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3384 Midterm - Summary Recruitment and selection in

Canada
Personnel Recruitment and Selection (The University of Western Ontario)

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Chapter 1: An Introduction to Recruitment and Selection

Key Terms:
- Ethics: The determination of right and wrong; the standards of appropriate conduct or behaviour
for members of a profession: what those members may or may not do.
- Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS): Computer-based systems that track employee
data, the needs of HR, and the requirements and competencies needed for different positions,
among other functions.
- Professional standards: Professional standards provide guidance on how HR professionals
should behave in certain situations including the use of employment tests.
- Recruitment: The generation of an applicant pool for a position or job in order to provide the
required number of candidates for a subsequent selection or promotion program.
- Selection: The choice of job candidates from a previously generated applicant pool in a way that
will meet management goals and objectives as well as current legal requirements.
- Top management: An organization’s commitment to recruit, retain, and develop the most
talented and superior employees.
Opening Vignette: “Batfleck” – What You Should Know About Making Bad Hires
- The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the average cost of a bad hire can be 30% of
individual’s first-year potential earnings
- A real-life example: Ben Affleck being hired as batman was viewed as a very disappointing hire
by the public, and as such the movie tanked at the box office. While Affleck has “Hollywood star
power” this doesn’t counter-balance his inability to play a good superhero.
- The purpose of this example is to show that settling on a candidate who may meet one of your
requirements but is sub-par with others is not a wise move and instead companies should hold
out for someone who is a well-rounded fit.
Why Recruitment and Selection Matters
- By following “best practices” outlined in this book, you will be able to reduce bad decisions in
recruitment and selection, and be able to find and hire people who will contribute to the overall
success of your organization and its products or services.
- Best practices are valid, reliable, and legally defensible
o must comply with relevant legislation; inability to defend R&S practices before a tribunal
may result in serious financial consequences for the organization
o Supported by empirical evidence that have been accumulated through accepted scientific
procedures
o Involve ethical treatment of job applicants throughout (R&S) process
o Result from HR professionals following accepted standards and principles of the
professional association
o Best practice  perfect practice, but must show that it is fair and does not discriminate
against protected groups
o Using best practices in R&S adds value to an org
 Ployhart, Van Iddekinge, and MacKenzie: using employment tests of cognitive
ability and personality led to inc. in human capital
- HR is a very broad field (see figure 1.2, p.4); emphasis on R&S, which is not the only component
of HR, however, it is important bc it helps an organization meet its goals and objectives by
producing competent, committed, and effective personnel.
- Figure 1.2 (p. 5) outlines the functions of talent management – which in essence gives a line
manager a responsibility in R&S, retention, and development of superior employees w/ less
involvement in HR
o In some org, all employees are involved in talent management, in others it is only top
employees
o Part of talent management is developing an employee’s career, and knowing when a
suitable position becomes vacant in the organization for them to be promoted to; in order
to track this larger org, use Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS).

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- Recruitment is done to meet management goals and objectives for the org and must meet current
legal requirements (HR, employment equity, labour law, and other legislation)
- Selection can involve: hiring at entry level positions from applicants external to the organization,
promotion or lateral transfer of people within the organization, and movement of current
employees into training and development programs.
- Effective R&S can differentiate between an org’s success and failure
- Skill
o Differences in skills among candidates translate into performance differences on the job
& have economic consequences for an org
o Hiring ppl w right skills or highest level of skills leads to + economic outcomes
o Hiring ppl w wrong skills can lead to disaster for both the person & the org
o Effective R&S identify job applicants w appropriate level KSAOs needed for successful
performance in a job or an org
- Empirical studies  effective R&S gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace
- Best practices in R&S:
o Reduce employee turnover and increase productivity (one-standard-deviation increase in
the use of sophisticated HR practices decreased turnover by 7% and increased sales by
$27,000 per EE per year
o Are responsible for up to 15% of a firm’s relative profit
o Correlated w an org’s LT profitability and productivity ratios
o Help to establish EE trust
o Improve the knowledge, skills, and abilities of an org’s current and future EEs, increase
their motivation, and help to retain high-quality EEs while encouraging poor performers to
leave
- Study by Work Foundation and the Institute for Employment studies – businesses with good HR
practices enjoyed higher profit margins and productivity than those without. Org’s that increased
investment in HR by 10% would generate gross profits by (about) $2800 in 2014 CAD per EE.
o Progressive HR practices = greater org commit & motivate EE’s to exhibit proper role
behaviour, results in lower compensation costs, higher quality work, higher productivity,
reduces dysfunctional behaviour, lower ops costs, greater profitability.
- See recruitment and selection notebook 1.1 (p.6/7) – “roadmap of the book”
Social/Economic Factors Affecting Recruitment and Selection
- Global Competition
o Foreign trade has always been vital to the Canadian economy, and there has been a
continual increase in globalization since 1970
o The KOF Swiss Economic Institute produces an annual globalization index of all
countries in the world.
 Canada is ranked 12th most globalized
 Index based on economic, social and political globalization
 Economic: measures (1) actual trade and investment volume, and (2) the
extent to which countries apply trade and capital movement restrictions
to protect their own economies.
 Social: extent of the dissemination of info and ideas
 Political: degree of political cooperation btw countries
o Increased globalization has changed the level of competition as new players enter
international markets and trade barriers between countries are softened.
 E.g., large U.S. owned discount chains [Costco, Walmart] are serious threats the
survival of smaller Canadian owned retailers (must increase efficiencies and
lower their operating costs).
 Can compete by using more effective HR practices which allow them to be more
efficient and find more productive EEs
- Rapid Advances in Technology and the Internet
o Employers now expect new EEs to be computer literate
o Employers are also using tech more in terms of R&S, incl. through the internet

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- Changing Workforce Demographics

o Canada labour force demographics are undergoing significant transformations
o For the first time, there were more people in the 55-64 age group (where people begin to
retire from the workforce), compared to those in the 15-24 age group (where people enter
the work force).
o One of the biggest changes in the Cad workforce over the past 5 years is the abolition of
the mandatory retirement at age 65 in most provinces [with many older workers in good
health ppl are working well beyond 65, while this doesn’t greatly impact unemployment
rates normally, in times of recession these post-65 workers leave less room for new
entry-level EEs]
o Post-65 pose some HR problems incl what incentives or procedures should be put in
place to encourage retirement?
 HR will need to develop policies that are defensible with R&S and evaluation of
older workers
o Canadian workforce becoming more gender balanced
o The workforce is more highly educated and more culturally diverse than ever before
o Growing population of ppl who have physical or mental challenges
o Employers cannot discriminate against existing or potential EEs w respect to non-job-
related characteristics  must hire based on applicants KSAOs that are necessary to
perform a job [again importance of being legally defensible]
- The Economic Context
o Economic booms bring with them skilled labour shortages, so recruitment and retention
take on strategic importance are given high priority
o Economic slowdowns or recessions generally lead to cutbacks in jobs, pay, and benefits,
or hiring freezes.
 In these times many qualified ppl are looking for jobs so it can be beneficial for
companies to hire
o # of ppl in the applicant pool has a major impact on the quality of those ppl selected for
employment
o controversial Temporary Foreign Workers Program was designed to address perceived
labour shortages among skilled occupations – at the end of 2012 there were nearly 340
000 workers in Canada, allowed employers to take advantage of oversupply of labour by
placing less emphasis on recruitment and more selective in hiring
- Type of Organization
o Public sector jobs tend to have more formalized R&S systems
o Public services tend to be more unionized (follow negotiated processes for R&S)
o Large segment of economy is small or family-run enterprises which have more informal
selection procedures
o Challenge for HR is to increase the use of best practice for the company regardless of
sector or the size of the org
- Organizational Restructuring
o Tech is reducing the need for labour + orgs must cope w large segment approaching
retirement
o To deal with this orgs have implemented non-age-related-layoffs + early-retirement
incentive packages, and have restructured or downsized their enterprises
o Traditional employment structure (pyramid) has been flattened w more emphasis on
higher level employees than entry level
o Seller’s market = greater emphasis placed on recruitment as there will be fewer qualified
candidates
o Best practices will be essential to find right EEs for an org

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- Redefining Jobs
o With ever changing jobs employers may need to change their recruitment processes to
look at a broader range of skills or competencies that are of value to the org and work
across many jobs rather than value for one specific job

- Unionized Work Environments

o 30% of EEs in Canada work in a unionized environment
 private sector approx. 20% unionized
 public sector approx. 70% unionized
o negotiated collective agreements address issues of R&S
 require employers to post jobs w/I union before externally
 may also control how selection process is carried out; often focuses on seniority
o example in “Recruitment and Selection Today” 1.1, p. 13
o failure to follow procedures outlined in the agreement may lead to grievances and
arbitrations
 best way to improve the procedures is to have HR involved in the negotiating
process
- Best Practices
o To remain competitive, the use of HR strategies for R&S is v important
o Need to go beyond old process of looking over the résumé and a brief interview
(important for both getting the best person for the job AND avoiding legal consequences)
o Socio-economic changes also have an impact on R&S; R&S does not happen in isolation
and as such are influenced by events occurring in the broader society.
o R&S play an important role in HRM which contributes to the organization survival,
success, and renewal.
A Systems View of HR
- Two basic principles underlie in the model presented in figure 1.1 (p.4)
o Principle 1: HRM must carefully coordinate its activities with the other organizational
units and people if the larger system is to function properly
o Principle 2: HRM must think in systems terms and have the welfare of the whole
organization in mind
Recruitment and Selection and the HR Profession
- HR staff must be aware of both internal and external influences that affect the working
environment in which the org operates
- They must not become isolated within the org
- HR staff must keep up to date with developments in their field through continuous learning –
includes knowing the latest legal and scientific info with respect to R&S and implementing policies
and procedures from professional standards
- These activities carried out by in-house HR staff, sometimes aided by consultant firms, and can
come from different educational and practical backgrounds
o e.g., recruitment and selection today 1.2 – discusses two fictitious HR professionals and
the very different career paths they have followed
- many HR professionals hold memberships in one or more professional associations and may be
certified or registered with an association or professional licencing body
o Recruitment and selection today 1.3 – two different professional associations; Canadian
Council of HR Association (CCHRA) and Canadian Psychological Association (including
the Canadian Society for Industrial and Organization Psychology); the membership
qualification requirements as well as the professional certifications they offer
o People with their certifications must adhere to ethical codes or standards of the
associations
- Recruitment and Selection Notebook 1.2 p. 18
o The CHRP gives an edge to HR professionals as it recognizes the profession, and
requires it designated professionals to keep up with developments in their field and go

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through recertification processes. It also helps HR professionals in getting jobs, keeping

jobs, having higher financial compensation, and improves the stakeholder’s perceptions
of their achievements.
- The HR field only recently gained recognition as an independent profession
- Maintaining membership sin professional associations allows HR professionals from becoming
isolated and provides assistance when the practitioner faces ethical difficulties.

