When an activity becomes massive, the risk of its quality decreasing in parallel increases. That is, the more people indulge in a certain task and the mistaken belief that it is something very simple and that anyone can do spreads among them, this activity, if it is not supervised by an impartial, informed and respected entity, becomes it degrades, it loses its value.
Along with the preaching of popular capitalism, of self-made men, of individual initiative as a dynamizer of the market, which has been going on in Latin America for a long time, the idea of professionalizing business administration also expanded, regardless of its twist or size. This explains the growing offer of MBA from numerous universities in the region.
Unfortunately, the absence or even insufficient coverage of organizations that ensure quality management has led to a number of companies executing certain processes and operations in an improvised and even erroneous way.
In the following lines I want to refer to some errors that are very visible in the selection of personnel carried out by some Peruvian companies, whose name I will keep in reserve.
1. Many tests in a short time.- As every psychology student who has taken the subjects related to mental tests or tests knows, subjecting a person to several exams with such instruments, one after another, without interruption produces, together with the natural and inevitable fatigue, the decline in the quality and number of your responses.
However, it is common to hear young Peruvians unemployed or looking for a better job complain about the saturation of psychological tests they suffered in a single morning.
How can this situation be explained? Speculating, it can be attributed to an irresponsible and carefree use of psychological evaluation by those appointed in such companies. These would be people who use the wrong criteria and psychologists who do not enforce their privileges.
Perhaps one way towards the solution is that those in charge of the psychological selection and evaluation processes ask themselves “How would I feel and act in such a situation?”; "Would I be successful if I underwent a volley of psychological tests in one morning?"
Let's also not forget that there is another previous mistake: wanting to evaluate all candidates without exception, something that is expensive and useless if it is an external recruitment.
2. Decide from a single test (and not always the most reliable or reliable).- Simplifying as much as possible, it can be said that in psychology there are two large groups of tests, those that give a quantitative result and those that express a qualitative result. In personnel selection, the most sensible thing is to use tests of both classes and, together with the subject's performance in the interview, their work experience and their knowledge and other duly accredited competencies, make a decision.
Surprisingly, it is not uncommon to learn that in some companies they use only and exclusively a projective test (drawing test, ink stain test, etc.) to reach a verdict on the candidates.
To the aforementioned reasons, there may be added the desire of the evaluators to appear sophisticated or to give their profession an esoteric and almost supernatural tint in front of their employer, the company that is looking for personnel. It would not be strange either that they yielded to the demands of an executive and applied something that "is fashionable and used by the best companies."
3. Use very recent psychological tests, still in the testing or experimentation stage.- Recently, a regional constituency of the Peruvian state applied a short and simple questionnaire by an unknown author to some young candidates as the only psychological evaluation test.
This instrument had all the appearance of having been made by a student or recent graduate of psychology.
Although creating a test is a merit among psychologists, it seems too risky to use a tool as new or just done in a process as serious as hiring for the government. And even more if by saving time or money other recognized and profound tests were discarded.
Psychological tests are not perfect or infallible tools. They require a period of testing or application in human samples as a test or study of their results and to check if they effectively measure what is expected. As if that were not enough, like all human creation they are surpassed and replaced by others more complete and accurate.
The most recommendable thing in a company, if you are selecting personnel, is to use tests of recognized validity and reliability in the reality (city, country or region) in question.
4. Require medical tests to rule out pregnancy as a condition for candidates and periodically for regular employees. - Although this is beyond the scope of the psychologist, his collision with professional ethics and the dignity of people is impressive. Although we like it or not, the region has gone through processes of labor flexibility and removal of formerly recognized rights, there are other ways by which the company can protect itself from possible disbursements, frauds, scams or unjustified demands.
The presentation of a contract that specifies in detail the nature and extent, according to law, of the labor relationship between company and worker would suffice.
5. Use the polygraph or lie detector.- In Peru, a company offers evaluations of candidates through the cinematographic and police lie detector. And it does so through a newspaper with national circulation.
Unfortunately for its cultists and believers, such a machine can be tricked and its results altered by someone with sufficient knowledge and cunning. For example, the graphs on the polygraph, which translate vital signs, are disturbed by the tension of some belly muscles.
On the other hand, the lie detector results are not accepted in the courts of much of the United States. This seems to respond to ethical objections and forceful previous evidence that proves the fallibility of this machine.
These are just some mistakes, perhaps the most visible ones, that those who are in charge of the selection of personnel in some Peruvian companies incur. It is essential to repair the ethical damage done to those who come to them in search of employment and that which they inflict on the image of themselves.
