Human Resource Innovations, Inc.
"Innovative Approaches to Human Resources"
ASSESSMENT SOLUTIONS
APPEALS COURT RULING IS A
WAKE-UP CALL: REVIEW YOUR ASSESSMENT & HIRING PRACTICES!
In June of this year, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled in a class-action case that Texas-based Rent-A-Center (the
largest rent-to-own chain in the U.S.) violated the Americans
With Disabilities Act. Rent-A-Center required applicants for
promotions to take the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality
Inventory (MMPI), cited in one article as "the most popular
screening test used by U.S. employers." Rent-A-Center's use of
the MMPI "likely had the effect of excluding employees with
(mental) disorders from promotions," a three-judge panel said.
The key to ensuring your assessment program meets defensible
standards are the same methods that ensure it delivers its
intended benefits for your business.
- Make sure you are using assessments for their designed
purpose
- Make sure they are job-related
- Use only assessments tested and found to be unbiased
toward protected groups, and
- Be certain that the assessments are valid and reliable.
These, and other guidelines for proper selection and
application of assessment tools, are contained in a Department
of Labor document which is presented in greater detail in this
issue. It may be dry reading, but it should be required reading
for anyone charged with providing information for hiring,
promotion or other job-related decisions. Note: the court ruling
cited here applied to promotion decisions rather than hiring
decisions.
With the proliferation of Internet-based "quick and easy"
personality tests offered as hiring tools, often free or at a
very low cost, violations of these basic rules are becoming more
frequent. Of special concern is the increasing and inappropriate
use of "type indicators," measures which divide all individuals
according to scores on a four-quadrant basis. These are not
designed to predict job performance and as many of the creators
of these instruments have warned, their use in employment
settings is inappropriate and possibly illegal.
It's also important to note you cannot avoid legal
responsibilities by simply eliminating assessments�unless you
apply truly random selection to your processes. Various rulings
by courts and regulatory agencies have found the
application-interview selection process is an assessment.
Unfortunately, the application-interview process is not very job
related, not standardized, not tested for validity or
reliability and not free of bias. Many companies delegate the
interview process to mangers with a wide range of understanding
or misunderstanding of the legal rules. Many HR departments lose
sleep and have nightmares about what questions managers may be
asking in their interviews.
Fortunately, it is not difficult to select and use
assessments properly. Read the guidelines below and the DOL
publication; the path is easy to follow. As assessment practices
develop, scrutiny of those practices is certain to increase. You
should invest a bit of effort in understanding the rules and
applying them properly. The outcome will be better results from
your assessments and less lost sleep over potential problems!
WHICH ASSESSMENT, AND HOW �
JEFF SCHROER
Psychometric assessment products exist in great variety and
quantity. Businesses employ assessments to support their
recruitment, retention, development and succession planning
strategies. Unfortunately, few seem aware of the U.S. Department
of Labor's (DOL) position regarding the use of tests and
assessments in areas of employment. It may surprise some to
learn the DOL actually supports the use of a sound testing and
assessment strategy. In their publication, "Testing and
Assessment: An Employer's Guide to Good Practices," the DOL
acknowledges, "employers face the challenge of attracting,
developing and retaining the best employees." They go on to say
a solid assessment strategy can "maximize chances for getting
the right fit between jobs and employees."
The DOL provides 13 basic principles that employers should
follow when selecting an assessment initiative. The principles
are summarized here:
Use assessment tools in a purposeful manner. Assessments are
most beneficial when used properly and for the purpose for which
they are designed. Misuse or improper use could be harmful or
possibly illegal.
Use the whole-person approach to testing. No test is perfect.
Complex behaviors are at work. Use a test, or combination of
tests, that give as much information as possible about behaviors
most important to your business.
Use tests that are unbiased and fair to all groups. Tests
that deliberately or inadvertently discriminate prevent the
employer from achieving a qualified and diverse work group and
may fuel legal challenges.
Use tests that are reliable. Will the same person produce the
same results each time they take the test? Reliability ("r") is
expressed as a statistical coefficient between 0.0 and 1.0. r =
0.90 or above is excellent: 0.80 � 0.89 is good: 0.70 � 0.79 is
adequate. 0.69 or below is questionable.
Ensure that assessments are valid for the specific purpose
for which they are used. Validity is the most important
criterion for selection of a proper instrument. Validity is an
appraisal of the assessment's ability to measure the target
characteristics at a level that can be useful. It is expressed
as a statistical coefficient. A v-score of .35 or higher means
the test is "very beneficial" in determining the presence of
desired characteristics. 0.21 � 0.34 means the test "is likely
to be useful" to the employer. A v-score of 0.11-0.20 means the
usefulness of the information derived will "depend on the
circumstances" under which the test is being used. A test is
"unlikely to be useful" under any circumstances when v= 0.11 or
less.
Tests must be appropriate for the target population. An
assessment designed to assess nurse practitioners is likely to
be inappropriate when applied to the construction trades.
Instructions and other documentation must be comprehensive
and easy to understand. The person taking the assessment must
understand the directions and the questions. The person
administering the assessment must also understand the directions
and the other documentation. Reliability and validity statistics
should be readily available.
If the test requires proctoring and/or administration, those
performing this function must be properly trained. Some
instruments require an extensive certification process to
administer, proctor or score tests.
Provide consistent and uniform testing conditions to obtain
consistent results. Classrooms, conference rooms or other
facilities may be necessary to isolate test takers from other
distractions to assure the integrity of test results.
Provide reasonable accommodations for people with
disabilities. No group should be disadvantaged by the test or
the conditions under which the tests are taken.