An Introduction to Ethical Issues and Professional Standards

- Ethics is a difficult subject because it deals with the large grey area between those behaviours
that society punishes as illegal and those that everyone readily agrees are noble and upright.
- Ethics are very important bc HRM balances right and wrong.
- Recruitment and Selection Notebook 1.3 p. 19
o Professional associations have ethical codes that apply to its members which encompass
the laws they must obey in their country, and also avoid conflicts of interest and remain
current to their fields of expertise.
o Outline obligations these people have to their clients.
o Place constraints on what members may and may not do while practicing HRM including
the R&S practices
- In an HR context [of R&S] professional standards offer advice on things such as appropriate use
of employment tests, the standards of different employment tests must meet, and the
qualifications of those using employment tests.
o E.g., of ethical standards to regulate the behaviour of those using employment tests
under the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists:
 (1) respect for dignity of persons; (2) responsible caring; (3) integrity in
relationships; (4) responsibility to society.
- The CHRP ethical code applies to HR practitioners, notably, CHRPs must:
o Support, promote, and apply the principles of human rights, equity, dignity, and respect in
the workplace, within the professional, and in society as a whole.
o Adhere to any statutory acts, regulations, or bylaws that relate to the field of HRM, as well
as all civil and criminal laws, regulations, and statutes that apply in one’s jurisdictions.
o Not knowingly or otherwise engage in or condone any activity or attempt to circumvent
the clear intention of the law.
o Strive to balance organization and EE needs and interests in the practice of the
profession.
Ethical Dilemmas in Recruitment and Selection
- Ethics dilemmas frequently occur during the employment testing of job applicants with various
selection tools during the selection process.
- Professional HR associations in Canada have written codes and standards to provide guidance of
ethical matters to their members. Membership in the profession is based on the adherence to its
professional standards.
- Recruitment and Selection Today 1.4 p. 20 read this if you want some more examples of the
possible dilemmas of various situations.
Human Resources and the Internet
- The internet has made a vast array of resources and information related to every aspect of R&S
available to practitioners
- The R&S notebook 1.4 p.21 lists websites that are relevant to R&S

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Chapter 2 – Foundations of Recruitment and Selection 1: Reliability and Validity

The “Sham Psychometric Test” Controversy
 Controversy over a psychometric test that was developed to help unemployed people find work in
the UK by the department of work and pensions (DWP)
 The controversy led to several days of questioning in parliament
 If they refused to take the test they were threatened with their benefits being taken away
 The questionnaire was a small intervention to nudge individual’s behavior in a direction that works
well for them and saves the government money
 Criticisms:
o Presentation:
 The appearance of the questionnaire does not inspire confidence (i.e. it’s not
pretty, there are grammatical errors)
 The questions were worded in a confusing way that could confuse test takers
that English was not their first language or have lower levels of literacy
 The report was misleading and did not clearly layout the objective of the results
 The origin of the questionnaire – it was a shortened version of another test and
that could mean this new test is not fit for purpose
 The way the questionnaire appears to have been used – forcing people to
complete an open personality questionnaire against their will may not be a good
idea
 Concern – the DWP test was never validated for an intended purpose
Introduction
 Scientific methods will enable an employer to hire job applicants who possess the KSAO’s
required to perform a specific job
 Science based selection will meet the goal of hiring the right people for the job and that there is a
process that should be followed to identify the KSAOs and measure them
 Selection procedures that are ethical and follow professional standards are defensible if
challenged in court
o they are efficient and productive
 HR professionals should know the standards they are expected to meet in order to defend their
work
The Recruitment and Selection Process
 Intro
o Employer’s Goal: hire an applicant who possesses the KSAOs required to successfully
perform the job most effectively (they make a guess)
 Correct guesses have positive benefits, bad guesses have negative productivity,
profitability and emotional consequences
 Bad hiring = loss of money and legal consequences
o R&S Today: Example of not using KSAOs to hire:
 Mystery Diners (stupid Food Network show)
 The manager was conducting very bad hiring practices
 Examples:
 Discriminating based on age (but she was more than qualified)
 Sexist hiring based on some girl being hot (very under qualified
applicant)

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o Asked her very unprofessional questions about partying

o Touched her knee
 The manager was then pissed he was filmed and blamed it all on them and took
none of the responsibility
o Employer must have good idea of the duties of the job and the level of performance
required for success
o Hiring should not be based on guesses

 The Hiring Process

o Selection Process for Toronto Police Constables (example of the major components of
personnel selection):
 Candidates must meet a minimum set of requirements, not have a criminal
record (page 33)
 If they meet the minimum requirements then they proceed to register for general
information sessions and undertake a series of employment tests (cognitive
ability, written communication, physical readiness, behavioral personal
assessment, hearing and vision)
 After they receive a certificate for completing that they can submit an application
to the Toronto Police
 Competitive candidates undergo prescreening and background questionnaires
and then an extensive interview into one’s personal life
 If they pass that they then undergo a more extensive background check and a
clinical personality assessment
 An offer is then made after the completion of a medical exam

o Those are the components the candidate sees, but much more goes on:
 Questions about is the employer understands the requirements, ensuring it is
free from discrimination, is the info being provided valid and reliable?
o Every employer who makes a hiring decision following a hiring process
 But in many cases hiring is informal and not as structured
o Important Difference between Toronto Police hiring process and others:
 Is whether the job duties and position requirements have been determined
through some systematic investigation (job analysis) or was it a guess
 The employer’s decision to hire someone might be effected by their
experience, gut feeling, or intuition – their “idea” of who might be a good
employee
o The employer is making a guess
o Often this guess is effected by bias and not KSAOs
o There was little or no tracking of the decision that was made
o Hiring decisions must be defensible – they must meet the legal requirements and
professional standards for reliability and validity
 HR tends to lack behind science – most decisions are based on intuition and not
empirical evidence
 In a study, it showed that preference towards intuition meant you were
experiential thinkers who made everyday decisions off of feelings –they
also were less experienced, worked for small companies and had less
professional certificates
Science Based Selection Practice Based Selection
Type of Process Analytical Intuitive

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- Job analysis ID’s KSAOs - Untested approaches

- Select valid measure of KSAOs - “Fad” based selection system
- Validate predictors and assess utility - Lack of use of reliable and valid selection tools
- Retain valid and useful predictors - Techniques and selection tools chosen on the basis of
marketing
- Selection procedures used are rarely validated
Assessment Procedures Objective, reliable and valid measure Unstructured interview
Decision Making Rational Gut Feel
Implementation System wide Case-by-case basis
Evaluation of Process Empirical Subjective
Why is it Used? - Structured procedures - Comfort with the process
- Consistent procedures - Flexibility and speed
- Maintains standards - Fits organizational culture
Potential Outcomes - Defensibility of system - Human rights litigation
- Increased productivity - Lack of competitiveness
- Effective Employees - Marginal employees

 Selection Model (image on pg. 30)

o In the traditional selection system job analysis information is used to identify the task and
behaviors that make up a job
 The KSAOs needed are inferred from that
 The inferences are based on empirical evidence that demonstrates validity
between job dimensions and KSAO constructs in other situations
 HR specialist has to translate the KSAO constructs into measureable predictors
 They have to determine how each of the KSAOs will be assessed
 The predictors that are chosen must be valid measures of the KSAO constructs
that have been identified as related to job performance
 They then must evaluate the outcomes of the decision making
 Any selection system must also be reviewed periodically to determine if it is still
effective
o Constructs and Variables
 Constructs: ideas/concepts constructed to explain relationships between
observations (cannot be directly observed)
 Collections of related behaviors
 Good constructs should be measurable
 i.e. intelligence is a construct that refers to several behaviors
 Variables: refer to how someone or something varies on a construct
 i.e. IQ score represents variability in intelligence
 Allow us to make statements about constructs
Building a Foundation
 A selection system must be built on a sound scientific foundation
o Two Elements
 1. System must be based on solid empirical support – must be able to
demonstrate reliability and validity
 2. Any selection system must operate within a legal context
Reliability
 Overview:
o Reliability – the degree to which the observed score is free from random measurement
errors – it is in the indication of the stability and dependability of a set of measurements
 Consistency of a procedure when it is repeated on a population
 i.e. if the time clock stamps the actual time the employee got there it is reliable
(shows their true score)
o Unsystematic (random) Error – is the occurrence of a degree of error that does not
appear to be predictable
o Systematic Error – errors that occur in a consistent or predictable fashion
 i.e. if the time clock is 5mins fast, everyone would be 5 mins late
 The observed score is reliable but they do not represent the true score

