Attracting and selecting: What psychological research tells us

Abstract

HR professionals are challenged to address an organization's varied needs when it comes to recruiting and staffing. One often hears that the proposed solution to a "people problem" is to do a better job in the recruiting process of attracting better people, do a better job in the hiring process of identifying future stars and "weeding out" the problems, and do a better job of attracting and selecting a more diverse workforce. Moreover, organizational demands require that HR professionals accomplish these goals quickly and in a cost-effective manner. HR professionals are continually called upon to come up with new strategies for attraction, new tools for selection, and new ways to enhance workforce diversity, while incorporating the sometimes competing needs and views of varied stakeholders-the hiring managers, the applicants, the legal department, recruiters, labor unions, other external groups, and so on.While recruitment and staffing strategies and tools are sometimes prone to fads, there is a substantial body of research to guide HR professionals in meeting these challenges. In this article, we will discuss four areas where this research can provide some clarity regarding what works and what does not, yet where the research often gets overlooked. These four areas are (1)

Psychological testing for selection purposes: a guide to evidence-based practice for human resource professionals

“…Concerns have been expressed about the growing schism between science and practice, especially in personnel selection (Johns 1993;Kehoe 2000;Nowicki and Rosse 2002;Klehe 2004;Muchinsky 2004;Ryan and Tippins 2004;Anderson 2005;Rynes et al 2007). Some argue that the research -practice gap can be explained by a lack of knowledge about selection practices (Terpstra and Rozell 1997;Ryan and Tippins 2004;Anderson 2005). Evidence supports the knowledge hypothesis; a large discrepancy exists between research findings and practitioners' beliefs about selection practices (Rynes et al 2002;Carless, Rasiah and Irmer 2009).…”

Relative Importance of False Positives in the Selection Process

“…Others feel research rarely takes into account many contextual factors (e.g., budget, time constraints), leaving practitioners to fit what tools and methods to employ (Ryan & Tippins, 2004). Klehe (2004) believes these are simple explanations to a complex problem, and do not take into account the complexity of the diverse pressures organizations face regarding selection procedures.…”

“…However, it is evident other factors are influencing decisions in selection. Previous research has taught us that decision makers have limited insight into their own decision making process (Dunn et al, 1995;Moy & Lam, 2004), have limited information or are misinformed regarding selection tools (Ryan & Tippins, 2004;, and make decisions based on factors other than assessment-performance linkages (Frank & Hackman, 1975;Klehe, 2004;Manshor et al, 2003). As demonstrated by these findings, it is clear there are many stakeholders, factors, and issues affecting selection decisions.…”

Attorney Decision Making in an Employment Discrimination Dispute Involving Personnel Selection

“…Table 1 illustrates several common examples of these strategies (see Tippins, 2004 andHoltz, 2008 for more substantive review). These strategies range from statistical procedures, recommended combinations of predictors and methods to encourage favorable applicant's perceptions of selection procedures.…”

“…Most of this research has been devoted to fostering positive applicant perceptions of selection procedures (e.g., Ryan & Ployhart, 2000), and developing strategies to reduce adverse impact (e.g., Ployhart & Holtz, 2008;Ryan & Tippins, 2004).…”