The document summarizes a presentation made to a municipal HR organization about improving their communications officer hiring process. It provides an overview of the organization and job, describes the current selection process, and identifies effective and ineffective procedures. Recommendations are made to implement a more structured interview format with scoring, incorporate personality and skills tests that better match the job duties, and conduct statistical analysis of the process rather than relying on intuition. The client was open to suggestions but hesitant to change a process that has not faced complaints.

1. Presentation II Rachel Altner Evelyn Botero Rebecca Yelverton

2. Brief Overview Job overview Organization Current selection process Effective processes Ineffective processes Final Recommendations Improving the quality of hires Assessment tools/ measures used

3. Organization Municipal HR Organization Small, cohesive environment Supports over 150 city workers Compliant with EEOC; has written statement on website that they adhere to EEO laws

4. Job description for the Communications Officer (overview) Responsibilities include : Specialized work assisting the public. Provides vital information to law enforcement officers. Utilizes the latest technology in the field.

5. Current Selection Process Hurdle Approach Advertise job opening through: City website Partnership with schools Newspaper 40 applicants Diverse backgrounds Interview 3 interviewers Background check

6. Effective Procedures Recruit for diversity Prescreen based on a set of clearly defined and structured criteria Use of job related questions Structured interview questions Structured “ice breakers” to get candidate comfortable before beginning interview Provide time to learn before being tested on location (i.e. map test)

7. Effective Procedures cont… Rely on multiple independent interviewers Enhances reliability Consistency Realistic job preview provided Take applicants to actual call center Introduce them to potential co-workers Commitment and Cornerstone ” letter given to provide expectations to candidates about organization and obligations to its employees

8. Ineffective procedures No formal scoring system Lack of structure in evaluating interview responses Scoring procedures on tests may not be appropriate for actual work being performed on job Example: Typing test given because Communication Officers must be able to multi-task

9. Class Suggestions Improving the selection process Ex: Requirement to be located within the city Scoring applicants instead of intuition Better assessment of person-organization fit

10. Recommendations Apply a formal scoring format Statistical analysis is better than a gut feeling Incorporate interview rating scales of KSAs Research supports this notion “ An interview format that provides a formal, defined scoring system is superior…in terms of legal defensibility, as well as reliability and validity of interviewer judgments.” -page 518

11. Recommendations cont… Support for structured interviews Corrected validity coefficients: 0.44, 0.57, and 0.62. Corrected validity coefficients for unstructured interviews: 0.20, 0.31, and 0.33 Three meta-analytic studies Implement typing test that mimics actual job behaviors Example: have candidate scored on content of typing test, while having a conversation

12. Recommendations cont… Personality Test in Selection Process

13. Reactions Not opposed to altering selection procedure Thought more structure incorporated to post-interview decisions would be a good idea for the future but… Haven’t had the need No complaints have been filed yet

14. Take-a-ways Valuable insight to see how a HR organization is ran (even if it is not by the book) Created an indispensable networking connection Educated the organization about I/O Gave us the experience of making recommendations to the client

15. Questions for the class Do you have any other recommendations that you might have offered to our client? Do you have any other suggestions for improving the quality of hires for this position? What other tools might you add to aid in the selection process?

16. Thank you! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!