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 They do not affect the accuracy of measurements but they effect the
meaning/interpretation (lead to the wrong conclusion)
 Interpreting Reliability Coefficients
o Classical Measurement Model: assumes that any observed score X is a combination of a
true score and an error score
 True Score – average score that an individual would earn on an infinite
number of administrations of the same test or parallel versions of the
same test
 Error Score – the hypothetical difference between an observed score and
a true score
 Assumptions:
 The characteristic being measured is stable, and the only reason an
observed score changes is due to random error
o Error scores are independent of the characteristics being
measured
o Errors are attributable to the measurement process not the
individual
o Magnitude of error scores is unrelated to the magnitude of the
characteristic being measured
 True scores and error scores combine in a simple additive manner to
produce an observed score (X = T + e)
o Variance – if a test is not very reliable there will be a larger variance
 Reliability is a ratio of the true score variance to the observed score variance
o Reliability Coefficient – (aka. Correlation coefficient) the degree that observed made on
the same characteristic correlate with one another
 Ranges from -1 and 1 (1 = most reliable)
 The square of the reliability coefficient represents the proportion of variance in
the observed scores that attributed to true differences on the measured
characteristic
 >0.90 = excellent, 0.80-0.89 = good, 0.70-0.79 = adequate, <0.70 = may have
limited applicability
 Degree of reliability for employment decisions should be sufficiently high
(at least .80)
 Tests should not be accepted or rejected solely on the reliability
coefficient
 Measurement Error
o Measurement Error – the hypothetical difference between an observed score and a true
score; comprises both random error and systematic error
o Reduces the influence of any set of measures/results of a test
o Error must be considered when making employment decisions
o Standard Error of Measurement – is a statistical index that summarizes information
related to measurement error – estimated from observed scores obtained over a group of
individuals
 Reflects how a score would vary on average over repeated observations under
identical conditions
 Factors Affecting Reliability
o 3 Categories of Factors that Introduce Error
 1. Temporary Individual Characteristics
 Factors such as health, motivation, fatigue, and emotional state introduce
temporary, unsystematic errors into the measurement process
 2. Lack of Standardization
 Changing conditions under which measurements are made
 i.e. Sam was interviewed in a more formal setting with less time to
answer the questions, Sarah was interviewed in a comfortable setting

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 3. Chance
 Factors unique to a specific procedure
 i.e. the questions that were picked for Sam were easier than the ones
picked for Sarah so Sam’s score was higher
 Methods of Estimating Reliability
o Overview
 Problem: we can never know the true score variance because true scores are
abstract constructs (but we can estimate what it is likely to be)
 Assumption for All Reliability Techniques– consistent variability across the
measurements represents true score variability, while inconsistency across the
measurements reflects random error
 To measure reliability – we have to estimate the degree of variability in a set of
scores that is caused by measurement error

 We can do this by using two (parallel) measures of a

characteristic/attribute
o Over the same set of people both measures should report the
same score for each individual (X)
o Both will have the same true score (T)
o Discrepancies between the two scores = measurement error (e)
 Correlation based on both measures = reliability coefficient
 Extremely difficult/impossible to obtain two parallel measures for the
same characteristic so there are several strategies for the approximation
of parallel measures
o Methods
 Test and Retest:
 Identical measurement procedure is used to assess the same
characteristic over the same group of people on two different occasions
 i.e. interviewer has the same applicants come back for the exact same
interview, correlation between the 1st and 2nd score = reliability

 Alternative Forms:
 BUT, candidates might recall what they said the first time, or thought of
better answers (reduce reliability)
 To prevent this, applicants are asked alternate questions during the
second interview
 High correlation = reliability
 Internal Consistency:
 BUT, it is quite costly and time consuming to have applicants come back
twice
 Rather than select a particular pair of items, the correlations between all
possible pairs are calculated and then averaged
 The average measures internal consistency (whether all the questions
are measuring the same thing)
 I.e. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient
 Split Half Reliability:
o All items are first divided into two arbitrary groups and then the
persons average scores in the two groups is used as the
reliability estimate
 Inter-Rater Reliability:
 How well does one interviewers subjective rating correlate to another
o Correlation between judgements
 Aka classification consistency
 Choosing and Index of Reliability

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o The above methods are all special cases of a general type of index called the
generalizability coefficient
o Specific occasions would dictate which of the methods is chose – HR professional must
make judgements to decide
o Need for accuracy increases with the seriousness of the consequences for the employee
Validity
 Overview
o Validity – the degree to which accumulated evidence and theory support specific
interpretations of test scores in the context of the test proposed use
 The legitimacy/correctness of the inferences that are drawn from a set of
measurements
o Need to demonstrate that a set of measurements lead to valid inferences about the
characteristics or constructs under study (hard with psychological things)
 Construct Underrepresentation – the measures may not represent important
aspects of the construct
 Construct-Irrelevant Variance – the measures may be influenced by aspects of
the process that are unrelated to the construct
 Validation Strategies
o Validity is a unitary concept content, construct and criterion related validity are different
but interrelated strategies used to assess the accuracy of inferences
 Content Validity Evidence
 Checks that test items correspond to what is supposed to be covered in
the test
 Assessed through the judgement of experts in the subject area
 Face Validity – degree to which test users or other non-experts believe
that the test measures the content area (appearance)
 Construct Validity Evidence
 Demonstrates a relationship between some theory and another set of
variables (i.e. if you are testing a foreign language, then those skills
should show improvement after much instruction)
 Degree to which a rest assesses and underlying theoretical construct it is
supposed to measure
 Assessed through multiple sources of evidence showing that it measures
what it purports to measure and now other constructs
 Criterion-Related Validity
 The relationship between a predictor (test score) and an outcome
measure
 Assessed by obtaining the correlation between the predictor and
outcome scores
 Two types:
o Concurrent: two tests administered at the same time to two
groups
o Predictive: refers to how well the test predicts some future
behavior, regardless of whatever else it may test
o Content and construct validity – are both validation strategies that provide evidence
based on test content, Criterion validity – provides evidence based on relationships to
different variables
o Important document that HR specialists rely on – The “Principles for the Validation and
Use of Personnel Selection Procedures”
o Example – Cognitive Ability for a Widget Maker
 Determined that cognitive ability was related to job performance
 These are abstract constructs that need to be operationally defined
 They can use commercially available tests for cognitive ability
 They chose the Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT)
o It is often used in employment situations

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 They validate this test against other tests and decide it is a good measure based
on Construct Validation
 If they wanted to make their own measure they would have to establish validity
through research
 They would have experts come and assess if the items on the test are relevant
and define cognitive ability, this would-be Content Validation
 They would also need to find a valid and reliable measure of job performance
 It can be difficult to identify the tasks that define successful job
performance
 Whatever is used to measure job performance should represent important work
behaviors, outcomes, or relevant organizational expectations about the
employee’s performance, this is Construct Validation
 We have to establish the relationship between criterion and predictor empirically,
which is Criterion Validation
 i.e. establishing a correlation between the WPT and job performance
 One issue with this is an applicant would have to be hired to analyze
their job performance
o Two Criterion-Related Validation Strategies (to get around the issue that you cannot
measure one’s job performance before they are hired)
 1. Predictive Validation – strategies in which evidence is obtained about a
correlation between predictor and scores that are obtained before and applicant
is hired and criterion scores that are obtained at a later time, usually after an
applicant is employed
 aka hire everyone who applies for a job and then calculate correlation
 Big issues with this: Huge cost, Legal and Ethical issues
 Alternative:
o They collect the cognitive ability information but the hiring
decision is based solely on resumes/interviews/references
o After they are hired they collect job performance data
o If the correlation is high then the cognitive ability test may be
used in the future
 Issue:
o This information would only be based on applicants that were
hired and might not represent a total pool of applicants
 2. Concurrent Validation – strategies in which evidence is obtained about a
correlation between predictor and criteria scores from information that is
collected at approximately the same time from a specific group of workers
 test current employees on both measures and see what the correlation is
 Issue: the group of workers is likely older, more experiences and
successful than those applying
o Unsuccessful employees were likely not in the study because
they were not still employed
o So, should a pool of successful people be compared against a
group that is likely to be both successful and unsuccessful on the
job
 Issue: a group of employed people might approach the situation
differently that job applicants
o Validating coefficients based on concurrent evidence will likely
underestimate the true validity of using the predictor
 Criterion-related validity strategies are the most frequently used
o Goal:
 We want to predict the job performance at the construct level from the cognitive
ability scores obtained in the measurement level
 We want to make inferences about the job applicants potential job performance
from pre-employment measures

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 We need to establish that:

 There is a theoretical or logical relationship between predictor and
criterion at the construct level
 The predictor and criterion measures are reliable and valid measures of
their respective constructs
 There is an empirical relationship between the predictor and criterion
measures
 Validity Generalization
o Validity Generalization: The application of evidence, obtained through meta-analysis of
data obtained from many situations to other situations that are similar to those on which
the meta-analysis is based
o In the 1970’s Schmidt and Hunter challenged that validity coefficients were specific to the
context or environment in which it was measured
 They demonstrated that once the effects associated with study size and other
artifacts were removed the validity between predictor and criterion remained
relatively stable within smaller occupations
o Basically, validity generalization is sometimes good and sometimes bad
 Factors Affecting Validity Coefficients
o Range Restriction:
 When measurements are made from a subgroup that is more homogenous than
the population validity coefficients are likely to be smaller than those obtained
from the larger group
 Reduction in size of validity coefficient due to the selection process =
range restriction
 i.e. all applicants that were selected for a job probably fall score on a cognitive
ability test which would lead there to be a flatter regression line
o Measurement Error
 The reliability of a measurement places an upper limit on validity
 Size of validity coefficient cannot exceed the reliability of the measures used to
obtain the data
 Attenuation – the decrease in magnitude of the validity coefficient associated with
the measurement error of the predictor, criterion or both
o Sampling Error
 It is impractical/impossible to use whole population so you have to pick a sample
 There will be varying estimations of the population based on different samples
 Small samples are likely to be quite variable
o Correcting for Errors
 There are statistical procedures to correct for range restriction, attenuation and
sampling error
 Validity estimates produced after corrections are almost always higher
 When correction is used, both corrected and uncorrected coefficients should be
reported, plus justification of the correction
 Usefulness of Validity Coefficients
o Validities range from -0.01-0.65
o Above .35 = very beneficial, .21-.35 = likely to be useful, .11-.20 = depends on
circumstances, below .11 = unlikely to be useful
o Lots of information needs to be considered, not just the coefficient
Bias and Fairness
 Bias
o Refers to systematic errors in measurement, or inferences made from those
measurements, that are related to difference identifiable group membership
characteristics such as age, sex, or race
o Predictive Bias: the predicted average performance score of a subgroup, is
systematically higher or lower than the average for the group as a whole
 They sometimes divide the regression line

