the job.
 Concurrent validation – A test administered to all people
currently in a job.

“Validity”
 Predictive validation is superior to concurrent
validation for three reasons:
 Job applicants are typically motivated to perform well on the
tests than are current employees.
 Current employees have learned many things on the job that
applicants have not yet learned.
 Current employees tend to be homogeneous.

“Validity”
 Content validation is a test-validation strategy
performed by demonstrating that the items,
questions, or problems posed by a test are a
representative sample of the kinds of situations or
problems that occur on the job.
 Best for small samples
 Content validity is achieved primarily through a process
of expert judgment

“Generalizability”
 Generalizability is the degree to which the validity
of a selection method established in one context
extends to other contexts.
 Three contexts include:
 different situations
 different samples of people
 different time periods

 It was once believed that validity coefficients were
situationally specific—that is, the level of correlation
between test and performance would vary as one
went from one organization to another.

 It was also believed that tests showed differential
subgroup validity, which meant that the validity
coefficients for any test-job performance pair was
different for people of different races or genders.

 Validity generalization stands as an alternative for
validating selection methods for companies that
cannot employ criterion-related or content
validation.

“Utility”
 Utility is the degree to which the information
provided by selection methods enhances the
effectiveness of selecting personnel in organizations.
 It is impacted by reliability, validity, and
generalizability.

“Utility”
 Other factors will influence utility even when the
latter is constant.
 For example, the selection ratio, which is the percentage of
people tested versus the total number of applicants, will
impact utility as well as the number of people selected, race of
employee turnover, and level of performance among chose
who leave.

“Legality”
 All selection methods must conform to
existing laws and legal precedents.
 Three acts have formed the basis for a
majority of the suits filed by job applicants:
 Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1991
 Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991

“Legality”
 Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1991
 This act protects individuals from discrimination based
on race, color, sex, religion, and national origin.
 Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
 Covers individuals who are over the age of 40.
 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991
 Protects individuals with physical or mental disabilities
(or with a history of the same).

Types of Selection Methods
Honesty Tests
and Drug Tests
Work Samples
Personality
Inventories Cognitive Ability Tests
Physical Ability
Tests
References and
Biographical Data
Interviews
JOBSHR

Selection Method:
“Interview”
 Selection interviews are defined as a dialogue
initiated by one or more persons to gather
information and evaluate the qualifications of an
applicant for employment.
 Interviews are the most widely used selection
method, although research suggests it can be
unreliable, low in validity, and biased against a
number of groups.

Selection Method:
“Situational Interview”
 A situational interview confronts applicants on
specific issues, questions, or problems that are likely
to arise on the job.
 These interviews consist of:
 experience-based questions
 future-oriented questions

Other Selection Methods
 References, Biographical Data, and
Application Blanks gather background
information on candidates.
 Physical Ability Tests - Relevant for predicting
not only job performance but occupational injuries
and disabilities.

 Cognitive Ability Test - Differentiates individuals
based on their mental rather than physical
capacities.
 Personality inventories - Categorize individuals
by their personality characteristics.
 Work Samples - Simulate the job in miniaturized
form.

 Honesty Test - Paper-and-pencil honesty testing
attempts to assess the likelihood that employees will
steal.
 Drug Test - Drug-use tests tend to be reliable and
valid, particularly when the screening tests" are
followed up with more expensive “confirmation” test.

Types of Employment Tests
Introduction
Hundreds of tests are available to help employers in making decisions. In the
section on Information to Consider When Creating or Purchasing a
Test there is a discussion of what one needs to consider in choosing what test to
use. In this section, general types of tests are described and their general pros and
cons related. Tests discussed in this section are ones for which some general
evidence of validity has been provided. A test is valid if the inferences made based
on the test score are accurate (e.g., if we are correct in concluding that how well
the individual does on the test tells us how well he/she will perform on the
job). Some tests, such as graphology and polygraphs, have little evidence of
validity for employment decision-making purposes and thus are not discussed
here. All of the tests discussed here have been demonstrated to relate to one or
more critical employment outcomes.

