Advantages Peer assessments, is that they rely significantly on the rater who is very familiar with the applicant KSAO’s due to the regular contact on a daily basis with the person. So, peers/ coworkers are more likely to feel comfortable with the decision because they have played a part in such a decision that was made.
On the other hand, assessment may not always be made clear, which should identify carefully the necessary skills required for successful performance on the job, for this to be achieved the job requirements matrix must come into play. The evaluation may involve friendship bias, where a coworker may not want his/her coworker to be promoted, so they try to pull down each other.
Self-Assessment refers to a person evaluating his/herself to be promoted for a better position in an organization. This approach should be combined with other internal selection procedures as employees may have the tendency to over rate him/herself.
Managerial Sponsorship
Managerial Sponsorship takes in a top manager who does not supervise the person who is being rated, where that manager will identify and develop the KSAO’s, in other words to coach or sponsor the applicant. In firms there are formal mentorship programs where employees are assigned coaches, sponsors and mentors. This program will help employees to mature in the firm and become a greater asset.
Informal Discussions and Recommendations
Lastly, Informal Discussion and Recommendations where employees are recommended and discussed by customers with senior management about the level of success by the employee, this often occurs outside the normal channel. These discussions are normally informal or job related.
Recommendations
Of the five Initial Assessment methods, which was stated in detail, the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd. should be evaluated to help in the process of screening internal applicants thoroughly to produce a list of candidate. The Assessment methods, we would like to employ are the Skill Inventory, Peer Assessment and the Informal Discussion and Recommendations.
The skill inventory is where the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd. Human Resource Personnel should use this database to periodically update and store employees’ files in the firm when they receive an achievement. So, when there is a position to be filled it will be easier for management to select applicants for the position with the requisite qualifications that are required.
According to Heneman III, 2007, researchers stated that Skill inventories and the Informal Discussion methods are used by many organizations intensively, this focuses mainly on closed internal recruitment rather than open. Skills inventories may be costly (expense incurred using the predictors), but it is somewhat reliable (consistency of measurement) and valid (the strength of the relationship between the predictors). A negative impact on both the Informal method and the Skill inventory is that, it may cause discriminatory impact on minorities and women. At JPS programs should be put in place to alleviate such problems that may arise.
The main Assessment method that should be used at Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd. for the position for operations manager is the Skills inventory, because of its reliability and validity. This method will provide an assessment of all the necessary skills for the Target position.
Substantive Assessment Methods
There are several methods used to narrow down applicants to the desired amount. The internal applicant pool is narrowed down to the candidate using the Initial Assessment methods. A decision as to which internal candidates that will become finalists is usually made using the following Substantive Assessment Methods. These include Seniority and Experience, Job Knowledge Tests and Performance Appraisal among other methods. The methods that were selected represent the second stage of the selection process.
Seniority and Experience
Over the years individuals have often confused the concept of seniority and experience and used them interchangeably; however they are quite different when related to reality.
Seniority refers to the length of service one has been with an organisation, department, or job, seniority measures the difference between the first date of hire and the present date of employment, so therefore seniority is a quantifiable measure, which is not related to the type or quality of experience.
On the other hand experience takes on a broader perspective. Experience not only includes the length of service in an organisation or in various positions, but also the kinds of activities employees have done in the position.
At JPS seniority and experience should be among the most prevalent methods of internal selection. There are various reasons why this method is used as one of the methods of selecting internally. Direct experience in a job content area reflects the KSAO’s that are required to perform the job. Secondly the information obtained from seniority and experience is easily and cheaply obtained, as the information is readily available. Finally seniority and experience at JPS should be used as a means of rewarding loyal employees, who have helped the company to gain the reputation it currently has. The method of seniority and experience is used to assess the candidates’ experience in power station operations and management. The information will be gathered by reviewing the candidates’ files to identify how long they have been in the organization and the scope of task that they have done.
