HRM textbook

184 PART 2 RECRUITMENT, PLACEMENT, AND TALENT MANAGEMENT
protect individuals from intrusive governmental action in a variety of contexts. 30
Furthermore, the Federal Privacy Act gives federal employees the right to inspect their
personnel files, and limits the disclosure of personnel information without the
employee s consent, among other things. 31
Common law provides some protection against disclosing information about
employees to people outside the company. The main application here involves defamation
(either libel or slander), but there are privacy issues, too. 32 The bottom line is this:
1. Make sure you understand the need to keep employees information confidential.
2. Adopt a need to know policy. For example, if an employee has been rehabilitated
after a period of drug use and that information is not relevant to his or her
functioning in the workplace, then a new supervisor may not need to know.
How Do Employers Use Tests at Work?
About 41% of companies that the American Management Association surveyed tested
applicants for basic skills (defined as the ability to read instructions, write reports, and
do arithmetic). 33 About 67% of the respondents required employees to take job skills
tests, and 29% required some form of psychological measurement. 34 To see what
such tests are like, try the short test in Figure 6-5. It shows how prone you might be to
on-the-job accidents.
Tests are not just for lower-level workers. In general, as work demands increase
(in terms of skill requirements, training, and pay), employers tend to rely more on
testing in the selection process. 35 Employers don t use tests just to find good
employees, but also to screen out bad ones. By one account, about 30% of all
employees say they ve stolen from their employers. 36 In retail, employers apprehended
about one out of every 28 workers for stealing. 37 No wonder prudent
employers test their applicants. We ll look at two examples.
OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE EXAMPLE Outback Steakhouse has used preemployment
tests almost from when the company started. The testing seems successful.
While annual turnover rates for hourly employees may reach 200% in the restaurant
industry, Outback s turnover ranges from 40% to 60%. Outback wants employees
FIGURE 6-5 Sample Test
Source: Based on Sample Test
Analysis according to John Kamp,
an industrial psychologist.
CHECK YES OR NO
1. You like a lot of excitement in your life.
YES
NO
2. An employee who takes it easy at work
is cheating on the employer.
3. You are a cautious person.
4. In the past three years you have found yourself
in a shouting match at school or work.
5. You like to drive fast just for fun.
Analysis: According to John Kamp, an industrial psychologist, applicants who answered no, yes, yes, no, no to questions 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5 are statistically likely to be absent less often, to have fewer on-the-job injuries, and, if the job involves driving, to have
fewer on-the-job driving accidents. Actual scores on the test are based on answers to 130 questions.