 The determination of what it is you want to measure with the test should
precede the determination of how you are going to measure it.
 1. Assessment Centers
Assessment centers can be designed to measure many different types of job
related skills and abilities, but are often used to assess interpersonal skills,
communication skills, planning and organizing, and analytical skills. The
assessment center typically consists of exercises that reflect job content and
types of problems faced on the job. For example, individuals might be
evaluated on their ability to make a sales presentation or on their behavior
in a simulated meeting. In addition to these simulation exercises,
assessment centers often include other kinds of tests such as cognitive
ability tests, personality inventories, and job knowledge tests. The
assessment center typically uses multiple raters who are trained to observe,
classify, and evaluate behaviors. At the end of the assessment center, the
raters meet to make overall judgments about peoples performance in the
center.

Advantages Disadvantages
• Have been demonstrated to produce valid
inferences for a number of organizational
outcomes (e.g., promotion rates).
• Can reduce business costs by identifying
individuals for hiring, promotion or training who
possess the needed skills and abilities.
• May be viewed positively by test takers who see
the close relationship between the test and the
job.
• Can provide useful feedback to test takers
regarding needed training and development.
• Focus more heavily on behavior demonstration
than simply assessing characteristics.
• Use trained raters.
• Are typically less likely to differ in results by
gender and race than other types of tests.
• Can be costly to create and administer.
• Require more labor (e.g., assessors, role-players,
etc.) to administer than most other methods.
• Require more time to administer than most other
methods.
• Can be difficult to keep calibrated or standardized
across time and

 2. Biographical Data
 The content of biographical data instruments varies
widely, and may include such areas as leadership,
teamwork skills, specific job knowledge and specific skills
(e.g., knowledge of certain software, specific mechanical
tool use), interpersonal skills, extraversion, creativity,
etc. Biographical data typically uses questions about
education, training, work experience, and interests to
predict success on the job. Some biographical data
instruments also ask about an individuals attitudes,
personal assessments of skills, and personality.

Advantages
Disadvantages
• Can be administered via paper and pencil or
computerized methods easily to large numbers.
• Can be cost effective to administer.
• Have been demonstrated to produce valid inferences
for a number of organizational outcomes (e.g.,
turnover, performance).
• Are typically less likely to differ in results by gender
and race than other types of tests.
• Does not require skilled administrators.
• Can reduce business costs by identifying individuals
for hiring, promotion or training who possess the
needed skills and abilities.
• May lead to individuals responding in a way to create
a positive decision outcome rather than how they
really are (i.e., they may try to positively manage
their impression or even fake their response).
• Do not always provide sufficient information for
developmental feedback (i.e., individuals cannot
change their past).
• Can be time-consuming to develop if not purchased
off-the-shelf.

 Cognitive Ability Tests
 Cognitive ability tests typically use questions or
problems to measure ability to learn quickly, logic,
reasoning, reading comprehension and other
enduring mental abilities that are fundamental to
success in many different jobs. Cognitive ability tests
assess a persons aptitude or potential to solve job-
related problems by providing information about
their mental abilities such as verbal or mathematical
reasoning and perceptual abilities like speed in
recognizing letters of the alphabet.

outcomes (e.g., performance, success in training).
• Have been demonstrated to predict job
performance particularly for more complex jobs.
• Can be administered via paper and pencil or
computerized methods easily to large numbers.
• Does not typically require skilled administrators.
individuals for hiring, promotion or training who
possess the needed skills and abilities.
• Will not be influenced by test taker attempts to
impression manage or fake responses.
• Are typically more likely to differ in results by
• Can be time-consuming to develop if not
purchased off-the-shelf.