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o Measurement Bias: occurs in a set of measurements when items on a test may elicit a
variety of responses other than what was intended (some items have different meanings
to different subgroups)
 i.e. the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test
 Fairness
o The principle that every test taker should be assessed in an equitable manner
o An issue of fairness cannot be determined statistically or empirically – it involves
perceptions
o “Fairness is a social rather than psychometric concept. Its definition depends on what
one considers to be fair. Fairness has no single meaning, and, therefore, no single
statistical or psychometric definition.”
o Three Meanings of Fairness
 1. Fairness as equitable treatment in the testing process
 2. Fairness as lack of bias
 3. Fairness in selection and prediction
o Fairness is more complex than bias – it requires compromise between conflicting
interests
o Does an organization have an obligation to make the enterprise as profitable as possible
on behalf of its owners or should it meet the objectives of society by providing equal
employment opportunities for members of different population groups?
o Ethical View: perceived fairness may negatively affect unsuccessful candidates
o Legal View: perception of unfairness may lead to unsuccessful applicants to pursue
discrimination charges against the employer
o NEED balance between scientifically sound practices and fairness****

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Chapter 3 – Foundations of Recruitment and Selection 2: Legal Issues

No Babies Allowed
 Every Canadian organization falls under either federal or provincial legislation that impacts R&S
processes
 Managers might not be aware or neglect these laws and it ends up leaving the company
vulnerable to criminal and civil prosecutions
 The following incident illustrates potential problems faced by women trying to balance work and
family obligations
o This one woman was the best option for the job, but she has previously worked for the
company (was a good worker) but went on maternity leave and then quit to take care of
her child
o The manager felt she had had her opportunity and now the opportunity should be given
to someone else
o The HR professional reviewed everything and this woman was clearly the best candidate
and had a proven track record
o The HR professional advised the manager that not hiring this woman would be a human
rights violation (employment equity violation)
 Lead to a complaint before the human rights tribunal that the company would
have to defend
o The HR professional intervened and pointed out the challenges to the manager and the
manager changed their mind and hired the employee
o It went well
Intro
 Notebook boxes in the chapter offer practical advice for HR practitioners with respect to legal
requirements
 Many examples in the chapter are from Canadian federal human rights, employment equity,
employment standards, or labour laws
o NOT provincial/municipal because
 They draw from federal, so federal law provides a common framework for
understanding what is happening in other jurisdictions
 Laws, policies and practices vary across jurisdictions and have no applicability to
other jurisdictions (they would only apply if they had been upheld by a higher
court)
 You might find two human rights tribunals ruling in opposite ways, or
interpreting SCC decisions differently
 The intent of this chapter is to show the impact of legal requirements on R&S in Canada
(formulated by significant legislation and case law)
Part I: Basic Background in Legal Requirements for Nondiscriminatory R&S
Intro
 Four legal sources affect Canadian employment practices and R&S
o 1. Constitutional Law – Supreme law of Canada
 Origin: British North America Act of 1867

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 Spells out the division of power between the federal and provincial governments
+ rights and freedoms
 Stakeholders: All citizens
o 2. Human Rights Law – prohibits discrimination in employment and provision of goods
and services (establishes tribunals, and commissions to deal with complaints)
 Origin: international conventions set out by the UN + domestic pressure to
eliminate discrimination
 Stakeholders: Restrictive – only has force on the protected groups
o 3. Employment Equity Legislation – administrative mechanisms in response to federal
legislation (covers nearly 2 million Canadians)
 They are intended to promote the entry and retention of people from designated
groups (women, visible minorities, disabled and Aboriginals)
 Origin: affirmative action programs in the US + domestic pressure for diversity
 Stakeholders: Restrictive - no force beyond protected groups
o 4. Labour law, employment standards and related legislation – grant employment rights
to both employers and employees, and impose responsibilities and obligations
 Labour Laws Origin: response to labour union activities to improve worker
conditions
 Provide mechanisms for collective bargaining (“fair fight”)
 Stakeholders: unionized workers, and managers of unionized workplaces
 Employment Standards Origin: BNA Act + reflect societal norms regardless of
unionization
 Includes: statutory school leaving age, min age, min wage,
vacation/leave, holidays with pay, termination of employment
 Other Related Legislation: includes – regulation of federal government workers,
results from unique conditions
 Stakeholder: the members of those specific sectors
 Mechanisms to resolve procedural or contractual disagreements
between specific stakeholders (whereas human rights law and equity are
about discrimination)
 These all have varied historical roots and address the different needs of stakeholders in society
 The distinction between antidiscrimination legislation and procedural/contractual enforcement
legislation can blur in practice (i.e. equal pay for equal work is covered by different legislation
depending on jurisdiction)
Constitutional Law
 The Constitution of Canada is made up of a series of Acts that began with the BNA of 1867 and
end with the Constitution Act of 1982
o Sections 1-34 are the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
o As a whole, it is the supreme law of Canada (stated in 52(1))
o All laws in Canada that are a dispute between a private person and a branch of
government (legislative, executive, and administrative)
o Has precedence over all other legal means
o Section often cited in employment law is section 15 – lays out the principles of equal
rights
 (1) resembles the human rights legislation
 (2) makes it clear that programs (such as employment equity) are to overcome
discrimination and are not in themselves discriminatory
o Does not directly affect every day R&S, only becomes an issue when things are
challenged in court/human rights tribunal
o Has a pervasive, indirect impact on employment practices by setting limits and conditions
on what federal/provincial/municipal can do legally to alter employment practices
o Interpretation of constitutional law has an indirect, but substantial influence on all aspects
of the practice of HR – due to the development of an organization’s HR policy about the
conduct of an employment interview
 Human Rights Legislation

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o Every province, and the federal government has human rights legislation that prohibits
discrimination in employment and the provision of goods and services
o HR professionals must determine what legislation applies to them
o Organizations are governed by the laws of the political division in which they are
chartered/incorporated
 If you operate in more than one province, you must register in each jurisdiction
and follow all regulations
o Federal legislation (Canadian Human Rights Act) applies to:
 Federal government departments, Crown corporations and agencies,
Transportation, Broadcasting, Financial service sectors (banks), Canada post,
Companies that voluntarily register under the Canadian Business Corporations
Act
 Section 8 of Canadian Human Rights Act – refers to a prohibited ground of
discrimination
 Under this act the following are prohibited: race, national/ethnic origin,
colour, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy/childbirth), marital status,
family status, mental/physical disability, present/past drug or alcohol
abuse, pardoned conviction, sexual orientation
o Discrimination – in employment, any refusal to employ or to continue to employ any
person, or to adversely affect any current employee, on the basis of that individual’s
membership in a protected group
 Only 6 prohibited grounds that all jurisdictions agree on – race/colour, religion or
creed, age, sex, marital status, physical/mental handicap or disability
o All Jurisdictions: Enforced through human rights tribunals/commissions
o Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) federal:
 empowered to investigate complaints, develop and deliver public information
programs, undertake or sponsor research programs, liaise with other human
rights commissions, and review federal legislation for conformity with the
Canadian Human Rights Act
o Victims have the responsibility of filing a complaint with the human rights commission that
has jurisdiction over the employer
 CHRC 2013 – 1735 complaints (55% about disabilities, 17% about sex)
 Each complaint triggers a formal investigation
Employment Equity
 Employment Equity – the elimination of discriminatory practices that prevent the entry or retention
of members from designated groups in the workplace, and the elimination of unequal treatment in
the workplace related to membership in a designated group
o Federally regulated industries - all employers with 100+ employees to set up and operate
employment equity programs
o The Federal Contractors Program = ANY org with 100+ ppl and doing 1mil+ in business
WITH the federal government commit to employment equity programs
o Provincial employment equity is mostly limited to public sector (except Quebec)
 Concerned with equity in recruiting, hiring, compensation and training
 Organizations can voluntarily adopt employment equity programs in absence of legislation
 Purpose of employment equity legislation:
o Address past systemic discrimination in employment systems that have disadvantaged
members of designated groups
 The Federal Employment Equity Act of 1986 requires employers covered by the Act to implement
equity by:
o Identifying and eliminating barriers to persons of designated groups
o Making reasonable accommodation to increase representation of these groups to reflect
the groups representation in the work force, or segments of the work force
 The revised Employment Equity Act of 1996
o extended coverage to all private employers that fall under federal regulation and almost
all employees of the federal government

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o gave power to the CRHC to audit federally regulated employers progress

 EE programs require an extensive overhaul of the R&S procedures of a company, whereas
human rights legislation is complaint based
o EE = proactive
o Human Rights = reactive
o Both have the ultimate goal of eliminating discrimination in the workplace against
disadvantaged groups and to improve their positions in the employment system
 EE programs are affected by the political process (strengthened, weakened or discontinued)
 Hiring a Worker with a Disability
o Should not be looked at as an act of charity, you should hire the best candidate for the
job – should not be a comparison of disabled vs not disabled
o General rule: Don’t ask more questions than you need to, this avoids issues later
 Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) – provides standards for
improving accessibility for disables workers
 REQUIRES you to ASK more questions than you want to
 Recommendation is to not share the information for accommodations
with the people responsible for hiring (sometimes isn’t feasible)
o Employers need to be able to defend themselves and their decisions at all times
 Developing and Implementing an EE Plan
o Obtain support of senior management
o Conduct survey to see current representation of designated groups
o Set targets based on availability of qualified workers in the labour market
o Remove systemic employment barriers
o Monitor the change overtime
o Make necessary changes to reach targets (or raise them)
 Implementing Good Workplace Equity Practices
o Under the Act, federally regulated employers have to provide statistical/narrative reports
on actions they have taken to improve workplace equity
o Practices Reported in Compliance:
 Benefits of Implementing EE: representative workforce, increases in global
competitiveness/productivity, high employee morale, decreased absenteeism,
good relationships, enhanced reputation, increased profitability
 Improving Workplace Communications on Diversity Issues: voluntary self ID
surveys, focus groups and committees devoted to EE, talking to managers,
newsletters, bulletin boards, websites, memos/pamphlets, exit interviews
 “Best Practices” Derived by HR and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) from
employer reports:
 Open-door policy, advertise employment opportunities geared towards
designated groups, celebrate specific cultural holidays, accommodate
employees who need special help, positive encouragement from senior
managers
Labour Law, Employment Standards, and Related Legislation
 Labour laws stipulate the rights of employees to organize trade unions and to bargain collective
agreements with employers
o Provincial labour relations acts, and Canada Labour Code – establish labour relation
boards to oversee union certifications and handle complaints
o Collective Agreements
 Legally binding enforceable document
 Set out the conditions under which job changes must occur
 Big influence over internal movement of employees
 Restrict freedoms of employer but tend to be cooperative in selection
o Closed-Shop Agreements = only unionized employees can work for the organization
 Big influence on external recruiting
 Employment Standards Laws

