As the selection of human resources is a comparison and decision-making system, for it to have any validity it is necessary that it be supported by a certain pattern or criterion, which is frequently taken from the information alternatives that we will mention below. continuation.
Collection of information about the position
To collect information about the position to be filled, it can be done through:
1- Analysis of the position
Inventory of the intrinsic (content of the position) and extrinsic (requirements to be met by the applicant for the position, specification factors) aspects of the position. What is important for the selection is the information regarding the requirements and characteristics that the applicant for the position must possess. The selection process will focus on finding and evaluating these requirements and on the characteristics of the candidates who are presented.
2- Application of the critical incident technique
This technique seeks to identify desirable characteristics (that improve performance) and undesirable characteristics (that decrease performance) in candidates. Naturally, it has the disadvantage of being based on the discretion of the immediate boss.
3- Analysis of the employee request
It consists of verifying the data entered in the application, by the immediate boss, specifying the requirements and characteristics that the applicant for the position must possess.
4- Analysis of the position in the market
It consists of examining in other companies the contents, requirements and characteristics of a position to be created in the companies, of which, of course, there is no a priori definition.
5- Work hypothesis
If none of the previous alternatives can be applied, only the working hypothesis remains to be used, that is, an approximate prediction of the content of the position and its enforceability in relation to the occupant, as an initial simulation.
The information that the body receives regarding the positions and their occupants is transformed into a specification sheet for the position or professional file, which must contain the psychological and physical characteristics necessary for the applicant to perform satisfactorily in the position considered.
Choice of selection techniques
Once the information about the position and the applicant has been obtained, and the professional file has been prepared, the next step is to choose the most appropriate selection techniques for the case or situation.
We will present the selection techniques in five well-defined groups:
1. Selection interview
Despite being subjective, the personal interview is the factor that most influences the final decision regarding the acceptance or not of a job candidate. The selection interview must be conducted with great skill and tact, so that it can actually produce the expected results. In addition, it has innumerable applications: choice in recruitment, selection, counseling and orientation, performance evaluation, termination, etc.
The interview is a communication system linked to other systems based on five basic elements:
- The source: the candidate, who has personality characteristics, limitations, habits, ways of expressing himself, history, problems, etc. The message originates from this element. The transmitter: the coding instrument that transforms the message into words. gestures or expressions. The verbal and expressive capacity of the candidate and the interviewer is related to the way of coding the information to transmit it. The channel: in the interview there are at least two channels, the words (the most important thing) and the gestures. The deciphering instrument: the recipients of the information (interviewee and interviewer) can interpret (decipher) the messages differently. Destiny: to whom the message is intended.
In the course of the interview, the five previous steps operate in a probabilistic and non-deterministic way, since noise or transfer can occur in one or all of them.
Interviewing is probably the method most used in selection, despite the fact that there is too much subjectivity in this process. The intangible objectives, attributed to the interview are important for the good performance in the position, and the evaluation that a trained person makes is better than none.
Stages of the selection interview:
- Preparation: Selection interviews, determined or not, must be prepared or planned in some way. Although the degree of preparation varies, it should be sufficient to determine:
- The specific objectives of the interview; The method to achieve the objective of the interview; yAs much information as possible about the candidate interviewed.
- Physical: the place of the interview should be comfortable and only for that purpose; Psychological: the atmosphere of the interview should be pleasant and cordial.
- The interview is directed: when the interviewer follows a previously established path, which serves as a checklist, and generally uses a form that follows the order of the job application. This process is simple, easy, and fast because it requires minimal annotations. which allows the interviewer to concentrate on the subject and not on the annotations or the sequence of the interview The interview is free or not directed: when it follows the course of the questions-answers-questions, that is, when there is no pre-established route for each interview. An interview initially seeks to establish contact with the candidate to obtain information regarding her life and professional career. Her childhood, her education, the degrees obtained in the schools where she studied,.the way he faced the jobs that were entrusted to him, the reasons why he separated from the companies where I work. There should be no opportunity for dark periods in your life to go unnoticed. The role of the interviewer is of paramount importance in the interview.
- The interviewer must make a clear signal indicating the end of the interview. The candidate must receive some kind of information regarding what to do in the future.
2. Knowledge or ability tests:
The objective of the knowledge tests is to evaluate the degree of notions, knowledge and skills acquired through study, practice or exercise.
Types of knowledge tests
- Depending on the way the tests are applied, they can be:
- Oral: verbal questions and answers; Written: written questions and answers; Completion: execution of a job, typing test, shorthand, design, or handling of a vehicle or manufacture of parts.
- Traditional: lecture, expository; Objective: through objective tests; Mixed
3. Psychometric tests:
They are based on the analysis of samples of human behavior, undergoing examination under normative conditions, verifying the aptitude, to try to generalize and predict how this behavior will manifest itself in a certain form of work.
The psychometric test is an objective and standardized measure of a behavioral sample.
They are based on individual differences that may be physical, intellectual and personality, and analyze how and how much the individual's aptitude varies in relation to the group of individuals, taken as a standard of comparison.
Aptitude is the potential or predisposition of the person to develop a skill or a behavior. Fitness is innate.
Fitness:
- Natural predisposition for a certain job or task, it exists without exercise, it is evaluated through comparisons, it allows predicting the future of the candidate, with exercise it is transformed into capacity, it is the latent and potential state of behavior.
Aptitude properly exercised through practice is transformed into ability.
Capacity is the real ability of the person in a certain activity or behavior and is acquired from the development of an aptitude through training or practice.
Capacity:
- ability to perform a certain job, arises from training or learning, is evaluated through performance at work, refers to the real ability of the individual, is the result of exercising aptitude, is the actual state of behavior.
A knowledge test offers a real diagnosis of the candidate's abilities, while an aptitude test provides a future forecast of his potential for development.
4. Personality tests:
Personality tests aim to analyze the various traits determined by character (acquired traits) and temperament (innate traits). They are called generic when they reveal the general personality traits in a global synthesis; and specific, when they investigate certain traits or aspects of the personality such as emotional balance, interest, frustrations, anxiety, aggressiveness, level of motivation, etc.
5. Simulation techniques:
Together with the results of the psychological tests and the interviews, the applicant is subjected to a simulation situation of some event generally related to the future role that he will play in the company, providing a more realistic expectation about his future behavior in the position.
As a complement to what is expressed in the theoretical part of the document, the following videoconference is recommended, from the School of Business and Management, through which you can learn more about some of the techniques used in the personnel selection processes in the companies.
