HRM textbook

192 PART 2 RECRUITMENT, PLACEMENT, AND TALENT MANAGEMENT
* Objective tests. An assessment center typically includes tests of personality, mental
ability, interests, and achievements.
* The interview. Most also require an interview between at least one trainer and
each participant, to assess the latter s interests, past performance, and motivation.
Supervisor recommendations usually play a big role in choosing center participants.
Line managers usually act as assessors and typically arrive at their ratings
through consensus. 67
EFFECTIVENESS Most experts view assessment centers as effective for selecting
management candidates, but are they worth their cost? They are expensive to develop,
take much longer than conventional tests, require managers acting as assessors, and
often require psychologists. However, studies suggest they are worth it. 68 One study of
40 police candidates found that: Assessment center performance shows a unique and
substantial contribution to the prediction of future police work success, justifying
the usage of such method. In this study, peers evaluations of candidates during the
center proved especially useful. 69
Situational Testing and Video-Based Situational Testing
Situational tests require examinees to respond to situations representative of the job.
Work sampling (discussed earlier) and some assessment center tasks (such as inbaskets)
fall in this category. So do video-based tests and miniature job training
(described next), and the situational interviews we address in Chapter 7. 70
The video-based simulation presents the candidate with several online or
PC-based video situations, each followed by one or more multiple-choice questions.
For example, the scenario might depict an employee handling a situation on the job.
At a critical moment, the scenario ends and the video asks the candidate to choose
from several courses of action. For example:
(A manager is upset about the condition of the department and takes it out on one
of the department s employees.)
Manager: Well, I m glad you re here.
Associate: Oh? Why is that?
Manager: Look at this place, that s why! I take a day off and come back to find
the department in a mess. You should know better.
Associate: But I didn t work late last night.
Manager: Maybe not. But there have been plenty of times before when you ve
left this department in a mess.
(The scenario stops here.)
If you were this associate, what would you do?
a. Let the other associates responsible for the mess know that you had to take the
heat.
b. Straighten up the department, and try to reason with the manager later.
c. Suggest to the manager that he talk to the other associates who made the mess.
d. Take it up with the manager s boss. 71
Computerized Multimedia Candidate Assessment Tools
Employers increasingly use computerized multimedia candidate assessment tools.
Development Dimensions International developed a multimedia skill test that Ford
Motor Company uses for hiring assembly workers. The company can test everything
from how people tighten the ball, to whether they followed a certain procedure
correctly, to using a weight-sensitive mat on the floor that, when stepped on at the
wrong time, will mark a candidate down in a safety category. 72