Hiring Success

Hiring Success is a comprehensive guide for using staffing assessments to hire the best employees. Research–based, but written in easy–to–understand terms, the book explains what staffing assessments are, why they work, and how to use them. Hiring Success is an important resource for improving the accuracy and efficiency of hiring selection decisions and effectively incorporating assessments into any company’s staffing process.

Hiring Success is a comprehensive guide for using staffing assessments to hire the best employees. Research–based, but written in easy–to–understand terms, the book explains what staffing assessments are, why they work, and how to use them. Hiring Success is an important resource for improving the accuracy and efficiency of hiring selection decisions and effectively incorporating assessments into any company′s staffing process.

Praise for Hiring Success

"Hiring Success will prove to be a useful handbook and reference guide to HR professionals seeking to better understand and utilize employee selection and assessment tools."
—Adam Malamut, vice president, human resources, Marriott International

"Dr. Hunt′s book is the perfect combination of decision science and management practice. If you are interested in successful hires you must read this book."
—Jac Fitz–enz, Ph.D., CEO, Human Capital Source

"Dr. Hunt clearly illustrates the critical contribution of improved employee selection methods to the achievement of strategic business goals."
—Ann Gowdey, manager, assessment and development, United Technologies Corporation, Learning and Development

"It is simply a useful toolkit filled with helpful suggestions. . . it will make the process a lot smoother in the long–run!"
—Maggie Ricketts, PHR, director, recruitment & administration, Luxottica Retail

"A book that is both accessible and scientifically rigorous, an excellent resource for both students and practitioners of HR."
—Donald Truxillo, professor of Industrial Organizational Psychology, Portland State University, fellow, Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology (SIOP)

"Strikes a superb and much needed balance between the complexities of assessments and the practical application and effectiveness they offer as a selection tool."
—Paul Riddle, organizational and leadership development manager, Southeastern Freight Lines

"Hiring Success is a must read for anyone interested in creating a hiring process that is both sound and maximally effective. An excellent reference for using assessments to achieve measurable business results."
—Charles Handler, Ph.D. PHR, president, Rocket–Hire Inc.

"Full of useful nuggets, this book helps guide businesses of all kinds. . . . Ensures what you measure aligns with your business objectives and culture."
—Vito Romano, director of employee development, Costco Inc.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world′s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 210,000 individual members, the Society′s mission is both to serve human resource management professionals and to advance the profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM currently has more than 550 affiliated chapters within the United States and members in more than 100 countries. Visit SHRM Online at www.shrm.org.

List of Sidebars, Tables, and Figures.

Author’s Foreword.

Acknowledgments.

ONE: Introduction.

What Information Is the Book Based On?

Assessments: The Difference Between Success and Failure.

TWO: What Staffing Assessments Measure, Why They Work, and When to Use Them.

What Do Assessments Measure?

Why Do Assessments Work?

When Is It Useful to Use Staffing Assessments?

Concluding Remarks:Why Assessments Work.

THREE: Different Types of Staffing Assessments.

Categorizing Assessments Based on How They Collect Candidate Information.

Physical Exams.

Investigations.

Interviews.

Resume Screens.

Self–Report Measures.

Knowledge, Skill, and Ability Tests.

Situational Measures.

Behavioral Versus Direct Assessments.

Concluding Remarks: Different Types of Assessments.

FOUR: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Staffing Assessments.

How Assessments Work.

Assessment Validity: How to Determine How Well an Assessment Is Working.

Concluding Remarks: Choosing What Assessments to Use.

FIVE: Defining Job Performance and Its Relationship to Assessments.

Step 1. Identify Key Performance Outcomes.

Step 2. Use Job Analysis to Define and Describe Critical Employee Behaviors.

Step 3. Choose an Effective Assessment.

Step 4. Appropriately Collecting and Interpreting Assessment Data.

Concluding Remarks: Linking Assessment Processes to Job Performance.

SIX: Common Criticisms of Staffing Assessments.

Criticism 1: Staffing Assessments are Not Very Accurate.

Criticism 2: Staffing Assessments can Be Faked by Applicants.

Criticism 3: Staffing Assessments Are Not Worth the Cost Required to Use Them.

Criticism 4: Staffing Assessments Pose a Legal Risk.

Criticism 5: Staffing Assessments Are an Unfair Way to Evaluate People.

Criticism 6: Staffing Assessments Are Offensive to Candidates.

Criticism 7: Staffing Assessments Add Too Much Time to the Hiring Process.

Concluding Remarks: Should Companies Use Staffing Assessments?

SEVEN: Choosing Among Different Assessment Methods.

Method 1. No Standardized Assessment: Start at the Bottom and Work Up.

Method 2. Self–Report Pre–Screening Questionnaires: The Value of Structure.

Method 3. Applicant Investigations: Avoiding Catastrophic Hiring Mistakes.

Method 4. Structured Interviews:Maximizing Time Spent with Candidates.

Method 5. Broad Self–Report and Situational Judgment Measures: Asking Candidates for Greater Levels of Self–Description.

Method 6. Broad Knowledge and Skills Tests: Testing Basic Job Requirements.

Method 7. Broad Ability Tests: Getting a General Sense of Candidates′ Ability to Learn and Solve Problems.

Method 8. Integrating Broad Self–Report Measures, Knowledge and Skills Tests, and Ability Tests: Predicting Maximal and Typical Performance.

Method 9. Localized Scoring: Accurately Interpreting Candidate Responses.

Method 10. Context–Specific Self–Report Measures: Asking Candidates to Describe Themselves in Greater Detail.

Method 11. Context–Specific Knowledge, Skills, and Ability Tests: Seeing What a Candidate Can Actually Do.

Method 12. Integrating Context–Specific Self–Report Measures and Knowledge, Skills, and Ability Tests: Predicting Highly Specific Types of Maximal and Typical Performance.

Method 13. Advanced, Non–Linear Scoring: "Turbo–Charging" Assessment Results.

Concluding Remarks: Determining What Assessment Methods to Use.

EIGHT: Incorporating Staffing Assessments into the Hiring Process.

Principles of Staffing Assessment Process Design.

Designing Staffing Processes for Entry–Level Jobs.

Sample Staffing Assessment Process for Professional Jobs.

Concluding Remarks: Using Assessments.

NINE: Conclusion.

Glossary of Common Assessment Terms.

Index.

About the Author.

Pfeiffer Publications Guide.