This document outlines the development of a selection plan for hiring employees. It discusses that selection plans should assess applicants based on the specific skills, knowledge, and abilities required for each position. The selection criteria lists the major qualifications derived from the job description and which will be evaluated, such as experience, education, and technical skills. It then provides an example selection plan format for a department manager position that indicates which qualifications will be assessed and by which methods, such as interviews and exams. The document also discusses using structured interviews with behavioral and situational questions to adequately assess candidates and address any gaps in current measures.

1. Development of a Selection Plan
Introduction
Whendevelopingaselectionplan,orhiring,the mostimportantpartisthe interview.Inordertohire
the bestemployees,the selectionprocessshouldmatchthe specificskills,knowledge,andabilities
neededforeachposition.Itisalsoimportanttomatch the way an organizationmeasureseach
applicant,alongwiththe specificKSAOsneededforthe position.Whendesigningaselectionplan,one
thingsto rememberisthatselectionplansare costlyandtime-consumingtodevelop,butorganizations
are increasinglyfindingthatthe benefitsof developingselectionplanoutweighthe costs.Itisalso
importantto understandthatresearchhasshownthat proceduresthatare standardizedhave better
qualityinhiringthaninterviewsthatare unstructured.
SelectionCriteria
A selectionplandescribesthe predictor(s) thatwill be usedtoassessthe knowledge,skills,abilities,and
othercharacteristicsrequiredtoperformthe job.The majorKSAO'sare derivedfromthe position'sjob
description,andare considerednecessaryforthe successinthisposition.The SelectionCriteriaisto
evaluate positional preferenceslikeexperience,education,technical skills,contentknowledgeand
abilities,andotherdepartmental competencies.First,the KSAOsare writteninthe lefthandcolumn.
Second,foreach KSAO,a"yes"or "no" iswrittentoshow whetheritneedstobe assessedinthe
selectionprocess.Last,the possible methodsof assessmentare listedforthe requiredKSAOsandthe
specificmethodtobe usedforeachis indicated.All otherknowledge,skills,andabilitiesthatare
necessaryshouldbe addressesinone of the assessmentmethods.
SelectionPlanFormat and Example for Department Manager Position
Major KSAO Category Necessary
for
Selection?
(Y/N)
Methods of Assessment
Experience Education Marshfield
ApplicantExam
Retail
Knowledge
Communicationand
speakingskills.
Y X X
Knowledge ofcustomer
service principles.
Y X X X
Skillsin managing personnel
resources
Y X
Knowledge oforganizational
policies,procedures,and
practices.
N
Abilityto recognize a
problemand developa
solution.
Y X X

2. Skill and analysis of financial
and operational data.
Y X X X
Abilityto reason inductively. Y X X
Knowledge or retail
management,policies, and
practices.
Y X X
Skill and judgementin
decisionmaking.
Y X X
Knowledge oflegal concepts
obtainingto personnel
management.
Y X X
SelectionSequence
Initial Assessment:Initial assessmentmethodsare usedtomake roughcuts thatnarrow candidates
downfor substantive assessmentmethods.The initial methodswill determine the applicantsthatmeet
minimumrequirementsforthe positionbeingfilled.Once the applicantsbecomecandidatestheymove
ontothe secondphase,substantive assessmentmethods.The initial assessmentmethod'sgoal isto
avoidspendingexcessive timeandmoneyonapplicantswhoare unqualifiedforthe position.Whenan
applicantdoes notmeetthe minimal requirementsforthe position,theyshouldbe notifiedthatthey
cannot be consideredforthe position.Initial assessmentmethodsinclude:ResumeandCoverLetters,
ApplicationBlanks,Biographical Information,ReferenceandBackgroundChecks,andthe Initial
Interview.
Substantive Assessment:Whenapplicantshave passedthe initial assessments,the organizationcan
thencall themcandidates.Candidate referstothe applicantasmeetingthe minimumrequirements.
Substantive methodsare usedtodifferentiate the degreetowhicheachcandidate isqualifiedforthe
position.The predictorsthatare usedtoselectfinalistsincludepersonalitytests;abilitytests;emotional
intelligence tests;performance testsandworksamples;situational judgmenttests;integritytests;
interest,values,andpreference inventories;structure interviews;andteamassessments.Aftera
candidate hasmetall of the requirementsforthe position,andprovedthattheyare the mostqualified,
theythenbecome afinalistandan offerismade.
AddressingLack of Strengthin Current Measures
It ishighlyimportantthatthe knowledge,skills,abilities,andothercharacteristicsare measured,but
sometimesthere isalackof adequate measurementusingsome methods.Due tothe problemwith
standardization,andresearchoninterviews,astructuredinterview isneededtoaddressthe issues.
Duringthe structuredinterview,questionsshouldbe relevanttothe job.The bestquestionsshould
allowvariabilityinanswers byinterviewees.Researchalsoshowsthatthe skillsorknowledgethatcould
be acquiredwhile doingthe job,shouldnotbe partof the structuredinterview.
The besttypesof structure interviewquestionsthatshouldbe usedare Behavioral andSituational.
Behavioral interviewquestionsaskthe candidate toexplainpreviousexperiencesrelatedtothe
knowledge,skills,abilities,andothercharacteristicsrequiredforthe position.Someexamplesinclude:

3. 1. Tell me abouta time whenyouhadto traina new employee abouttheirjobresponsibilities.
What methodsdidyouuse to trainthemand track theirperformance?Wasthe training
effective?Didthe employeesucceedintheirnew role?
2. Tell me abouta time whenyoureceivedcomplaintsaboutone of yourdirect employees.How
didyou approachthe subjectwiththatemployee?How didthe employee respond?
Situational interview questionsmeasure how apersonwouldreactina realisticsituation.The goal is
that the candidate will actuallyexperience the same emotionsthe interview istryingtorepresentinthe
question.Some examplesinclude:
1. Suppose youmanagedanemployee whobroughttoyourattentionthattheircoworkerswere
tellingdirtyjokesinthe breakroom, anditmakesthemfeel uncomfortable.How would you
handle the situation?
2. You have an employeewhohasbeenaskingotheremployeestoclocktheminbefore theirshift
starts,thus falsifyingtheirtime card.Canthisactionhave legal repercussionsandhow would
youhandle it?
Communication
and speaking
skills
Skill and
judgment
indecision
making
Abilityto
develop
original
solutions
Knowledge
of legal
precepts-
personnel
management
Abiliityto
reason
inductively
Skill in
managing
personnel
resources
Question
Q1 x x x
Q2 x x x
Q3 x x x x x
Q4 x x
ProposedInterview ScoringKey
Conclusion
Researchonstructuredinterviewsprove thatitismost beneficial because itlowersinconsistencyof
measurement.Structuredinterviewshave highervaliditieswithhiringsuccessful employees.If
organizationsadoptstructuredinterviewsandselectionprocesses,itwill be easiertodistinguish
betweenqualifiedandunqualifiedcandidatesbefore theyare hired.