Based on research evidence, several conclusions about the use of seniority have been made: Employees believe that promotions will be made to the most senior or experienced employee, so using this method may receive positive reactions from the employees and Experience is more likely to be content valid if the past or present jobs are similar to the future job.
Job Knowledge Tests
In recruiting for the position of Operations Manager, job knowledge test should be one of the methods used to select the final candidate. Job knowledge measures one’s mastery of the concepts needed to perform certain job activities. Job knowledge is a complex concept that takes into consideration the ability of the candidate or the capacity to learn and the seniority which is the opportunity to learn. This is a written test that should be developed by the HR department of JPS to evaluate the job knowledge of the individual. The content domain from which the questions will be created should be clearly identified; this information would come from the Job Analysis. Included in the job knowledge test for the position of Operations Manager, it will identify the specific knowledge necessary for being a successful operations manager such as their analytical skills.
Job Knowledge Test is not an area that has been well researched, neither for external or internal selection but is believed to be a huge predictor of job performance, because it reflects an assessment of previous experiences of an applicant and an important, KSAO, namely cognitive ability.
Performance Appraisal
A candidates past performance is a great predictor of future performances; this is obtained from data that is routinely collected as a part of the performance appraisal process and thus is available for use in internal selection. This is another type of method that is should be used to select internal candidates at JPS, as the information that is needed is readily available. Performance Appraisal captures both ability and motivation, because it offers a complete look at the person’s qualifications for the position of operations manager or any other vacant position. However in using the performance appraisal the HR department should take the necessary precaution when screening the applicants as sometimes there is no direct correspondence between the requirements of the position applied for, so performance appraisal is used as predictors when the job analysis indicates a close relationship between the current job and the position applied for. The performance appraisal will be used to measure the candidates’ knowledge of power station maintenance, operations, safety standards and statutory regulations.
Promotability Ratings
Promotability Ratings is an assessment which involves determining the applicants’ potential for a higher-level job. Promotability ratings are made at the same time that performance appraisals are conducted. Once the requirements of promotability are discussed with the employees, this will encourage them to improve on areas of weakness and to also develop new skills which will aid in the promotion to higher levels in the organization. In turn, the development of new skills in employees increases the internal recruitment pool for promotions. However; caution must be exercised in using promotability ratings. When employees receive separate evaluations for purposes of performance appraisal, promotability, and pay, they will receive mixed messages that may be difficult for them to interpret.
There will be cases where employees will be praised for excellent performance on the job but when it comes on to promotions they are not rated as being promotable. This will discourage employees because they know within themselves that they perform well on the job so they will be wondering why they were not promoted. This is why care should be taken to show employees the relevant judgments’ that are being made in each assessment so they can initiate the process of improving or trying to master the skills required for promotion. This will be a good method to use at JPS when promoting employees to higher positions in the organization because this will encourage them to improve on their major weaknesses and to also develop skills which will aid in their development and also aid in them getting promoted for a higher position. What will aid in the development of new skills by the employees is when they participate in job rotation as this will better help them in having the knowledge of the different skills needed in the various departments of the organization. Managers conducting the promotions should bear in mind that they should inform the unsuccessful employees on why they were not selected so that they can improve on those areas for the next promotion.
Interview Simulation
The final method is an interview simulation which is one that simulates the oral communication required on the job, and is sometimes used in an assessment center. It is also used as a predictor separate from the assessment center. There are three forms of interview simulations which include; role-play which is defined by Dessler, 2005 as a training technique in which trainees act out parts in a realistic management situation. In role-play, job candidates are placed in a simulated situation where he or she must interact with the boss, a subordinate or a customer. In other words, the interviewer will be playing one role while the candidate will be playing the role of the person in the position applied for. This will be a good interview method at JPS, because when the managers are interviewing the candidates for the Operations Management position, this method can be used to find out the knowledge that he or she has about the said position.
