Chapter 5 Employee Selection: References and Testing

Chapter Five Employee Selection: References and Testing

Predicting Performance using References and Letters of Recommendation

An employer must obtain information about the quality of previous performance by relying on an applicant's references, either by calling those references or asking for letter of recommendations from previous employers

Reference Check - is the process of confirming the accuracy of information provided by an applicant

Reference - the expression of an opinion, either orally or through a written checklist, regarding an applicant's ability, previous performance, work habits, character, or potential for future success

Letter of Recommendation - letter expressing an opinion regarding applicant's ability, previous performance, work habits, character, or potential future success

references and recommendations

Reasons for using

Confirming details on resume

Avoiding resume fraud

Checking for Discipline Problems if an organization hires an applicant without checking his references and background and he later commits a crime while in the employ of an organization, the organization may be found liable for negligent hiring if the employee has a criminal background that would have been detected has a background check been conducted.

Discovering New Information about the Applicant

Predicting Future Performance

Low validity in predicting future employee success because:

One. Leniency - applicants choose references that would help them in application by showing only positive sides

Two. Knowledge of the Applicant - the person writing the letter often does not know the applicant well

Three. Reliability - the lack of agreement between two people who provide references for the same person

Four. Extraneous Factors - method used by the letter writer is often more important than the actual content