Human Resources and Personnel In the 1970s and 1980s, loyalty to the company was an important aspect in careers. Sometimes referred to as the “psychological contract,” it meant “if I do my job the company will take care of me.” After the downsizings of the early 1990s, loyalty to companies disappeared. Now companies are beginning to understand the importance of loyalty. In The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, & Lasting Value by Reichheld and Teal, published by the Harvard Business School in 2001, Reichheld contends that employees who understand their contribution and value to the whole of the organization's processes are far happier and more productive than the disenfranchised employee. The role of human resources managers in recruiting, screening, interviewing, hiring and retaining employees is a critical success factor today. The cost of hiring and training can easily be in excess of $25,000 per person, an expense that impacts bottom-line profits. Creative approaches to finding, selecting, and keeping the right employees are part of being a successful human resources manager. Personnel recruiting has changed dramatically within the last 10 years. Today, the Internet plays a much larger role in finding qualified applicants. The Internet speeds the process, provides more detailed job descriptions and requirements, and interfaces with databases easily. Personnel agencies who once only provided clerical support, now offer doctors, lawyers, and CEOs on an interim basis. Some companies have decided on the strategy of only hiring nonprofessional staff on a temporary basis. This gives the company 6 months of experience with a potential employee before needing to decide whether to offer them a position as an employee. This has two advantages: it is quicker and less expensive. The much publicized “downsizing” of the 1980s and early 1990s has obscured the fact that the challenge facing American companies in the late 1990s and beyond will be to cope with an increasingly short supply of skilled workers. Successful companies have embraced valuing diversity, and recruit accordingly. The term diversity includes race, gender, culture, age, religion, education, physical condition, sexual orientation, and other distinguishing characteristics. Changes in the United States workforce are largest in the age and race of workers. Workers are working longer hours, and that will continue as social security has begun raising the benefit qualification age. The white, non-Hispanic, segment of the population has been declining, and by 2020 will comprise only 64% of the total United States population (Shaping Texas, 1995). As part of employee testing and selection, drug testing is a much larger issue than most realize. The importance of drug testing cannot be overlooked. A recent government report indicates that 70% of drug users hold full-time jobs (as cited in American Psych.

1. Human Resources and Personnel
In the 1970s and 1980s, loyalty to the company was an
important aspect in careers.
Sometimes referred to as the “psychological contract,” it meant
“if I do my job the
company will take care of me.” After the downsizings of the
early 1990s, loyalty to
companies disappeared. Now companies are beginning to
understand the importance of
loyalty. In The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind
Growth, Profits, & Lasting
Value by Reichheld and Teal, published by the Harvard
Business School in 2001,
Reichheld contends that employees who understand their
contribution and value to the
whole of the organization's processes are far happier and more
productive than the
disenfranchised employee. The role of human resources
managers in recruiting,
screening, interviewing, hiring and retaining employees is a
critical success factor

2. today. The cost of hiring and training can easily be in excess of
$25,000 per person, an
expense that impacts bottom-line profits. Creative approaches to
finding, selecting, and
keeping the right employees are part of being a successful
human resources manager.
Personnel recruiting has changed dramatically within the last 10
years. Today, the
Internet plays a much larger role in finding qualified applicants.
The Internet speeds
the process, provides more detailed job descriptions and
requirements, and interfaces
with databases easily. Personnel agencies who once only
provided clerical support,
now offer doctors, lawyers, and CEOs on an interim basis. Some
companies have
decided on the strategy of only hiring nonprofessional staff on a
temporary basis. This
gives the company 6 months of experience with a potential
employee before needing to
decide whether to offer them a position as an employee. This
has two advantages: it is
quicker and less expensive.
The much publicized “downsizing” of the 1980s and early 1990s

3. has obscured the fact
that the challenge facing American companies in the late 1990s
and beyond will be to
cope with an increasingly short supply of skilled workers.
Successful companies have
embraced valuing diversity, and recruit accordingly. The term
diversity includes race,
gender, culture, age, religion, education, physical condition,
sexual orientation, and
other distinguishing characteristics. Changes in the United
States workforce are largest
in the age and race of workers. Workers are working longer
hours, and that will
continue as social security has begun raising the benefit
qualification age. The white,
non-Hispanic, segment of the population has been declining,
and by 2020 will
comprise only 64% of the total United States population
(Shaping Texas, 1995).
As part of employee testing and selection, drug testing is a
much larger issue than most
realize. The importance of drug testing cannot be overlooked. A
recent government
report indicates that 70% of drug users hold full-time jobs (as