Another form of interview simulations is a fact-finding interview, where the job candidate is presented with a case or problem with incomplete information. It is then the candidates’ duty to solicit from the interviewer or a resource person the additional facts needed to resolve the case. The candidate will be evaluated according to the data he or she has gathered to confirm or disconfirm the case. This would be good to perform at JPS as it will help the candidate applying for the position of Operations management to be able to handle any problems on site that may occur in which he or she would need fact about what took place not only from other people in the organization but also the employees that work on site.
The final form of interview simulation is oral presentations where in many jobs, presentations need to be made to customers, clients, or even boards of directors. This approach is useful to see how an executive would present his or her proposed strategic plan to a board of directors. This would be useful in JPS because as Operations Management an oral presentation is required to inform the boards of directors on the operations of power plant. Interview simulations allow for a systematic assessment of each candidate so that the organization will know if this person has the right credentials to fit the job. To be effective, these interviews need to be structured and evaluated according to observable behaviors identified in the job analysis as necessary for successful performance.
Discretionary Method for JPS
Discretionary methods are used to narrow down the list of finalist to those who will receive job offers. Sometimes all finalists will receive job offers, but there are times when they are not enough position to be filled based on the demand of the finalists who expected to receive job offer.
At JPS whenever they are job openings available they usually have a large amount of applicants relative to those who actually receive the job, therefore HR department at JPS should consider the discretionary method as a form internal recruitment. The discretionary methods differ from external selection in two primary ways and as such the HR department at JPS should consider the discretionary method when deciding job offers.
Of the two distinguish features of discretionary method as oppose to external selection, the HR department need to have a database on the finalists who were not successful in being selected for the job offer and in event that a similar job opening should occur in the future, chances are the previous candidate or finalist whose information is available in the HR database are most likely to receive the job offer over an first time finalist who is equally qualified. The second feature of discretionary method is that multiple assessors are generally used with internal selection; therefore other managers who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s profile can actually evaluate the current position and the candidate profile and make recommendations to the HR manager. This tend to reduce the level of bias or preference if exist in HR department as relates to the selection process.
The Advantages of Discretionary Method include:
- Selecting candidates using this method is cheaper than external methods.
- Job vacancies are usually filled faster as finalists information is in a central database for the HR department.
- Reduce the level of bias in the recruiting process as they are many assessors who evaluate the finalists before the candidates are initially selected.
Disadvantage of Discretionary Method include:
- It may be questionable if the actual finalist that is selected is the most suitable candidate.
- This recruiting process may be limited considering the fact that it does not factoring candidates from the external environment.
Selection Process
1 Job Offer
Discretionary Assessment
Substantive Assessment
Initial Assessment
Legal Issues
From a legal perspective methods and processes of internal selection are viewed in the same way as external selection. The laws and regulations make no major distinctions between them. The influences that can be emphasised in the internal selection process include the Uniform Guidelines in Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP) and the Glass Ceiling.
Uniform Guidelines in Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP)
The uniform guidelines in employee selection procedures (UGESP), defines a selection procedure in such a way that virtually any selection method whether in an external or internal context. It should be covered by the requirements of the (UGESP). It also applies to any employment decision which includes promotion decisions. The (UGESP) should also define clearly good conduct for validity studies, define discrimination, suggest ways for identifying adverse impact and provides suggestions for ensuring the appropriateness of a staffing process. The (UGESP) applies to internal testing just as it has to more traditional testing.
Validity studies are used to justify the unfavourable impact in promotions of the organisation; these can be content or criterion-related validity studies. As a result, content tends to be more effective for validation purposes. Most assessment methods used in internal selection attempt to measure behaviour and KSAO’s directly associated with a current job that are felt to be related to success in executive jobs. For instance, performance appraisal and promotability ratings, which are based current as well as past job content. Therefore the organisation should pay much attention to the validation and documentation requirements for content validation in the UGESP.
One disadvantage of the UGESP may be that it places substantial administrative and research demands on the organisation that are difficult to fulfill. Another disadvantage of the UGESP may be that some parts of it are outdated and do not take into consideration some of the problems that occur today.