 Integrity Tests
 Integrity tests assess attitudes and experiences related to
a persons honesty, dependability, trustworthiness,
reliability, and pro-social behavior. These tests typically
ask direct questions about previous experiences related
to ethics and integrity OR ask questions about
preferences and interests from which inferences are
drawn about future behavior in these areas. Integrity
tests are used to identify individuals who are likely to
engage in inappropriate, dishonest, and antisocial
behavior at work.

outcomes (e.g., performance, inventory
shrinkage difficulties in dealing with
supervision).
individuals who are less likely to be
absent, or engage in other
counterproductive behavior.
• Send the message to test takers that
integrity is an important corporate value.
• Are typically less likely to differ in results
by gender and race than other types of
tests.
• Can be administered via paper and pencil
or computerized methods easily to large
numbers.
• Does not require skilled administrators.
• May lead to individuals responding in a
way to create a positive decision outcome
rather than how they really are (i.e., they
may try to positively manage their
impression or even fake their response).
• May be disliked by test takers if questions
are intrusive or seen as unrelated to the
job.

Interviews vary greatly in their content, but are often
used to assess such things as interpersonal skills,
communication skills, and teamwork skills, and can be
used to assess job knowledge. Well-designed
interviews typically use a standard set of questions to
evaluate knowledge, skills, abilities, and other qualities
required for the job. The interview is the most
commonly used type of test. Employers generally
conduct interviews either face-to-face or by phone.
Interviews

• Are expected and accepted by many job
applicants.
• Provide an opportunity for a two-way exchange
of information.
• Provide a measure of skills such as oral
communication skills not measured via paper
and pencil or computerized tools.
outcomes, if properly developed and
administered (see article on Effective
Interviews).
individuals for hiring, promotion or training
who possess the needed skills and abilities.
• Are typically less likely to differ in results by
• May be affected by different kinds of rating
errors and biases by interviewers.
• Are often more time-consuming to administer
than paper and pencil or computerized tools.
• May be practically less useful when a large
number of individuals must be evaluated
because of administration time.
• Can be costly to train interviewers.
• May be difficult to keep interviewers calibrated
and the interview process standardized.
• May lead to individuals responding in a way to
create a positive decision outcome rather than
how they really are (i.e., they may try to
positively manage their impression or even
fake their response).

Job Knowledge Tests
Job knowledge tests typically use multiple choice
questions or essay type items to evaluate technical or
professional expertise and knowledge required for
specific jobs or professions. Examples of job
knowledge tests include tests of basic accounting
principles, A+/Net+ programming, and blueprint
reading.

outcomes, such as job performance.
individuals for hiring, promotion or
training who possess the needed skills and
abilities.
• Are typically less likely to differ in results
by gender and race than other types of
tests.
• May be viewed positively by test takers
who see the close relationship between the
test and the job.
• Will not be influenced by test taker
attempts to impression manage or fake
responses.
• Can provide useful feedback to test takers
regarding needed training and
development.
• May require frequent updates to ensure
test is current with the job.
• May be inappropriate for jobs where
knowledge may be obtained via a short
training period.
• Can be costly and time-consuming to
develop, unless purchased off-the-

Personality Tests
 Some commonly measured personality traits in work
settings are extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to
new experiences, optimism, agreeableness, service
orientation, stress tolerance, emotional stability, and
initiative or proactivity. Personality tests typically
measure traits related to behavior at work, interpersonal
interactions, and satisfaction with different aspects of
work. Personality tests are often used to assess whether
individuals have the potential to be successful in jobs
where performance requires a great deal of interpersonal
interaction or work in team settings.

• Have been demonstrated to produce
valid inferences for a number of
organizational outcomes.
• Can reduce business costs by
identifying individuals for hiring,
promotion or training who possess the
needed skills and abilities.
• Are typically less likely to differ in
results by gender and race than other
types of tests.
• Can be administered via paper and
pencil or computerized methods easily
to large numbers.
• Does not require skilled
administrators.
• May contain questions that do not
appear job related or seem intrusive if
not well developed.
• May lead to individuals responding in
a way to create a positive decision
outcome rather than how they really
are (i.e., they may try to positively
manage their impression or even fake
their response).
• May be problematic for use in
employee selection if the test is one
used to diagnose medical conditions
(i.e., mental disorders) rather than
simply to assess work-related
personality traits.

