Metro parking does not follow any behavior in testing, they just judge book by its cover. Metro parking human resource department tend to investigate the capability of the Candidates to perform the task after accepting them at posts.
Human resource department in metro parking company always focus on cognitive (mental) abilities; ability to calculate for car park guard. Metro parking determines the behavior of the candidates based on open question the human resource manager asks it for the new employee in the interview. Furthermore, The Human resource department always consults the Malaysian police department to trace if the candidate has any criminal records.
Moreover, the manager also stated that the company sit age requirement for new employees between( 23-30) years old. On the other hand, selection the manager consider a higher age range as approximately (30-40) years old, to ensure enough experience gained.
Lastly, the idea of promoting employees is governed by the level of performance the individuals practice and reflected upon the company gains.
Interviewing and testing are still the most commonly used method of selection in employment, in spite of the fact that many studies have shown it to be a very flawed technique. Given the preference of managers and human resource practitioners for interviewing, structured interviewing techniques have been suggested as a means of improving validity. Much of the research into these interviewing techniques is experimental in nature, and the aim of the present study was to identify and explore the use of two particular structured interviewing techniques by various organisations in the UK. This is seen as the first stage of a larger study. The next stage will provide more detailed analysis of how the techniques are introduced and applied, together with benefits and problems in practice. This study relates specifically to selection interviewing although it may also have relevance to other interviewing situations such as discipline, grievance, appraisal and exit interviewing. It is also likely to be relevant to other situations where interviewing techniques are important as a means of inquiry, such as research, criminal investigation and social work.
Many studies have demonstrated the weaknesses of interviewing in staff selection (Hunter and Hunter, 1984; Reilly and Chao, 1982). The common deficiencies in interviewer decision making have been summarised by Anderson (1992) and by Taylor and O’Driscoll, (1995). These include, for example: stereotyping of candidates; primacy effects; similarity effects; and negative information weighting bias.
Structured interviews
Many studies have assessed the validity of different types of interview. Several meta-analyses of these studies have shown that structured interviews have more predictive validity than unstructured interviews (Huffcutt and Arthur, 1994; McDaniel et al., 1994; Wiesner and Cronshaw, 1988; Wright et al., 1989). There are several ways in which interviews can be structured. This may include using job analysis to make questions relevant to the job, asking the same questions of all candidates as well as using systematic scoring procedures. A particular issue which has received attention is question type, with two specific questioning techniques producing different types of structured interview:
(1) The situational interview focuses on future oriented questions and asks candidates about their anticipated behaviour in hypothetical situations: (“what would you do if…?”). Responses to each question are then compared with a set of predetermined “standards” to produce a score for each answer. Situational interviews are based on the premiss that a person’s stated intentions are related to subsequent actual behaviour. Several aspects of this approach contribute to its usefulness: the situation descriptions are developed in relation to the situations likely to be encountered in the actual job; each candidate is presented with the same list of situations to respond to; no probing or digression from the list of situations is permitted; the standards for scoring and evaluating responses are developed by analysing the responses of actual good and average performing job incumbents.
(2) The behavioural interview focuses on past oriented questions and asks about past behaviour in actual situations: (“Give me an example where you have…”). Here, responses to each question area (competency) are evaluated in relation to those expected. Behavioural interviews are based on the principle that “the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour” (Green and Horgan, 1982). This approach seeks examples of past actual behaviour rather than hypothetical responses. It asks for behaviour in relation to defined job competencies rather than particular situations. This approach is more personal than situational interviewing as it allows candidates to discuss their own experience in detail. It is also more flexible, in that it allows more thorough probing and elaboration. Scoring and evaluating of these responses, however, can be more difficult.
Structured interviewing is increasing in popularity. This can be attributed to three main reasons:
(1) Social aspects of interviewing: it is flexible, it provides the opportunity to meet the “whole” person face to face, it involves line managers and allows some bargaining and influencing to take place.
(2) Limitations of other methods: time and costs and specialist training required; the potentially adverse effects on candidates; the monopoly of techniques by personnel specialists leading to marginalisation of line management.
(3) The benefits of structure in interviewing: more focus on relevant criteria and candidates’ competencies; hence an increased likelihood of better selection decisions; more consistency and fairness in treatment of candidates.
