The Role of Testing Employees

The Role of Testing Employees
OMM618: Human Resources Management
Date: 4/9/2013

Introduction The workplace testing has become increasingly popular. Employers screen their workers in an effort to try to figure out who is best for the position or for the promotion at hand. As long as a test is design to predict an employee’s actual ability to do the job. An employer can generally require typing test for clerical jobs or strength tests for position requiring those skills. Employee selection is said to be putting the right person in place for the job. It includes matching the company’s requirement to the qualifications to the applicants. When selecting the right person for the job, it can cut down on turnover, save money for the company and time. The company can also benefit from the performance of the employee(www.eeoc.gov).
The Selection Process and the Role of Testing Employees
Making the wrong decision for a position can be very costly in a business. It is very important to make sure that the best person for the position is chosen when hiring a new employee. The employee selection process usually includes notifying the applicant, reviewing, and screening, interviewing, and testing. This can only result in selecting the best candidate. Notifying the applicant normally starts with human resources office. The employer decides what requirements they want the applicant to have. For instance, a college degree or prior experience maybe some requirements before being accepted for the position. Once the manager produces the job requirements, the human resources office advertises the position. Once applicants have applied for the job, the human resources department reviews each application and tries to match the applicant’s background to the job opening. Research has shown that the most important selection process is the interview, especially face to face interviews. The interview process is very different from company to company. During the selection the employer usually calls back for a second interview and also speaks to other member human resource department members. The testing part of the process is the last part of the selection process. This can be done before the applicant is hired. Testing can vary from personality test to drug test. After the test is taken the employer offers the position to the chosen candidate (www.eeoc.gov).
Articles
In article one; it clearly explains that all organizations face the challenges of selecting the right person on the job. Using paper and pencil test as a selection tool has been eliminated because of discrimination problems, and most companies now rely on interviews. The situational interview is a shortened form of performance testing and uses the intentions of the employee as a basis for selection. The candidate is then asked to solve a group of problems which he would encounter on the job, and his responses are compared to those of people who have had various degree of success in the particular job. The situational interview must be developed by creating a set of job-related problems and then discriminating between successful and unsuccessful performance. Testing has affirmed that the situational interview is a valid and accurate method for performance testing in the hiring process. Correlation was good between interview performance and later performance on the job. The situational interview provides a systematic way of comparing how prospective employees will handle job related problems, and it also gives the interviewer an active role to play in the process whereby he can assess intangibles. In article two, it talks about how the manger’s role is to get the job done through others. Avoiding hiring mistakes is not easy, yet choosing the right candidate for a job is among the most neglected of managerial skills. Therefore, many executives are turning to professional and scientific assessment to evaluate the job candidate’s compatibility with the job. The employee’s assessment center typically gathers meaningful information through standardized tests. However, it is difficult for a standardized test to evaluate certain people skills. Another important phase of the assessment process is in depth interviewing. Having a professional employment consultant conduct at least a portion of the interview may allow the manager to obtain more objective, relevant information.
Conclusion
Employment testing can be a valuable part of the interview and hiring process. There are many types of employees you can use to gain important data. Using any testing tool for jobs will depend on your need, the budget and the availability of a valid and reliable test. Although testing cannot be the only decision making tool, the employer should maybe rely on the selection process to make the best hiring decision. Using the selection process helps to select the best candidate.