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o Regulate: statutory school leaving age, min age, min wage, vacation/leave, holidays with
pay, termination of employment, standard hours of work, sexual harassment
o Common Law (developed through judicial proceedings) – may apply to individual
contracts
 Rarely involved in selection, but can be involved in termination (deselection)
 Related Legislation
o Governments have specialized legislation and employment standards for their own public
service employees
 Public Service Employment Act – designates the Public Service Commission of
Canada as the central staffing agency for the federal government
 Gives candidates the right to request investigation into whether their
qualifications were not assessed properly
 Public Service Commission resolves complaints through mediation or
through direct intervention
o Candidates can lodge appeals against their personnel selection
decisions (page 79 has an example)
 The Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act – provides mechanism
for collective bargaining between the federal government and unions
 Administered by the Public Service Staff Relations Board (PSSRB) –
hear complaints and arbitrate collective bargaining disputes
 Promotions for these people affect R&S
Part II: Key Legal Concepts in Recruitment and Selection
Direct Discrimination
 Occurs when an employer adopts a practice or rule that, on its face, discriminates on a prohibited
ground
 If it occurs the burden is on the employer to show the rule is valid in application to all members of
the affected group
o i.e. if they didn’t want to hire a female for a job they would have to prove why all females
are incapable of doing that job
 Almost impossible to justify
 No statement in advertising a job may be made that directly discriminates against someone (i.e.
seeking single males)
 Interviews are a possible opportunity for direct discrimination so the CHRC provides practical and
detailed advice on how to avoid it (subject, avoid asking, preferred, comments) – page 84-86
o You can ask about Canadian military service where employment preference is given to
veterans by law (but avoid asking about service in other countries)
o Disability is relevant to the job only if it:
 Threatens the safety or property of others, prevents the applicant from safe and
adequate job performance even when accommodation is made
o Avoid asking whether an applicant has been convicted, arrested or if they have a criminal
record – but if bonding is a job requirement you can ask if applicant is eligible
 Much less frequent in Canada than it once was
o Media is conscious of running job ad’s that are discriminatory because they can be held
accountable
o Often occurs still in occupations where gender-based stereotyping is common
Adverse Effect Discrimination
 Refers to a situation where an employer, in good faith, adopts a policy or practice that has an
unintended, negative impact on members of a protected group
 Is discrimination unless it can be proved that the selection practice was necessary to assure the
efficient and economical performance of the job without endangering employees or the general
public
 Example: Getting a list of potential candidates of from current shop-floor employees when the
current pool is all white males, the likelihood the candidates put forward by them are white males
is high (i.e. eliminating females and minorities)
o The HR manager might have thought it was a sound procedure but it had adverse effects

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o NOT ALL referrals will be examples of indirect discrimination

 Example: If there is a representative group, and they are all administered a test, but systemically
females always score lower on the test it is indirectly discriminating against females
 ANY employment rule, practice or policy that has a negative effect on a group protected under
human rights legislation, no matter how well intentioned by the employer, constitutes adverse
effect discrimination
Adverse Impact
 Occurs when the selection rate for a protected group is lower than that or the relevant
comparison group
o Narrower and more technical than adverse effect
 It is based on statistical evidence showing that proportionately fewer of the protected group were
selected using a selection device, or fewer pass through the selection system taken as a whole
 Four-Fifths Rule: adverse impact is established where the selection rate for the protected group is
less than 4/5 that of the comparison group (method frequently used to establish adverse impact)
Workplace Discrimination in the US
 Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1964 (EEO) – primary federal legislation governing
workplace legislation (amended in 1991)
o Along with the Equal Pay Act 1963, Age Discrimination Act of 1967 and the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990
o Provides most of the protection Canadians have against discrimination from the 4 legal
sources discussed
 The cases for the US have no force in Canada they have played a role in shaping the
development of human rights and jurisprudence in Canada
o the Four-Fifth rule was fashioned in a US court decision
o Canadians use US standards in examining Canadian R&S practices
 Major Differences between US and Canada
o 1. Section 15(2) of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:
 Canada – programs to get rid of discriminatory practices cannot be discriminatory
in and of themselves
 US – courts have overturned programs on the grounds of “reverse discrimination”
o 2. No comparable Canadian ruling to the Wards Cove Packing decision – the Meiorin
(Canada) decision sets a higher standard for employers to meet before allowing
discriminatory practices
Discrimination is Discrimination
 Meiorin decision (1990’s)– Justice McLachlin argued that while one could differentiate between
the two forms of discrimination (direct or indirect), the distinction had little importance since the
principal concern of the Court in human rights cases was the effect of an impugned law
o This case had a substantial impact on R&S
o Originated as a complaint to the BC Human Rights Commission but got to the SCC
o It undermines the use of the four-fifth rule as a defense to discrimination
 Judge said discrimination is still occurring, the size of the group shouldn’t matter
o Placed a higher onus on Canadian organizations to prove nondiscriminatory selection
(higher than Wards Cove Packing US),
 Set out a unified approach for establishing whether performance standards for a
job are discriminatory + reinforced the concept of individual accommodation in
the workplace
Bona Fide Occupational Requirement
 BFOR – A procedure used to defend a discriminatory employment practice or policy on specific
grounds about how it was adopted
o Canadian Human Rights Act – says it’s not discriminatory if it was based on a BFOR
 SCC case Etobicoke (1982):
o BFOR definition – honestly and good-faith belief that is was reasonably necessary to
assure the efficient and economical performance of the job without endangering
employees or the general public. (sometimes called qualifications BFOQs)
 Statistical and medical evidence was to be given more weight than impressions

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o This definition guided policies until the Meiorin case

 Meiorin decision set out a new “unified approach” to defining BFORs for cases of direct and
indirect discrimination
o 3 Step Test:
 employer adopted the standard for a purpose rationally connected to the
performance of the job
 employer adopted the particular standard in a honest and good faith belief that it
was necessary to fulfill a legit work purpose
 the standard is reasonably necessary to the accomplishment of that legit work
purpose. It must demonstrate that it is impossible to accommodate employees
without imposing undue hardship on the employer
o the employer in this case did not fulfill the third item of the new “unified” definition of a
BFOR
 The Meiorin Three Step Test is the standard to which everyone uses to determine if a workplace
practice can be considered a BFOR
Reasonable Accommodation
 The duty of an employer to put in place modifications to discriminatory employment practices or
procedures to meet the needs of members of a protected group being affected by the
employment practice or procedure.
 As part of a BFOR defense, an employer must demonstrate that such accommodation is
impossible to achieve without incurring undue hardship in terms of the organizations expense or
operations
o Duty to accommodate a complaint up to the point of undue hardship
 Both the employer and employee have the duty to accommodate (Renaud case)
o This case established that a union could be found to have discriminated against
employees and also that it had an obligation to support employer’s reasonable attempts
to accommodate an employee
Individual Accommodation
 Evolved over 3 SCC cases:
o 1. Bhinder decision
 once something had been established as a BFOR there was no need for an
employer to accommodate to the special circumstances of the individual
o 2. Central Alberta Diary Pool decison (five years later):
 upheld Bhinder in stating that a BFOR that had a direct effect on individuals was
not discriminatory
 but it said that if that BFOR had an adverse effect on an individual there was a
duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship
o 3. Meiorin (1999)
 said that adverse and direct discrimination were not allowed even if they were
BFORs
Reasonable Alternative
 Under the burden of reasonable alternative, the employer must show that no reasonable or
practical substitute exists for the discriminatory practice
 Involves important concepts of BFOR and individual accommodation
 Search for Reasonable Alternatives (Meiorin decision guidelines):
o 1. Has the employer investigated alternative approaches that do not have a
discriminatory effect?
o 2. If there was alternatives found, why were they not implemented?
o 3. Is it necessary to have all employees meet a single standard?
o 4. Is there a way to do the job that is less discriminatory that still accomplishes the
legitimate purpose?
o 5. Is the standard properly designed to ensure desired qualification is met without placing
an undue burden on whom the standard applies?
o 6. Have the other parties who are obligated to assist in finding accommodation (i.e.
employee/union) done so?