The Glass Ceiling
Despite the advances that have been made in creating equal employment opportunities, discrimination still exists. Minorities, women and the protected class members rise only so high but go no further; this may be described as the Glass Ceiling an invisible but real barrier to upward mobility. The Glass Ceiling is constructed from organisation culture, stereotype thinking and managerial attitudes. When an organisation precludes an individual from advancing as far as they can, both the organisation and the individuals lose.
Shattering the glass ceiling would allow for the organisation to develop effective ways of eliminating foregoing mobility barriers, make greater use of selection plans and by moving away from casual, subjective methods (such as typical promotability ratings, quick reviews of personnel files, supervisory informal recommendations) and also pay close attention to the types of KSAO’s necessary for advancements and establish programs to communicate these KSAO’s to those employees.
Disadvantages of the glass ceiling could be excessive turnover this may be a result of employees who find themselves in dead-end jobs or who discover that there are severely limited promotional opportunities, as a result employees are prone to leave the organisation. Another disadvantage would be increased recruiting costs, in that excessive turnover increases recruiting costs: constant and sometimes intensive efforts are required just to keep the position filled, if a company’s reputation states that it lacks interest in the career of its employees, the recruiting task becomes more expensive and more difficult.
Underutilization of talent may be another disadvantage, in that the absence of career-centered developmental activities that are available may not be used efficiently. Employees may be hired to do a particular job, with little or no thought given to other jobs for which they could be trained and developed. Employee dissatisfaction is also a disadvantage of the glass ceiling; this is a result of the employment expectations not being filled and so employees become de-motivated, unsatisfied and their productivity declines. Another disadvantage could be poor promotional decision based on favoritism, politics and other inconsequential factors rather than on performance, preparation and organisational needs. Moreover, when the wrong persons are promoted for the wrong reasons, it will place a negative impact on the organisation, due to their job performance.
Other disadvantage includes Potential Discrimination where in the absence of formulized career planning and development, promotion decisions may tend to be made on the basis of non-relevant job factors (such as stereotype and friendships). Stymied Progression, where for every employee whose upward mobility is precluded, one or more other employees cannot progress because the employee whose progress is stymied blocks the promotion channel.
The consequence of not engaging in career planning and development has underscored the need for a formulized program. Career management should not be left to chance because the organisational risk of doing so is too great.
Conclusion
The selection of internal candidates follows a process very similar to the selection of external candidates as both methods includes a logic of prediction which states that indicators of a person degree of success in past situations should be predictive of how successful he or she will likely to be in new situations. This is applied and based on this information a selection plan is developed and implemented. One area in which there is a huge difference in internal and external methods is the nature of the predictor. Predictors used for internal selection tend to have greater depth and more relevance and are better suited for verification as a result there are often different types of predictors used for internal than for external selection decisions.
The methods that were in selecting the internal candidates were the Initial Assessment Methods, Substantive Assessment Method and Discretionary Assessment Method, which occur at different stages in the selection process. The initial assessment methods that were used to narrow down the applicant pool to a qualified set of candidates were skills inventory, peer assessment, informal discussions and recommendations. The next method in the selection process is the Substantive Assessment method. This assessment is used to select finalists from the list of candidates. The predictors used for making this decision were seniority and experience, job knowledge tests, performance appraisal, promotability rating and lastly interview simulation. In order to narrow down to those who will receive job offers the discretionary assessment method is used. Multiple assessors are generally used with internal selection, simply put not only the hiring managers opinion are used to select who will receive the job but the views of others such as previous manager or top management.
In making job offers there are legal issues to be taken into consideration. Two areas for internal selection are the Uniformed Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedure (UGESP) and Glass ceiling. The UGESP ensures that internal selection methods are valid if adverse impact is occurring.
Reference List
Dessler G., (2005). Human Resource Management, 10th edition. Prentice Hall.
Heneman H. G. III & Judge T, A., (2007). Staffing Organization, 5th edition. McGraw- Hill Irwin.
APPENDIX
Substantive Assessment Method in the Selection Plan
