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Psychological Pre-employment Screening in Personnel SelectionBy Arnold D. Holzman, Ph. D., CPG Behavioral Health Resources, ADH@CPGBehavioralHealth.com; 3018 Dixwell Ave. This article is intended to provide general information only. It is not intended as legal advice or as a solution to an individual problem. You are encouraged to consult with appropriate legal counsel prior to relying on this document in whole or in part. Scientific or empirically based techniques for personnel selection have been in practice for the past eighty years. Beginning in a few large industrial companies, this practice grew and became more sophisticated during the two World Wars. During these periods psychologists were instrumental in evaluating and placing literally millions of recruits among the vast array of assignments necessary for the military efforts. Since the 1980's, research has demonstrated the usefulness and financial benefits of psychological screening in personnel selection for business and industry. These benefits include productivity enhancements due to maximal use of a worker's skills, saved expenses that would otherwise occur due to a failed or inadequate hire, and the costs of replacement and retraining. In fact, high functioning key employees can be worth more than the equivalent of their salary in increased productivity compared to what a poorly functioning employee would generate in the same position. Regardless of the type of company, personnel selection typically involves three sources of input: interview, review of prior educational and work history, and objective evaluation of skills and/or personality. Of these the first two are almost universally done, while objective skills and personality evaluation is performed less often. Whether objective pre-employment screening tests are utilized typically depends upon the nature of the selection circumstances. These include: the technical sophistication and range of the skills required, the salary being paid, the anticipated stress of the position, the relative importance of the position in the company, and traditional organizational hiring practices. Businesses are generally complex entities requiring the performance of many different types of skills, such as various forms of production, service delivery, personnel management, financial management, and administrative support, among others. No one individual is adequately trained or temperamentally predisposed for all the jobs necessary. Specific individuals, however, have specific traits that allow for a relatively greater probability of success at particular positions. The task of the personnel selector becomes one of matching, or identifying the candidate best suited for a particular position. Can-Do versus Will-Do Factors Technical qualifications are often the most straightforward of factors to evaluate, accomplished via a review of education, work history and skill or evaluation. This type of personnel evaluation is often described as an evaluation of "can-do" factors. Can-do factors are those involving the technical skill set or basic knowledge that enables one to perform a particular job. However, one's ability to do a job is not always predictive of one's actual success at that job. Other person-specific factors or person-environment interactions influence relative success. These factors are termed "will-do" factors. There are many will-do factors, including the person-environment fit, non-technical interpersonal skills, motivational influences, values, personality dispositions, etc. A useful framework for evaluating "will-do" factors includes an examination of the motivational aspects of the position and the prospective employee. The hierarchy of motivational needs refer to the different types of incentives or rewards that motivate different people. These can include money, recognition, influence within the company, training opportunities, and attention to social causes, among others. Most people consider salary and financial benefits to be the most compelling incentives, and they often are. Other motivational influences that emerge in higher level positions include recognition by peers and superiors, mentoring opportunities, and the opportunity to influence the direction of the company. A company must understand how each position meets different motivational rewards and then try to select prospective candidates who will have the best fit. Company mission and culture are sometimes overlooked factors in personnel evaluation. For example, if the company's culture is not consistent with the motivational needs, and/or lifestyle preferences of the individual, then successful placement is less likely, regardless of technical skills. Does the position require a certain level of professional risk taking and, if so, is that level of risk consistent with the individual's personality and temperament? One can generate numerous questions that would highlight the issue of person-company compatibility, and a thorough evaluation will include an assessment of this factor. What are the interpersonal skills required of the job? As one climbs the organizational hierarchy, interpersonal competencies become relatively more important. These include: verbal and written communication skills, the ability to relate to and manage a diverse employee base, and the ability to function under deadline and other pressures. Similarly, skill in making decisions that will knowingly and significantly affect others, a tolerance for decision-making when all of the decision criteria are not necessarily clear, and the ability to function effectively with other managers in teams, are also important non-technical, interpersonal aspects of many managerial positions. Requirements of Screening Instruments Reliability refers to the consistency of a test to yield the same results when administered at different times. Statistically, reliability refers to the ability of a test to yield equivalent results if given at different times to the same person or to two different people with identical capacities and interests. There are various kinds of validity, but they all essentially relate to the ability of an assessment instrument to accurately measure what it was designed to measure. Validity therefore relates to the ability of the test to predict real life outcomes. For example, a test measuring the personality trait extraversion should relate to real life social behavior distinguishable within actual situations. Utility refers to the usefulness and incremental value of the test results within the context of the entire selection battery. A test will have utility if it is reliable, if it provides real life predictability (validity), if its predictability is better than that of other procedures alone (i.e. interview), and if it is practical and relatively inexpensive to administer. Selection Procedures Interview results have been shown to be influenced by many factors, including interviewer bias, physical characteristics of the applicant, relative timing of the interview (first and last interviews are more easily remembered), interviewer-interviewee fit, etc. Of note, even experienced interviewers are subject to biasing factors. Therefore interview-only evaluations are less consistent and less effective in identifying and evaluating the non-technical or will-do aspects of a candidate. Objective psychological screening devices do not suffer from these individual biases. An appropriately designed psychological pre-employment selection battery will take into account several critical factors relating to a position including: the necessary interpersonal skill requirements, including supervisory and peer interaction abilities; motivational influences; nature of the work environment; the position within the context of the organization; and the culture of the organization, among others. The evaluator will then identify the necessary characteristics of the ideal or benchmarked successful candidate and try to match the available candidates against this ideal. The test battery will emphasize positive aspects of personality that are being assessed. The test battery will specifically not attempt to assess for psychopathology. General psychopathology is typically unrelated in a specific manner to job performance. There are many intervening characteristics about an individual that can be assessed more successfully that have a more direct bearing on job success. The goal of psychological pre-employment evaluation is to enhance the opportunity for a successful fit between company and job candidate. Unsuccessful or inadequate hires are expensive and unfulfilling to both parties. As jobs become more multi-faceted and complex, the range of necessary skills becomes ever more complex and difficult to evaluate without formal mechanisms such as objective testing.
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© 2003 Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA). All rights reserved. The articles, forms and other materials available through this Web site are for informational purposes only. They are not intended as legal advice or as a solution to an individual problem. You are encouraged to consult with appropriate legal counsel prior to relying on the materials in whole or in part.
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