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 Individualized rather than standardized testing MUST be used to accommodate individuals with
disabilities
o A person with disability must be assessed in terms of that persons own unique abilities;
the persons disability must not be viewed through any prejudice/bias/stigma or
misunderstanding on the part of the employer about the disability
o MUST be considered individually within a particular context, and some risk is acceptable
Sufficient Risk
 As part of a BFOR defense, an employer may argue that an occupational requirement that
discriminates against a protected group is reasonably necessary to ensure that work will be
performed successfully and in a manner, that will not pose harm or danger to employees or the
public
 After the Grismer decision each case will be judged on its own unique merits with respect to the
degree of risk imposed by the disability
o Also determined that sufficient risk alone could not justify a discriminatory standard
o Risk can be considered under an assessment of undue hardship but now as a
justification for a discriminatory action
 Aim is not to lower safety standards but to find options that meet safety standards and respect
human rights
 Direct discrimination with relation to sufficient risk occurs regularly for persons with physical and
mental disabilities
o i.e. not hiring people with HIV/AIDS at hospitals
 but for this to be okay it needs to be a proven BFOR
 Sufficient risk criterion = well above minimal or nominal risk
o i.e. severe vision impairment of an airline piolet vs a person with muscular dystrophy who
might fall
Legal Concepts Applied to Recruitment and Selection
 Two Human Rights Decisions (illustrate the above principles) – in both the complainant won
o 1. Action travail des femmes v. Canadian National (1984)
 complaint lodged with the CHRC
 disproportionately excluded women from nontraditional jobs and the employment
practices in question were not BFORs
 they were told to start hiring more women and stop using the Bennett test that
discriminated against woman
o 2. Andrews v. Treasury Board and Department of Transport (1994)
 complaint filed with the CHRC
 Canadian Human Rights tribunal criticized the use of a practical hearing test
 They decided it was a discriminatory test and granted monetary compensation to
the complainant
 The test was not proven to be an adequate BFOR because there were many
issues with it (it wasn’t validated)
 Andrew’s hearing impairment did not pose sufficient risk
 The differences between the two cases show that there is an increasing amount of focus on the
four legal concepts we have discussed (reasonable accommodation, individual accommodation,
reasonable alternative, and sufficient risk)
Part III: Some Practical Guidelines in Nondiscriminatory Recruitment and Selection
Key Practical Considerations in Nondiscriminatory Recruitment
 The scope of practices that must be considered are more manageable if the success or failure of
recruitment is traced back to two main causes
o 1. The effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the organization in contacting and
communicating with target group members
o 2. The positive or negative perceptions that target group members hold about the
organization
 Getting the word out about a job is not enough, job seekers must have a positive perception of
the organization as well as of their chances of getting the job before they will apply
o Perception is formed in at least two ways:

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 1. At the time the organization makes the initial contact through its outreach
recruiting
 aka determined and persistent effort to make potential job applicants,
including designated group members, aware of available positions
 2. Through the knowledge gained about the organization via third parties
o RBC does a good job at recruiting and helping prepare persons with disabilities and
Aboriginals
o IBM helps university students with disabilities who are pursuing computer science,
software engineering, and info technology
 Page 102-103 has a bunch of lists about good recruiting practices

Legal Requirements and HR Practice

 R&S procedures that have an impact on careers or entry to occupations must be defensible with
respect to legal requirements
 We expect HR practitioners to apply scientifically proven empirical procedures
o But this is often not the case
 Only procedures with empirical evidence will be accepted by courts and human rights tribunals
 Need to ensure the proper implementation of the system and monitor it overtime
 HR practitioners are expected to use procedures that not only do no harm, but also provide
benefit
 Questions HR Practitioners Can Ask Themselves:
o 1. Do the procedures I am using result in indirect or direct discrimination
o 2. If it is, can I establish that it is a BFOR
o 3. Is the selection procedure a valid predictor of job performance
 Educate management on the legal requirements
 Intention of Human Rights Legislation – everyone should have the opportunity to compete for the
jobs available on an equal footing and on the basis of objective qualifications, regardless of group
membership or employer stereotyping about what members of a group can and can’t do.

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Chapter 4: Job Analysis and Competency Models

Key Terms
- Competencies: groups of related behaviours or attributes that are needed for successful job
performance in an organization
- Competency dictionary: a listing of all the competencies required by an organization to achieve
tis mandate, along with the proficiency level required to perform successfully in different
functional groups or positions
- Competency framework: a broad framework for integrating, organizing, and aligning various
competency models that are based on an organization’s strategy and vision.
- Competency model: a collection of competencies that are relevant to performance in a particular
job, job family, or functional area
- Competency profile: a set of proficiency ratings related to a function, job, or employee
- Core competencies: characteristics that every member of an organization, regardless of
position, function, job or level of responsibility within the organization, is expected to possess
- Functional competencies: characteristics shared by different positions within an organization
(i.e., a group of related or similar jobs). Only those members of an organization in these positions
are expected to possess these competencies.
- Job: a collection of positions that are similar in their significant duties
- Job description: a written description of what job occupants are required to do, how they are
supposed to do it, and the rationale for any required job procedures.
- Job family: a set of different, but related, jobs that rely on the same set of KSAOs
- Job specification: the KSAO attributes or competencies that are needed by a job incumbent to
perform well on the job.
- Job-specific competencies: characteristics that apply only to specific positions within the
organization. Only those people in the position are expected to possess these competencies
- Position: a collection of duties assigned to individuals in an organization at a given time
- Proficiency level: the level at which competency must be performed to ensure success in a
given functional group or position
- Proficiency scale: a series of behavioural indicators expected at a specific level of a
competency.
- Subject-matter expert (SMEs): people who are most knowledgeable about a job and how it is
currently performed; generally performed generally job incumbents and their supervisors
- Task inventories: work-oriented surveys that break down jobs into their component tasks
- Task statement: a discrete sentence containing one action verb that concisely describes a single
observable activity performed by a job incumbent
- Work-oriented job analysis: job analysis techniques that emphasize work outcomes and
descriptions of the various tasks performed to accomplish those outcomes
- Worker traits inventory: methods used to infer employee specifications from job analysis data
- Worker-oriented job analysis: job analysis techniques that emphasize general aspects of jobs,
describing perceptual, interpersonal, sensory, cognitive, and physical activities
Opening Vignette: Hiring the Right Person
- As an HR personnel in charge or hiring you will want to hire the right person for the job and as
such you will need to figure out how to identify who you are looking for

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- You can use Job Analysis (JA) to help get necessary info – JA procedures can be elaborated, but
you can find answers by asking yourself a series of questions:
o What do you want new hire to accomplish daily/weekly/monthly/yearly?
o What tasks and responsibilities will be part of their jobs (use of equipment, supervising
others, will their day be routine or different daily?)
o What KSAOs should they have to perform successfully?
o What do SMEs think about the task, requirements, and KSAOS
o Will there be any differences between the job now and in the future?

Part I: Work and Job Analysis

What is Work and Job Analysis?
- Overview
o Terms can be used interchangeably (according to text)
o Work analysis, in its broadest sense, refers to any systematic gathering, documenting,
and analyzing of information about the content of work performed by people in the
organizations, the worker attributes related to work performance, or the context, both
psychological and physical, in which the work is performed.
o Job analysis refers to the process of collecting information about jobs.
 Recently researchers in personnel selection have broadened the classic
definition of job analysis to reflect more contemporary approaches to this topic.
 In its simplest terms, a JA is a systematic process for gathering, documenting,
and analyzing data about the work required for a job
 JA data include a description of the context and principal duties of the job,
including job responsibilities and working conditions, and information about the
KSAOs required in its performance. [competencies people need in order to be
successful in the job]
o Three key points to remember about JA:
 A JA does not refer to a single methodology but rather a range of techniques
 A JA is a formal, structured process carried out under a set of guidelines
established in advance
 A JA breaks down a job into its constituent parts, rather than looking at the job as
a whole.
o Figure 4.1 (p.114) provides an overview of the JA process and outcomes
o JA data supports several HR activities and can be used towards several ends – helps to
ensure that decisions made in HR process are good decisions (fair and accurate) and
can be defended in courts and tribunals.
o As there are several JA methods it is important that we use the best one as it is unlikely
that one method will produce info that is useful for all applications we need it for
o In context of R&S the JA should identify the requirements of the job and then use those
to establish employee selection procedures
o Two basic products of JA: job description and job specifications.
 R&S today has a job description for a CIBC customer service representative
- Job VS Position
o Job – group of tasks; may be held by one or more people [in the org] e.g., secretary
o Position – group of tasks performed by 1 person in an org at a given time, person is
assigned to a position e.g., secretary assigned to the HR director, other secretary to the
VP Finance
o Job family – different but related jobs that have same KSAOs
- Subject-Matter Experts (SMEs)

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o JA data is often collected from the most knowledgeable people about a job and the way it
is performed
o The people who are most knowledgeable are often the current job incumbents and their
immediate supervisors
o Choosing a SME closer to the job = better resultant info
o However, Dierdoff and Wilson – trained professional job analysts may provide more
accurate info than job incumbents when using self-reporting and surveys because they
will be more objective in their assessments
o To ensure defensibility of JA results, SMEs should be representative of target population
for a job (age, sex, ethnic background, seniority in position)
 Info from diverse group will provide data that is more reliable, valid and accurate
o E.g., Meiorin – lack of job info from female firefighters, therefore not able to defend JA
from being challenged in court because of poor procedures

Job Analysis and Employment Law – A Reprise

- Job analysis is a legally acceptable way of determining job-relatedness
- 1975 USSC precendent-setting decision when it criticized Albermarle Paper Company for its
failure to use JA to demonstrated the job-relatedness of its section procedures (R&S today 3.6)
o relied heavily on Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection in reaching its decision
- Meiorin – requirement for bona fide occupational requirements
- Good job analysis: accurate info on skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions in specified,
reducing the likelihood of impediments to equitable employment access for all Canadians.
- Canadian human rights commissions and courts also recognize the Uniform Guidelines on
Employee Selection as professional standards, unless it is established that Canadian legal
precedent and professional practice deviate substantially from those set in the guidelines
Job Analysis Methods
- Harvey proposes three criteria that should be considered in choosing a method:
o (1) the goal of job analysis should always be the description of observable work
behaviours and analysis of their products;
o (2) the results of JA should describe the work behaviour independent of the personal
characteristics or attributes of the employees who perform the job;
o (3) job analysis must produce outcomes that are verifiable and replicable [aka they are
reliable and valid]
- Various JA techniques differ in assumptions they make about work – they follow same logical
process when applied to R&S.
o Work activities are described in terms of work process or work behaviours
o Machines, tools, equipment, and work aids are defined in relation to the materials
produces, services rendered, and worker knowledge applied to those ends
o Job context characterized in terms of physical working conditions, schedules, social
context, org culture, financial and non-financial incentives for performance
o Job specifications are inferred by linking job requirements identified with educational
experience, skills, and personal attributes required for successful job performance
Getting Started: Gathering Job Related Information
- Analysis mines info form organizational charts, legal requirements, job descriptions, union
regulations, and previous data from related jobs.
- Job-related info also available through the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system
o NOC systematically describes occupations in the Canadian labour market based on
extensive occupational research
o Each occupation is given a four-digit code that will provide the analyst with more
extensive description related to the KSAOs associated with the job
o E.g., R&S Today 4.2 (p.119/120) gives a description of an occupational description for
veterinarians