Structured interviewing therefore commends itself to personnel practitioners and line managers alike. However, it does require that interviewers:
• understand the different types of structured questioning technique;
• know how to use them;
• base decisions on defined, relevant criteria; and
• use a systematic approach to evaluation of responses.
All this requires time and effort, more than might be required for a more “casual” interview. These issues of practice will form the basis of future research and some specific research questions are now considered.
According to human resource science Why Careful Selection Is Important;
Slecting the right employees is important for three main reasons:
1) employees with the right skills and attributes will perform more effectively.
2) the cost of making a wrong hire can become exhorbitant considering the time and money invested in the selection and training process.
3) the legal implications of incompetent or negligent hiring .
They have some Concepts for testing the employee like:
A. Reliability refers to the consistency of scores obtained by the same person when retested with the identical or equivalent tests.
B. Validity refers to evidence that performance on a test is a valid predictor of subsequent performance on the job.
- Criterion Validity shows that scores on the test (predictors) are
related to job performance.
- Content Validity shows that the test contains a fair sample of the tasks and skills actually needed for the job in question.
C. How to Validate a Test
1. Analyze the Job and write job descriptions and job specifications.
2. Choose the Tests that measure the attributes (predictors) important for job success.
3. Administer the Test selected to old or new employees for concurrent and predictive validation.
4. Relate Test Scores and Criteria through a correlation analysis, which shows the degree of statistical relationship between (1) scores on the test and (2) job performance.
5. Cross-validate and Revalidate by performing steps 3 and 4 on a new sample of employees. Testing Guidelines: 1) use tests as supplements; 2) validate the tests; 3) analyze all your current hiring and promotion standards; 4) keep accurate records; 5) begin your validation program now; 6) use a certified psychologist; and 7) test conditions are important.
D. Equal Employment Opportunity Aspects of Testing – Employers must be able to prove that their tests are related to success or failure on the job (validity) and that their tests don’t unfairly discriminate against minority or nonminority subgroups. If a test discriminates, employers can choose an alternative selection procedure; show that the test is valid; or monitor theselection test to see if it results in disparate impact.
E. Test Takers Individual Rights and Test Security – Test takers have certain rights to privacy and information under the American Psychological Association’s (APA) standard for educational and psychological tests.
1. Legal Privacy Issues – Supreme Court decisions provide protection against the disclosure of employee information to people outside the company. Organizations should train supervisors regarding confidentiality and adopt a “need to know” policy to protect information. Disclosure of procedures may also limit liability.
F. Using Tests at Work – Various types of tests are widely used by employers today, including those for basic skills, job skills and psychological measurement.
1. Test Scoring – may be automated and done by the employer, or professionally scored and interpreted by psychologists outside the firm.
G. Computerized – Online Testing - is increasing replacing pencil-and-paper and manual tests.
They have some Type of Tests like:
A. Tests of Cognitive Abilities – Cognitive tests include tests of general reasoning ability (intelligence) and tests of specific mental abilities like memory and inductive reasoning.
1. Intelligence Tests are tests of general intellectual abilities ranging from memory, vocabulary, verbal fluency to numerical ability.
2. Specific Cognitive Abilities (aptitude) include inductive and deductive reasoning, verbal comprehension, memory, and numerical ability.
B. Tests of Motor and Physical Abilities – Employers may use various tests to measure such motor abilities as finger dexterity, manual dexterity, and reaction time. They may also want to measure such physical abilities as static strength, dynamic strength, body coordination and stamina.
C. Measuring Personality and Interests – can be used to assess personal characteristics as attitude, motivation, and temperament.(See Figure 6-6)
1. What Personality Tests Measure– Tests measure basic aspects of an applicant’s personality, such as introversion, stability and motivation.
- The "Big Five" - Industrial psychologists emphasize five personality dimensions as they apply to personnel testing: extroversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience.
- Caveats – Personality tests are the most difficult tsts to evaluate and use. Recent court decisions indicated that the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is a medical test because it can screen out applicants with psychological impairment, and that its use before an employment offer is made is therefore a violation of ADA.
- Interest Inventories compare one’s interests with those of people in various occupations.
- Achievement Tests – measure what a person has learned.