Physical Ability Tests
Physical ability tests typically use tasks or exercises
that require physical ability to perform. These tests
typically measure physical attributes and capabilities,
such as strength, balance, and speed.

inferences regarding performance of
physically demanding tasks.
• Can identify applicants who are physically
unable to perform essential job functions.
individuals for hiring, promotion or
training who possess the needed skills and
abilities, by minimizing the risk of
physical injury to employees and others
on the job, and by decreasing
disability/medical, insurance, and
workers compensation costs.
• Will not be influenced by test taker
responses.
• Are typically more likely to differ in
results by gender than other types of tests.
• May be problematic for use in employee
selection if the test is one used to diagnose
medical conditions (i.e., a physical
disability) rather than simply to assess
ability to perform a particular job-related
task.
• Can be expensive to purchase equipment
and administer.
• May be time consuming to administer.
• May be inappropriate or difficult to
administer in typical employment offices.

Work Samples and Simulations
These tests typically focus on measuring specific job
skills or job knowledge, but can also assess more
general skills such as organizational skill, analytic
skills, and interpersonal skills. Work samples and
simulations typically require performance of tasks that
are the same or similar to those performed on the job
to assess their level of skill or competence. For
example, work samples might involve installing a
telephone line, creating a document in Word, or tuning
an engine.

inferences regarding ability to perform the job.
individuals for hiring, promotion or training
who possess the needed skills and abilities.
• Are less likely to differ in results by gender and
race than other types of tests (depends on
particular skills being assessed).
• May be more accepted by test takers due to the
obvious link between the test and the job.
• Less likely to be influenced by test taker
responses.
• Can be used to provide specific developmental
feedback.
• Can provide test takers with a realistic preview
of the job and the organization.
• Does not assess aptitude to perform more
complex tasks that may be encountered on the
job.
• May not assess the ability to learn new tasks
quickly.
• Often not conducive to group administration.
• May require some level of job knowledge and
therefore may be inappropriate for jobs where
knowledge may be obtained via a short training
period.
• May be difficult to keep updated.
• May be expensive to administer.
• May be time consuming to develop and to
administer.

Conducting Employee Background Checks
– Why Do It and What the Law Allows
Reasons to Conduct a Background Check
A pre-employment background check can not only save you money in the long run,
it can also protect your business. How? If your employees come into direct contact
with your customers (for example, in a care capacity) and cause harm to a
customer, your business can be liable if that employee has a criminal record. A
background check can also provide insight into an individual’s behavior, character,
and integrity.

Why do background checks? The benefits of comprehensive employment
background screening include: increased applicant and new hire quality,
reduced workplace violence, reduced negligent hiring liability, reduced losses
from employee dishonesty, making the right hire the first time, and avoiding
negative publicity. The bottom line is that pre-employment background
checks help an organization be more successful.

Which Types of Background Checks Can and Should You Conduct
There are several background checks that you can consider as you build a profile of
a future employee. Not all of them, however, are appropriate or even possible for
every company. For example, how you may employ the information gleaned during
a criminal background check when making hiring decisions varies from state to
state. Furthermore, any check on an individual’s credit score or military service
requires consent.
As a general rule of thumb, it’s worth considering the following background
screening: credit checks, drug tests, past employers, criminal background (check
with a lawyer first to see what your state permits), and driving records (sometimes
necessary if the job demands this skill). If your employees work with children or in
other care positions, it may also be worth checking the sex offender registry. Some
states may require it.

Should You Run a Credit Check on Potential Employees?
Used by 60 percent of employers when making hiring decisions, a credit
check (which only shows history, not a score) can be a good indicator not
only of an individual’s fiscal aptitude but also overall integrity. If a job
description stipulates that an employee will have access to sensitive
financial or customer information, many employers rely on a credit check
for that extra security.
Despite the popularity of credit checks, the use of this information to judge
character is increasingly being considered poor practice and unfair, thanks
to difficult economic times which may blot the credit history of an
otherwise fiscally responsible individual. Because of this, many states and
equal opportunity organizations are challenging the availability of credit
information. In most states, however, it remains a fair and legal practice
(Hawaii and Washington ban it).