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- Figure 4.2 Gives a synopsis of descriptions and labels used in the NOC which follow main
headings including: aptitudes; interests; data/information, people, things; physical activities;
environmental conditions; employment requirements
- Alternative sources to the NOC have until recently included:
o The Canadian Classification Dictionary of Occupations (CCDO)
 Designed in 1971 by Employment and Immigration Canada, widely used by HR
professionals
 Abandoned in 1992 bc it no longer reflected contemporary labour market
o The Dictionary of Occupational Tittles (DOT)
 Now replaced by the O*NET system (Occupational Information Network) an
electronic database created by the US Department of Labour
 Figure 4.3(p.122) shows basic content of Onet which is broken down in
to 6 main headings: worker characteristics; worker requirements;
experience requirements; occupation-specific information; workforce
characteristics; occupational requirements
- In addition to occupational databases it is important to give attention to determining the best ways
to gather job information. Some techniques are better than others.
- Analysis typically involves a series of steps (often beginning with interviews or observations).
- Ideally JA uses multiple strategies to arrive at a comprehensive and accurate description of the
job in question. Not always possible due to funding constraints
Work and Worker-Oriented Job Analysis
- One of the most common JA cauterizing techniques as either work oriented or worker oriented.
JA falling in to these two categories are legally defensible
- Work-oriented – focus on work outcomes and describing tasks to accomplish those outcomes
o Frequency of occurrence, amount of time spent on them, importance of the job outcome,
difficulty inherent to executing them
- Worker-oriented – general aspects of the job, describing perceptual, interpersonal, sensory,
cognitive and physical activities.
Survey of Work-Oriented Job Analysis Methods
- Structured Job Analysis Interviews
o Interviews are the most commonly used technique for gathering job facts and
establishing the task and behaviours that define a job
o Structured interview method is designed so that all interviewees are asked the same job-
related question; very reliable and fair
o Written, structured interviews are a fair and cost-effective alternative to the traditional oral
structured interviews
o Guidelines for conducting interviews are summarized in recruitment and selection
notebook 4.1 (p.124)
 Announce the JA well ahead of the interview date
 Participation in interviews should be voluntary, and incumbents should be
interviewed only with the permission of their supervisors
 Interviews should be conducted in a private location free from the trappings of
status
 Open the interview by establishing rapport with the employee and explaining the
purpose of the interview
 Ask open-ended questions, using language that is easy to understand, and allow
ample time for the employee’s responses
 Guide the session without being authoritative or overbearing
 Explain to the employees that records of the interview will identify them only by
confidential codes
o Should record interviewee’s responses during the interview by writing them down or tape-
recording the interview
o R&S Notebook 4.2 (p.125-126) provides protocol for a structured job analysis interview;
this is an excellent example of a guide but should be edited to fit the specific job in mind

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o Want to interview an accurate sample of the job incumbents (only interviewing females or
males for e.g., would skew info received). Supervisors should always be included in pool
of interviewees
o Disadvantages: can be expensive, time consuming, impractical (if you have to take lots of
people away from their jobs; workers may distort their job descriptions if they believe the
results will impact their pay
o Benefits can out weight their relative costs
- Direct Observation
o The JA watches employees as they carry out their job activities (sometimes called job
shadowing)
o Martinko believes that direct observation is the most effective way to determine what
effective job incumbents do
o Most useful when JA involves easily observable activities
o Before performing observation analyst should have learned about the job by studying
existing docs and determining the nature of the job
o Observations can be recorded as a narrative or under a customized checklist or
worksheet (see figure 4.4/4.5 for examples p. 127/128)
o Should observe multiple workers
o Observation times should be stratified so that all shifts are covered and conditions are
observed
o Tech aids are available such as audio and video recording. This can allow for the
augmentation of notes in future as you can record either verbal or non verbal
components of the observation session depending on what you use
o Observers must be aware that regardless of the technique they use, their presence will
change the behaviour of the employee e.g., Hawthorne experiment
o In addition to direct observation, job analyst may ask incumbents to monitor their own
work, such as keeping a diary.
 Less time consuming, less expensive
 Easier to use when conditions of work do not easily facilitate direct observation
by another person (dangerous or sensitive work)
 Provide info that is otherwise unobservable cognitive and intellectual processes
 Shortcomings: may not recall all their activities, additional duty to be completed in
addition to the workload, some amount of training may be required for people to
provide reliable and valid self-generated data
- Analyzing Structured Interview and Direct Observation Data
o After collecting the data, analysts use the resulting notes and tally sheets to identify
critical task statements which are used to describe the critical components of the job
through a standard format.
o Each task statement should include:
 Action verb-describes the actions performed
 Object of the verb – person, data, or things affected by the action
 Rationale or observable work product – the intended outcome or product of the
action
 Materials, tools, procedures, or equipment used to carry out the action
 The directions or guidelines under which the action is taken.
o READ TASK STATEMENT EXAMPLE P.130 for a better understanding
- Rating Task Statements and KSAOs
o Not all tasks are equal – some may be performed often but have little importance, and
have little skill required where as others happen rarely but are very important and require
a high level of skill
o Important for SME to rate tasks with respect to frequency, importance and difficulty which
will help analysts to fully understand what goes on the the job
o KSAOs must also be rated by SMEs with respect to at least its importance in performing
specific task and its proficiency (required at entry of job? Sets entry level standard)

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 Also helpful in establishing training standards for new hires

o Finally, analyst integrates info by compiling a Task x KSAO matrix (table 4.2 p.133)
 produce 2 tables, 1 with actual importance ratings for KSAOs, other with
proficiency ratings.
 Review proficiency data
 Want to identify those KSAOs applicants should have upon hiring
 In developing matrix HR staff may wish to concentrate on the KSAOs that apply
to the most tasks in the matrix
 Matrix provides linkage btw KSAOs that are needed to perform tasks effectively;
also provides basis for developing a defensible system.
o Tables 4.1 and 4.2 examples of rating methods
 These tables do not only apply to data collected through interviews,
observations, and self reporting techniques, but can also be used with any
procedure that generates task statements that are used to derive KSAOs.
o Limitation: very time consuming when there are large number of task statements and
KSAOs
- Structured Job Analysis Questionnaires and Inventories
o Requires workers and other SMEs to respond to written questions about their jobs
 Make judgements about tasks, tools, equipment and working conditions
o “off-the-shelf” questionnaires e.g., Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ), or they can
develop their own
o the interview protocol from r&s notebook 4.2 (p.125) can be turned in to written
questionnaires administered to a larger number of SMEs
- Task Inventories
o A well-constructed survey permits workers to define their jobs in relation to a subset of
tasks appearing on the inventory
o According to the Uniform Guidelines criteria, JA should asses
 Duties performed
 The level of difficulty of job duties
 Job context
 The criticality of duties to the job
o Inventory comprises task statements that are objectively based descriptions of what gets
done on a job. Task inventory next used to identify relevant KSAOs
o Developed for specific jobs or occupations
o Advantageous bc they are efficient to use with large number of employees and are easily
translated in to quantifiable measures.
o Can be time consuming to develop and expensive
o Functional Job Analysis (FJA)
 Conducted by a certified FJA analyst
 Convenes a focus group of 6 job incumbents who have a broad range of
experience; collects info on (1) outputs of the job for which they are paid, (2)
KSAOs required to perform their job, (3) tasks that they need to do to perform
their job. Analyst must then write task statements that clearly define what needs
to be done to get work performed
 20-30 task statements are sufficient to describe the essential job components,
although can be way more for complex jobs
 task bank is then edited by analyst to ensure clarity and conformity to format and
sent to focus group for feedback
 task bank then distributed to a sample of SMEs who are asked to rate each task
on 7 scales of complexity (e.g,. table 4.3 p. 135).
 Scales used by DOT, CCDO, NOC: data scale, things scale, people scale
 remaining 4 scales assess worker instructions, amount of discretion a worker has
over a specific method of task performance, 3 general educational development
scales (reasoning development, mathematical development, language
development)

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 used to develop KSAOs related to the tasks

 optional last step is to ask workers to rate refquency, importance, and difficulty of
each task
 mean employee ratings from 7 scales are used to summarize each test in the
test bank
o Critical Incident Technique
 Examples of effective and ineffective work behaviours that are related to superior
and inferior performance.
 Originally developed as a training needs assessment and performance appraisal
tool
 Provides important, contextually rich examples of job bejaviours that are useful in
developing BARS and behavioural interviews, as well as being the basis for
situational judgement tests.
 Form panel of job experts and have them gather critical incidents. Panel
members describe incidents, including antecedents to the activity, a complete
description of the behaviour, results from the behaviour, and whether the results
were within the control of the worker.
 Incidents are then editied and reviewed by a panel of SME who sort them in to
themes or dimensions; 60% must agree it belongs or it is dropped
 Dimensions or competencies, rather than taskes are used to describe the job and
identify appropriate selection methods.
 E.g., table 4.4, table 4.6
 Advantages: flexible, collecting data from employees in their own words,
inexpensive, rich behavioural data
 Negatives: may miss important routine tasks, often only recent critical incidents
are recalled, may take a while to collect enough critical incidents to describe a
job

- Worker-Oriented Job Analysis Methods

o Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)
 Structured job analysis questionnaire that focuses on general behaviours that
make up a job
 Assumes all jobs can be characterized in terms of a limited number of abilities
 Includes 195 items called job elements, organized in 32 job division dimensions
that may be further organized into 6 dimensions (info input, mental processes,
work output, relationships, job context other job characteristics, and 13 overall
dimensions. Figure 4.7, p.138)
 Figure 4.8 (p.139) shoes scores for 4 very different occupations, and how
comparisons can be made across a number of jobs
 PAQ completed by a trained job analyst (most accurate, reliable, least amount of
time), HR practitioner, or job incumbents and supervisors.
 Good reliability, and “off-the-shelf” for immediate use, can be used w small
number of SMEs , one of the most cost-efficient analysis methods
 Drawbacks: serious questions about the readability of the statements in the
inventory (may require a college-level reading ability)
 Recently updated to include items to meet HR needs like including those related
to disabilities
- Worker Traits Inventories
o Do not provide info on the job as a whole or any tasks associated with it – only certain
requirements needed to cary out the job
o Widely used to infer employee specifications from work or job analysis data and are
useful for selection and training purposes
o Designed to identify traits or KSAOs that predict job success
 Identification of these traits or KSAOs is made by SMEs
o Fleishman Job Analysis Survey (F-JAS)