4. cited in American
Psychological Association, 1998). According to the report, this
information should
dispel the misconception that most Americans who use illegal
drugs are poor and
unemployed. When an applicant is selected, the drug test should
be administered as
soon as possible.
The purpose of interviewing applicants is to determine as much
as possible whether
they are qualified for the job opportunity. The interviewer
should convey information
about the job, and the applicant should ask questions about the
job. Interviews that
include a tour of the physical location and workplace are very
helpful. Even when the
job seems a good match for the applicant, a workplace that has
broken furniture, poor
lighting, and limited space will limit the number of applicants
who would accept that
job.
Reference

5. American Psychological Association. (1998, July). Most
alcoholics and illicit drug
users hold jobs [Electronic version]. APA Monitor Online,
29(7). Retrieved
October 20, 2009, from American Psychological Association
Web site:
http://www.apa.org/monitor/jul98/job.html
Reichheld, F. R., & Thomas, T. (2001). The loyalty effect: The
hidden force behind
growth, profits, & lasting value. Boston: Harvard Business
Press.
Shaping Texas: The effects of immigration, 1970–2020. (1995,
March). Retrieved
October 20, 2009, from Center for Immigration Studies Web
site:
http://www.cis.org/TexasImmigration-1970-2020
Predicting Performance

6. 1
Predicting performance is one of the most important
responsibilities of the
human resources professional. Unfortunately, prediction is
always based on
probability or guesswork, either of which lack the certainty that
organizations
and management would prefer. Obtaining valid information,
however, is
associated with an increase in accurately predicting future
performance. The
information that a selection specialist uses can be garnered from
a variety of
devices including: applications, biodata, interviews, and tests.
Applications, Training, Experience and References
When candidates apply for a job, they are required to submit
particular types of
information so that organizational members can make informed
hiring
decisions. Three common types of requested information are as
follows:
• Applications: These are a series of pencil and paper questions
that
help provide general suitability information about a candidate.
The
widespread use of applications and legal implications of the
application
form are important for understanding issues involved in the
development and use of these forms.

7. • Training and Experience Evaluations: Determining training
and
experience (T&E) is important to predicting successful job
performance.
Although there are multiple approaches to T&E evaluations,
they have a
listing or description of tasks, a means for applicants to
describe,
indicate, or rate the extent of their training and experience, and
a basis
for evaluating or scoring the self-reported data.
• References: Reference checking is a common practice. The
following
four types of information are requested:
o Employment and educational background data
o Appraisal of the applicant’s character and personality
o An estimate of the applicant’s job performance abilities
o The willingness of the reference to rehire an applicant
Weighted Applications & Biographical Data
Although application forms that are appropriately designed can
provide useful
data for performance prediction, a key issues remains. How
does the human
resource professional decide what application data are most
beneficial in
choosing successful job applicants? Standard methods for
selecting significant
predictor data include the following:
• Weighted applications: Weighted applications are a technique
for
scoring application forms. Items that are related to job success

8. are
Predicting Performance
2
weighted to reflect the degree of importance that certain items
have in
differentiating good and poor performers.
• Biographical data: The use of biographical data rests on the
assumption that past behavior is an accurate predictor of future
behavior. Biodata content, as a result, typically includes
response-type
and behavior-type applicant opportunities.
Selection Interviews
The interview has long been acknowledged as the most
frequently used
selection device, but is it the best? The advantages of interviews
include:
providing an opportunity for the organization to recruit good
candidates;
efficiency in measuring a number of different knowledge, skill
and ability (KSA)
requirements of an applicant; and providing the means for an
actual member of
the organization to make the decision about the "fit" of the

9. candidate to the
job. Unfortunately, the interview, used in the absence of other
measures, is
also associated with both low reliability and validity scores.
Testing
Finally, a variety of tests have also been used for predicting
performance with
accuracy. The types of testing utilized by organizations include
ability
assessments, performance tests, personality measures, integrity
instruments,
drug testing, and graphology. Each type of assessment tool has
advantages
and disadvantages, including legal ramifications, but nearly all
are associated
with validity concerns. As a result, some of these tests are
allowed in certain
jobs but are not recommended as a standard for every candidate
within an
organization.
In short, future performance is a multifaceted concept that
cannot be
adequately judged by a single measurement. Understanding the
availability of
measures, their strengths and weaknesses, the types of skills
necessary for the
vacancy, and the measures most likely to obtain information on
those skills are
the key ingredients for accurately predicting performance.