SELECTION:
The most important job of a Human Resources person is the selection and hiring/recruitment of employees. It cannot be faulted that the success of any firm depends on the quality of human resources or talents in that firm. This is why it is very important for any human resources expert to be very sure of hiring the right staff without compromising anything from the onset. The questions while sourcing for talents should be, can these staff deliver? What are their strengths? Can they fit into the corporate goal and objectives of the firm? What are their competencies? Can they be trained? Can they pursue the vision of the firm? What values are they bringing into the organization? Are they coming to use our firm as a learning ground and move on with their career somewhere else? Can we count on them to fit into the succession plan of the company? Etc. Answers to these questions and more are why selection and recruitment seems to be an onerous task. It cannot be argued that most applicants fake their qualifications and experiences just to impress interviewers and get the job. It is very important then for interviewers to look beyond the physical to determine how suitable an applicant is.
This brings us to the issue of the competency analysis of those to be interviewed. Competency test is always one of the important selection strategies. This is because it goes beyond what eyes can see. It checks the behaviours of the applicants as well as their characteristics, which influences and drives their performance on the job. A competency can then be seen as the underlying characteristics of a person which enables him to deliver or not deliver superior performances in a given job, role or situation.
The competency of a candidate can be seen in his Skills, educational qualifications, Knowledge, abilities, achievements, strengths, social roles, self image, Traits and Motives. Where the candidate’s skills, educational qualifications, knowledge, abilities, achievements, strengths and weaknesses can be easily identified, his Traits and Motives are always hidden in the core of the candidate. The Motive and Traits of different candidates are always what separates the chaff from the juice. This then means that interviewers should pay more attention during selection exercises in the motives and traits of candidates more than their qualifications and experiences.
When there is an opening in a firm, it is always very important for the Human resources department to check inwardly if there is any existing staff that can fit perfectly into that position. If none, the next step should be to look outwardly. While placing the advert, it is also very important for the HR person to know the job requirements for that position, the educational qualification needed, number of years of experiences on the job, the job description, the gender of the person needed etc. These will help in knowing the content of the advert placement.
It is also always very important for the advert to specify that each candidate should have his profile and career summary in the first page of the resume. This will make the short-listing job simple.
Three simple steps allow employers to select the best employees legally through proper recruiting and pre-employment testing practices.
- Use published advertisements in addition to word-of-mouth recruiting. Word-of-mouth recruiting which results in a lower percentage of qualified minority applicants than expected for an employment area could support a strong case of discriminatory hiring under Title VII; therefore, use published advertisements which include the job description and required qualifications in race, sex, age, national origin, religion, and disability-neutral terms. Also remember that the phrase "equal opportunity employer" does not cure discriminatory language in a published employment advertisement.
- Use employment applications in addition to resumes. Well-drafted employment applications contain questions that relate only to the job position and language that insulates the employer from discrimination and invasion of privacy claims. Employers should either use a different job application for each job position or add a disclaimer to employment applications used for more than one job position. For example: "The employer uses this application for multiple job positions; therefore, some questions contained herein may not relate to the job position for which you are applying. If you choose to answer such questions, the employer will ignore your responses for hiring purposes."
- Use pre-employment personality tests. Knowledge of personality traits can be evaluated as indicators of how successful an individual may be in certain situations and for various employers. A well-designed, well-implemented personality test can help find the best fit between employer and employee -- without raising discrimination and privacy issues.
Recommendation
However, the Metro Parking group of companies has tremendous success and expansion recently, the company lacks the scientific approach in testing and selecting new employees. Furthermore, the same problem stands on dealing with old staff in term of promoting and descending them. The company follows a very solid way in that matter. For instance, the company practices the traditional manner in testing and selecting new candidates for job vacancies. In which they heavily rely on the interview and the first impression. Whereas, it is recommended according by human resource science that a comprehensive testing and selection procedures have to be carried out in dealing with new candidates. It has been reported constantly that the first impression is always misleading. The benefits of proper testing and selection ensure maximum success, better performance and the optimum profit and rewards.
In regards to promoting strategy, Metro Parking company uses a very simple method on deciding who to promote. The company considers only the individual's performance. However, the company should not disregard other criteria such as experience, individual's readiness and qualification for the promotion post.