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 System for identifying which and to what degree an array of empirically derived
ability constructs are critical to perform a specific job effectively
 Identified 52 human ability categories such as oral comprehension.
 In the F-JAS booklet, abilities are grouped in to 4 clusters: cognitive,
psychomotor, physical, and sensory/perception.
 10 raters familiar with the job assess the job with BARS system between (high 7
to low 1). The avg of 10 raters scores is obtained to provide statistically
significant value for the degree of expertise that job requires of that ability.
 Figure 4.9 example p. 141, 4.10 p. 142, 4.11 p. 143
 More recently Fleishman and his colleagues extended their work to a second
booklet which provides 21 job related social and interpersonal abilities.
- Other Job Analysis Methods
o There are many others, which are outlines in the R&S Notebook 4.3 and include
 Common-metric questionnaire
 Working Profiling System (WSP)
 Threshold Traits Analysis System
 Cognitive Task Analysis
Best Practice in Choosing Job Analysis Methods
- Advantages and disadvantage of the various methods discussed are outlined in R&S notebook
4.4 p. 145/146 good to read them over to review previous notes

- According to Levine and his colleagues there are 11 criteria for selecting the best JA method
o Operational status
o Availability
o Occupational versatility
o Standardization
o User acceptability
o Training requirements
o Sample size
o Reliability
o Cost
o Quality of outcome
o Time to completion
- Methods that gathered specific task data did so with greater accuracy than methods that
assessed generalized work activity
- Professional job analyst are more accurate assessors than job incumbents who complete self-
reports or surveys
- SMEs make the most reliable estimates when using importance and frequency scales rather than
other types of measurements
- The value of JA comes from how the info from the analysis will be used – practitioners must take
the intended use into consideration when choosing a method
- Different JA methods offer different degrees of accuracy, validity and reliability
o Read over p. 147-149 because it’s kind of confusing and I couldn’t properly summarize it
because I didn’t understand it too well
- R&S Notebook 4.6 (p.148) Assessing the legal defensibility of JA
o JA must be performed according to a set of formal procedures; common knowledge
stereotypes are not accepted as a defence
o JA must be well documented – information in analyst’s head is not enough
o JA should collect data from several up-to-date sources (several methods)
o The sample of ppl interviewed should be enough to accurately capture the job info and
should also represent the diversity of job incumbents to insure validity

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o Job analysts should be properly trained in the different techniques to ensure they collect
objective info
o JA should determine the most important and critical aspects of the job, these key
attributes are that of which selection and evaluation for the job should be based
- There is no guarantee that any method will be accepted by the courts, however by doing formal
JA it will likely be more defensible
- Using a variety of sources is a form of triangulation which will produce the best information for
matching people to jobs
- R&S Notebook 4.7 (p. 149-150) guidelines for conducting a JA
o Determine the purpose
o Determine the resources
o Review available documentation/information
o Determine the JA method
o Identify SME and incumbents
o Conduct the JA
o Confirm the task and KSAO statements
o Compile the task and KSAO statements
o Establish cut off criteria
o Develop a task x KSAO matrix
o Select employment selection method(s)
o Document the JA

Part II: The Role of Competencies in Recruitment and Selection

Intro
- In this post-industrial era workers are required to apply a wider range of skills to an ever-changing
series of tasks, workers will be expected to possess the skills and knowledge of 2 or 3 traditional
employees
- Jobs will be rapidly evolving and what you are hired for may be different from what you do a few
months from now
- Therefore, the JA may only hold for a period of time
- There is a greater emphasis on strategic role played by HR people
- One way in which HR practitioners can approach the rapidly changing environment is to select
employees through work-related competencies that are thought to be related to successful job
performance
- Concerns over the use com competencies:
o Some orgs that adopt competency models do not know how to implement them
o There are challenges in linking or integrating different application when different
competency models are developed for different HR functions
o Competencies may be too broad and cannot be measured, while some are too detailed
for use and acceptance by employees
o Changes in top organizational leadership may lead to changes in competencies and
instability in their application to hr FUNCTIONS
o Orgs often fail to validate their competency model in predicting job performance,
particularly when adopting an off-the-shelf competency dictionary
What is a “Competency”?
- Boyatzis popularized the term competency and defined it as a combination of a motive, trait, skill,
aspect of one’s self-image or social role or body of relevant knowledge
- Competencies are measureable attributes or behaviours that distinguish outstanding performers
from others in a defined job context.
- Used to identify the KSAOs that distinguish superior performers from others

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- Competency based selection systems take view that employees must be capable of moving
between jobs and carrying out the associated tasks for different positions.
- Identify both job and organizational level KSAOs
Competency Framework or “Architecture”
- Currently, orgs that use competency models mostly develop a 3-tiiered competency framework
- Identify competencies tha apply to all jobs in the org (core competencies), apply to groups of
similar jobs (functional competencies), and those that apply to a single cass of jobs (job-specific
competencies)
Competency Categories
- Core competencies
o Support org mission, vision and values
o Org KSAOS required for org success
o Apply to all members of the org
- Functional competencies
o Shared by different positions within a common job group
- Job Specific competencies
o Apply to a specific position
o In addition to core and functional competencies
- Figure 4.12 p.154
Competency Dictionaries
- Lists all competencies that are required by an org to achieve its mandate; include core functional
and job specific
- Part of developing a competency framework is developing a competency dictionary
- In some cases HR starts with a generic list of competencies that has not been tailored and then
adapt, this shortcut saves time and money but may not be as valid as initially identifying
competencies specific to the org
- Competency dictionaries include info on the proficiency level needed to be successful at each
position; all may require a certain competency, but may require at different levels
- Figure 4.14 p. 155 discusses competency levels of risk management
o Levels of competencies are cumulative
- Orgs assess each employee or potential employee w respect to the required proficiency levels
and then use these for selection, development, training, and promotional purposes.
- Proficiency scales like in 4.13 are included in the competency dictionary and show real and
observable differences from one level to another
- It is nor a tool for assessment but a series of behaviours that are expected at specific levels of
competency
Competency Profiles
- Set of core, functional and job specific competencies related to a function, job or employee
expressed in terms of expected level
- Job specific profile adds the proficiency levels required for a specific position, core is for all
members, and functional for the job groups
- Figure 4.14 p. 156 example of a competency profile
- Employee profile represents proficiency levels demonstrated by the employee, and matching
those levels against the different competency profiles will reveal a suitable holding for that person
- An org that uses competency models must have the capability to identify the required
competencies and then to assess accurately the competency level of each employee with respect
to the competency
Legal Defensibility of Competency Models
- Courts will use precedents for judging
- HR systems must be supported by empirical evidence that there is a link between selection
measures and the essential duties of a job
- More rigorous competency methodologies that incorporate JA procedures are more likely to
withstand legal scrutiny
- R&S Notebook 4.8 (p.158) steps in developing a competency-based management framework

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- R&S Notebook 4.9 (p.159) best practices in competency modelling

Assessing Employee Competencies
- The behavioural statements associated with proficiency level for a given position should be used
by SMEs to identify the relevant KSAOs used in the selection process
- Identical to identifying KSAOs of critical incident process
- Developing reliable and valid ways of measuring EE competencies is crucial to the success of the
competency model and to its legal defensibility
Validating Competency-Based Selection Systems
- very few of the large number of articles written about competency models are looked at from a
scientific or applied perspective
- bonder and his colleagues describe how service Canada developed a competency based
framework that incorporated competency model through JA
- two other studies showed how ratings of frequency and criticality by supervisors and incumbents
could be built in to a competency model followed by validation against supervisor measures of
performance and assessment of inter-rater reliability.
- More research still needed defining psychometric properties of competency models particularly
with selection and promotion
Competency Modelling VS JA
- JA was viewed as superior by 9 out of 10 task force professionals on the JA and Competency
Model Task Force
- Only place where the competency model was seen to have an edge was with respect to more
transparent links to business goals
- Competency approaches closely aligned with worker-oriented JA
o Competency higher levels of face validity
- Table 4.5, p.161 does an excellent job outlining the differences of job analysis and competency
modelling
A Generic Competency Framework
- Bartram presented a model of performance based on 8 brought competency factors, known as
the “great 8” factors, which have 112 sub-competencies. The 8 factors were based on analysis of
self-rating and manager ratings of workplace performance. (Outlined in table 4.6, p. 162)
Leadership Competency Models
- Leadership competencies are one of the fastest growing areas in the competency model.
- They contribute to superior performance on the part of those leading orgs
- Leadership competency models are based on the company’s strategic vision and business goals
- Identifies relevant competencies along with a definition of each
- Main leadership competencies:
o Integrity and ethics – serving w respect; being honest; ensures integrity in personal and
organizational practices. Builds a respectful workplace. This is the basis for other
leadership competencies
o Strategic thinking – visioning the future and building plans and making decisions to get
there. Aligns program policy with the strategic direction of the org
o Engagement - showing passion for the job. They engage people, organizations, and
partners in developing goals, executing plans, and in delivering results. They follow and
lead across boundaries to engage broad-based stakeholders, partners, and
constituencies in a shared agenda and strategy
o Innovation –thinks creatively; is open to new ideas and tech. champions org change. Is
flexible and adaptable in meeting changing demands of clients, stakeholders, and public
o Accountability – accepts and creates a culture of accountability; fosters personal growth;
takes personal ownership and inspires others to do the same. Is self-aware and
demonstrates a commitment to ongoing learning and development.
o Building the org team – recognizes that the leader alone cannot get the job done;
surrounds self with excellent talent, builds successful relationships with individuals, staff
stakeholders, partners

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o Effective communication – fosters open communication, listens to others, speaks

effectively, and prepares written communication so that messages are clearly
understood.
o Results focus – action-oriented. Maximizes organizational effectiveness and
sustainability. Aligns people, work, and systems with the business strategy to harmonize
what they do and how they work to meet org objectives. Responsible for human and
financial resources.

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