Here’s what the law allows: according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, federal
law allows using credit information for employment purposes. But there are
some caveats:
 You must get the job seeker’s written consent.
 If you decide not to hire a person based on this information, you are required
to let the candidate know the source used for the check. (In truth most
employers don’t give a reason for not hiring an individual to avoid this sort
of legal wrangling.)
So, should you run a credit check? Your best strategy might be to limit credit
checks to positions for which a job seeker’s credit history has relevance, and be
sure to gain the applicant’s consent to run this check and an opportunity to
explain any red flags.

Do Your Own Detective Work
There are still some basic checks that shouldn’t be ignored that you can do
yourself:
Verify What’s on the Resume – Call colleges and universities to verify the
degree earned and ask previous employers to confirm the applicant’s work
history (not a reference just a yes/no confirmation of tenure).
Use the Web –You’re not looking for dirt on this one, but a quick web search
can actually help you round-out the profile of your future hire, their interests,
achievements, and even mitigate information that a formal background check
has revealed.

How Do Background Checks Help?
Because employers have a moral and legal obligation to provide a safe work
environment, knowing whether a potential employee has been involved in
criminal or dishonest activity (such as drug or other substance abuse, reckless
behavior, theft, or dangerous and violent behaviors) allows the employer to
better determine if an applicant is appropriate for the job and work
environment. Background Checks allow an employer to better determine if an
applicant poses a potential threat to other employees or customers.
Background check tools such as Criminal Record Checks, Prior Employment
Verifications, Education Verification, License Verifications, and other
research tools can reveal potential problem areas and provide documentation
that an employer has taken "reasonable care" in the hiring process. Thorough
background check documentation is an important element in reducing
negligent hiring liability.

Pros and Cons of Background Checks

The Polygraph and Honesty Testing
Some firms still use the polygraph (or lie detector) for honesty testing,
although current law severely restricts its use. The polygraph is a device that
measures physiological changes like increased perspiration. The assumption
is that such changes reflect changes in emotional state that accompany lying.
Complaints about offensiveness plus grave doubts about the polygraph’s
accuracy culminated in the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988. With
a few exceptions the law prohibits employers from conducting polygraph
examinations of all job applicants and most employees. Also prohibited under
this law are other mechanical or electrical devices that attempt to measure
honesty or dishonesty, including psychological stress evaluators and voice
stress analyzers. Federal laws don’t prohibit paper and pencil tests and
chemical testing [as for drugs].

Who can use the polygraph: Local, state, and federal government employers
(including the FBI) can continue to use polygraph exams,. But many local
and state government employers are further restricted under state laws.
Other employers permitted to use polygraph tests include: industries with
national defense or security contracts; certain businesses with nuclear
power related contracts with the Department of Energy; businesses and
consultants with access to highly classified information; those with counter
intelligence related contracts with the FBI or departments of Justice; and
private businesses that are (1) hiring private security personnel, (2) hiring
persons with access to drugs or (3) doing ongoing investigations involving
economic loss or injury to an employer’s business, such as a theft.

Even in the case of ongoing investigations of theft, the law restricts
employers’ rights. To administer such a test during an ongoing investigation
and employer must meet four standards:
1) First, the employer must show that it served an economic loss or injury.
2) Second, it must show that the employee in question had access to the
property.
3) Third, it must have a reasonable suspicion before asking the employee to
take the polygraph.
4) Fourth, the employee must be told the details of the investigation before
the test, as well as questions to be asked on the polygraph test itself.

Graphology Test:
Graphology involves using a trained evaluator to examine the lines,
loops, hooks, stokes, curves and flourishes in a person’s handwriting to
assess the person’s personality and emotional make-up.
The recruiting company, may, for example, ask the applicants to
complete the application forms and write about why they want a job.
These samples may be finally sent to graphologist for analysis and the
result may be put use while selecting a person. The use of graphology,
however, is dependent on the training and expertise of the person
doing the analysis.