Test security must be maintained if the results are to be
useful. Tests and their scoring should never be accessible to
the general population. (This is impossible with "public domain"
assessments, like many of the popular type indicators, which are
inappropriate for hiring.)
Test results must be maintained in a confidential manner.
Tests taken over the Internet or other computer based methods
that require usernames and passwords are often most effective at
preserving the confidentiality of the results.
Accurate interpretation of results is necessary. It does
little good to interpret good data poorly. Ensure that all test
reports are easy to understand.
A well-conceived assessment strategy, when combined with
other decision-making tools, can provide employers a higher
level of precision than is otherwise available. Application of
the Department of Labor's Guidelines for selecting assessments
will make the employer a wiser consumer and provide the highest
return on the testing and payroll investment. In today's
litigious society, it may also pay high returns in providing a
structure for legal defense of the employer's practices.
We invite you to make a copy of this article and hang it in
your office where you will see it often. Check and review your
practices frequently, referring to these basic principles. Your
assessment programs will rest on firm ground and return on your
investment in assessments will remain at a maximum.
ON THE ROAD FROM GOOD TO
GREAT: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PAVES THAT ROAD - STEVE WOODS,
WORKFORCE METRICS
Jim Collins, author of the very popular business book, Good
to Great, tells us that a top leader (Level 5) "Looks in the
mirror, not out the window, to apportion responsibility for poor
results�" Here's the story, really an update, of how a good
company embraced Collins' view point using the Profiles
CheckPoint 360 System� with a dramatic effect on the whole
organization.
In an earlier newsletter [Volume 2 #8], we shared the story
of how one client, a mid-Atlantic federal bank, reduced turnover
in one year from 29 percent to seven percent using the Strategic
Hiring System. The calculated return on investment was in the
high three figures, but looking back, the Bank's CEO reports
that the numbers didn't tell the whole story.
"We're simply a better organization�more profitable, happier
customers and very few people problems! Now that we've got good
employees, we need to make sure we keep them," he added.
We responded by demonstrating that the CheckPoint 360�
leadership feedback survey was the powerful "mirror" the CEO was
looking for and how its partner product, the action planning
tool, the SkillBuilder�, could help leaders actualize their new
management strategies with Internet based, self-paced skill
development.
Visualizing the possibilities, the Bank CEO established a
Management Development Program (an annual program that bundles
two CheckPoint 360's� set at six month intervals with two
SkillBuilders� for each CheckPoint 360� along with one Profile
XT�) for all senior bank staff from himself to Senior Vice
Presidents, down to Area Directors.
Then, he posed a particular challenge: "I'm big on
performance incentives. How can I put some economic muscle into
this Management Development Program?" Reflecting this viewpoint,
the bank already had a multi-faceted bonus system for every
employee.
We asserted the view that results from the CheckPoint 360�
should never be linked to an economic outcome � good or bad. A
manager's success in implementing his or her SkillBuilder�
action plan, however, was another story. A plan was developed to
incorporate improved CheckPoint 360� ratings (directly related
to the SkillBuilder� action plans) into the existing bonus
system. In addition, our company, Workforce Metrics agreed to
provide individual coaching to all the senior managers,
including the CEO, to help each develop their plans and then
provided support for consistent implementation.
The results were nothing short of remarkable. Within two
months of the program's launch, we received unsolicited feedback
from employees at virtually all levels of the bank noting "They
(the senior mangers) have changed!" In one-on-one coaching
sessions with top management, staff often commented on the
improvement in behavior�and performance...of their peers. We
found people shaking their heads and muttering "Unbelievable"
with a big smile.
Six months later, as the results from the second round of
CheckPoint 360's� rolled in, the numbers clearly reflected what
we heard. The improvement numbers on the chart below represent
true improvement in management skills, paving a continued road
from "Good to Great!"
Note: On this assessment, a score >3.5 is
"favorable," and a change of 0.20 is significant. |
Staff
Member |
|
SkillBuilders�
Completed |
|
Beginning
Score |
|
Current
Score |
|
Net
Change |
#1 |
|
1. Cultivates Individual
Talents
2. Listens to Others
3. Motivates Successfully |
|
3.47
3.29
3.30 |
|
4.07
3.82
4.41 |
|
+.60
+.53
+1.11 |
#2 |
|
1. Builds Personal
Relationships
2. Motivates Successfully |
|
3.64
3.70 |
|
3.92
4.37 |
|
+.28
+.67 |
#3 |
|
1. Cultivates Individual Talents
2. Motivates Successfully |
|
3.92
3.83 |
|
4.19
4.46 |
|
+.27
+.63 |
#4 |
|
1. Works Efficiently
2. Delegates Responsibility |
|
3.32
3.57 |
|
3.59
3.75 |
|
+.27
+.18 |
#5 |
|
1. Provides Direction
2. Works Efficiently |
|
3.32
2.97 |
|
3.28
3.32 |
|
-.04
+.35 |
#6 |
|
1. Adjusts to Circumstances
2. Provides Direction |
|
2.85
3.19 |
|
3.19
3.40 |
|
+.34
+.21 |
#7 |
|
1. Provides Direction
2. Facilitates Team Success
3. Communicates Effectively |
|
3.36
3.10
3.24 |
|
3.62
3.50
3.50 |
|
+.26
+.40
+.26 |
|
|
Paving the road:
Note that, with only one exception, every single
SkillBuilder� completed resulted in improvement in
corresponding areas of the CheckPoint 360� assessment! |
"Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them."
~ Albert Einstein
|