10. Personnel Assessment, Placement
Introduction
This unit focuses on selecting personnel and ensuring a good
job-person match. It will
look at assessment and selection techniques, specific testing
instruments, and the
requirements of a good test.
Personnel Assessment & Selection Techniques
Personnel assessment, selection, and placement became
important during the First and
Second World Wars. A large number of recruits needed to be
tested for suitability for
service and placement in military specialties. Techniques used
and refined during these
two assessment efforts were adopted by industry and continue to
be used today.
A variety of personnel selection techniques are available.
Regardless of technique
used, they must meet two minimum requirements: scores
generated by the test must be
reliable and the test must be valid. Reliability refers to
consistency. There are several

11. methods to demonstrate reliability. One method is Test-Retest:
if you take a test on
Monday and again on Friday, you expect the scores you receive
will be fairly similar.
If they are, the scores are reliable. In addition to reliability of
scores, tests must be
valid. A test is valid if it measures what it claims to measure.
Like reliability, there are
several ways to demonstrate validity. One is Content Validity:
if you took a class in
algebra and the final exam covered history, the test would not
be valid because the
content of the test did not reflect the content of the material in
the textbook or lectures.
Making a Good Job-Person Match
When an organization hires a new employee, it makes an
investment; it takes time and
money to hire that individual. The organization has an
expectation that it will receive a
return on its investment. If the person fits well in the position
and remains with the
organization, a return on investment is realized; if not, there is
a loss of investment.

12. Thus, it is important to establish a good job-person match.
A good match is accomplished by relying upon information
from a job analysis. It
provides information on tasks to be performed and the
knowledge, skills, abilities, and
personality characteristics (KSAPCs) required to successfully
perform the job.
Assessment instruments which measure the required KSAPCs
are then developed or
purchased to assist in matching the person to the job. To
maintain professional and
legal standards, the instruments and methods must be reliable
and valid, and they must
not discriminate unfairly. Ultimately, a good selection
procedure should be fair to both
candidates and organizations. The candidates selected should be
the best for the
positions being filled.
Employee Testing Tools
Personnel assessment includes methods such as biographical
inventories; employment
applications; letters of reference; resumes and background

13. checks; interviews; paper-
and-pencil tests of knowledge, skills, abilities, or personality
characteristics; as well as
honesty and performance tests. Assessment centers typically
combine most of these
methods in a multi-day program.
In addition to reliability and validity, assessment procedures
must be standardized; all
job candidates should receive the same treatment. Job
interviews have historically not
met this criterion. However, because employers like interviews,
standardized interview
methods such as behaviorally-based or structured interviews
have been developed.
Selection procedures may be fairly straightforward or complex.
A compensatory
strategy is one in which low scores on one test may be
compensated by higher scores
on another test. In a non-compensatory strategy, each test has a
minimum score which
must be achieved by the candidate. A hurdles strategy requires
that candidate pass one
test before being considered for the next.

14. There is no one selection method that is best. A good personnel
selection procedure is
based upon job criteria (KSAPCs) developed using a defensible
rationale and on
assessments that are valid, provide reliable scores, and are
directly related to the job
criteria.
Human Resource Management
Introduction
Traditionally, human resources management, or HRM, has been
responsive, not
proactive within the company. HRM professionals were
responsible for legal matters
pertaining to personnel, staffing, benefits and payroll. Today,
human resources
management sits at the executive table as a strategic partner
with expectations that
HRM will contribute to the overall success and profitability of
the company. HRM
maintains the same areas of responsibility but is now proactive

15. in moving these to
competitive advantages. Two major principles—perceived
customer value and
uniqueness—enable companies to formulate strategies to exploit
profitable
opportunities. For example, valuing diversity brings access to a
larger pool of skilled
resources.
Human Resource Strategy
Human resource strategy explicitly recognizes the impact of the
outside environment,
competition, and the dynamics of the labor market. It has a 3–5
year focus and is
integrated with the overall corporate strategy and functional
strategies. Even if you are
not a human resources manager, you are affected by HRM. As a
business manager, you
will have occasion to ask the human resource unit for advice on
hiring, pay increases,
discipline, discharge, and other personnel-related issues. All
managers are human
resource managers.
Equal Opportunity and the Law

16. Despite the confusing array of laws and regulations on EEO, the
underlying principle is
clear. EEO simply means that individuals should be given an
equal opportunity in
employment decisions. Employers are now well aware of how
costly violations of EEO
laws can be. Because millions of dollars are at stake,
organizations are more careful
about their personnel practices, with the establishment of
monitoring systems, EEO
offices, and training programs in EEO for personnel decisions
makers and supervisors.
These activities are paying off, as employers are now winning a
higher percentage of
discrimination cases than they were in the 1970s.
Job Analysis
Human resource professionals use job analysis as the foundation
for many of the
human resource functions, including selection, compensation,
performance evaluation,
and training. Job analysis is an ongoing process that updates
jobs as they change over
time, and directly supports the EEO program. The results of job

17. analysis are used to
develop job ads such as those seen on the Web.