Physical Exams
Pre placement physical examinations are the tests conducted on an
individual prior to placement in order to assess the physical ability of the
interviewee to perform verity of job related activities safely. After the
applicant has cleared his job interview, the job provider firm can ask you to
submit your physical test reports. Hey! There is nothing to be worry about.
It is just a part of their employment hiring procedure that employer
organizations follow in order to ensure that the person they are going to hire
is fit, both physical and psychologically, to handle his responsibilities in the
best possible way.
Through this test reports, employer organizations make sure that the
potential employee will not create any kind of threat to other staff members
of the firm and clients as well. In all, pre-placement physical examination is
a way that employers used to minimize any kind of potential risks and
liabilities that may occur due to an employee’s on the work health problems.

What this exam consists of?
Pre-employment physical test vary from the type of job an individual has applied for.
According to the case in point, if the job, you are applied for, requires you to perform
manually then some special tests, like general health, physical fitness etc., are
conducted during examination to assess your physical ability and stamina to
successfully handling of assigned duties. In most cases, this examination includes a
series of physical tests written in the health questionnaire.
Mentioned below are some tests that pre-placement physicals include, but are not
limited to:
• Functional ability of the person or physical fitness
• Spinal health
• General health screening including vital signs like blood pressure, temperature,
medical history, pulse, respiration, height, and weight etc.)
• Testing for eye-vision • Lung functioning test
• Purified protein derivative (PPD) test- Tuberculosis test
• Urine analysis • X-ray of chest

Heart diagnosis- electrocardiogram (ECG)
• Drug testing which include urine test of street drugs like Marijuana (THC), Amphetamines,
Cocaine, Opiates, and PCP etc. All these tests are conducted by an expert physician or nurses
to accurately measure your overall health status. An important thing to know for that the pre-
placement or background tests that employer companies are asked for, are legal.
One cannot negotiate in this context if employer firm incorporated this test to their
recruitment strategy. Employer side benefits of running Pre-placement medical test:
• Improve overall productivity of the firm as the downtime due to worker’s illness or injury is
less
• Protection decrease in the worker’s compensation payments
• Improved reputation of the firm via practical management of potential risks at the
pre-placement phase
Employee side benefits of undergoing this test:
• Detection of various health concerns that they have not been aware of
• Confidence and activeness in their work

Complying with immigration Law
How to protect your business, and yourself, from criminal
prosecution?
 During the last few years, the problem of illegal immigration has been in the
news almost daily. While most stories focus on the problems caused by illegal
immigrants, there have been more than a few about employers who have
been fined or even imprisoned for hiring illegal aliens. One of our clients who
employs a large number of Hispanic workers recently called wanting to know
how to protect his business and himself from criminal prosecution. He was
surprised to learn, as you may be, that your obligations under the
immigration laws are relatively straightforward. Unless an employer is
engaged in a pattern of knowingly hiring illegal immigrants, criminal
prosecution is unlikely.
 The safest way to avoid problems under the immigration laws is to
understand your responsibilities as an employer. Your principal
responsibility is to verify the employment eligibility and identity of all
employees that you hire. This must be done within three business days of the
date the employee begins work.

 Verification is done by having the employee complete Section 1 of Form
I-9, and by the employer completing Section 2. Section 2 of Form I-9
requires the employer to review certain documentation presented by
the employee and to record document information on the Form.
 Form I-9 describes three types of documents that can be provided by
the employee. The employer may accept a document from List A, such
as a passport, which is sufficient to establish an employee’s identity and
work eligibility. Alternatively, the employer can accept a document
from List B, such as a driver’s license, to establish the employee’s
identity and a document from List C, such as a Social Security card, to
establish the employee’s work eligibility. The employer must examine
the documents and is required to accept them so long as they
reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the employee who
presents them.

 An employer is not required to be a document expert. If the documents
reasonably appear to be genuine, they should be accepted. As an employer,
you have no right to request additional documentation and doing so may
be considered an unfair immigration-related employment practice.
 The requirement to have a Form I-9 completed applies only to persons you
actually hire. You do not need to obtain completed forms from potential
employees or independent contractors.
 Once Form I-9 is complete, your job is pretty much done. However, you are
required to retain the Form I-9 for three years after the date the employee
begins work, or one year after the employee’s employment is terminated,
whichever is later.

Why Applicant Screening Software Evolved
The prevalence of applicant tracking systems has grown substantially since the
time of the great recession.
Companies advertising open positions often have hundreds, if not thousands,
of applications to sift through in order to find a few “cream of the crop”
candidates to interview for the job. Jobs continue to attract far more
applicants than busy hiring departments have the time to interview.
It’s often too much for any one person — or even a small group of HR staff
members — to deal with on their own. That’s how these resume robot
programs came into existence for the most part — as an aid to
overwhelmed hiring managers.
How Great Candidates Are Missed by Resume Screening Robots
Did you know? Applicant tracking systems reject 75 percent of candidates.
Many highly-qualified candidates are rejected by ATS because they fail to write
their resume for the resume screening software. This is a significant flaw in the
design of applicant tracking systems, reports CIO.

Businesses continue to use these tracking programs, despite the flaws, because
they make hiring easier on hiring personnel and recruiters.
 While this practice of electronically screening resumes saves time for busy
HR executives, it also means that many highly qualified candidates are
slipping through the cracks because they didn’t use specific language or, in
some cases, formatting on their resumes. Don’t let this happen to you!
For job seekers in today’s era, it’s imperative to learn how to move past the
algorithms. This means that job seekers must become more creative in order to
make the right impression on both the robots that initially scan your
resumes and the people who will ultimately read them and need to be
impressed enough to invite you to interview.
The bottom line is that applicants must learn how to optimize
resumes to make it through the screening process so you can
ultimately get the job you seek.

How Do the Resume Screening Robots Work?
Before you can figure out how to craft a resume that wows the robot, it’s helpful to
first learn what the robot is looking for. The system is actually quite simple, despite
all the complexities involved.
First, the software removes all formatting from the resume and scans for specific
recognized keywords and key phrases.
Next, it sorts the content of your resume into individual categories:
Education
Contact Information
Skills
Work Experience
Then, the employer’s list of desired skills and keywords are matched against the
results of the resume to determine your potential value to the organization.
Resumes with the highest scores relevant to the employer’s specified keywords and
phrases combined with your years of experience will be moved up for further review.
In the end, the software simply scores the resume in order to determine which
candidates are most qualified to move up the ladder for an actual human within the
organization to review.

Tips on Getting Your Resume Seen by Human Eyes
While the concept of getting past applicant tracking software sounds simple on
paper, it can be a challenge to those who haven’t mastered the art of writing
resumes with these applicant tracking systems in mind.
Implement the following practical checklist of tips to keep your resume
out of the infamous online resume black hole.
Nix the headers in your resume. According to Time, headers and footers jam
the algorithms.
Mirror wording from the actual job description in your resume. Yes, this
means that you may need a custom resume for every job. While you do not want a
word-for-word match of the job description, if a nurse job description calls for
someone with triage experience or primary care experience, for example, be sure
that your resume contains those keywords. Similarly, if the job description asks for
specific software experience, include your experience with that software.

Nail your keywords. There is lingo in every profession. Whether it’s software,
skills, certifications, licenses, responsibilities, or even procedures, there are words
that matter in your profession that need to be included in your resume. Here are a
few tips for getting the right combination of keywords and phrases into your resume.
Use acronyms and spelled out form of titles, professional organizations,
certifications, and other industry lingo, etc. If you have experience in
electronic medical records, include the acronym EMR as well, for example. You have
no idea which keyword the robots are scanning for. Using both allows you to be
covered either way.
Repeat important keywords related to your skills two or three times in
the resume, or more depending on the length of your resume. Do not stuff
keywords in your resume, however. Not only are the new scanners savvy to this
tactic, but it’s a real turn-off to the people who actually read resumes if your resume
does get past the scanner process.
Give job-related keywords depth within your resume. You don’t want them
listed in one single section of your resume if possible. Sprinkle them throughout your
resume, instead.

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