personality and selection

personality and selection

1. Organisational behaviour provides a conceptual ‘toolbox’, a ‘Swiss army knife’, to help to explain, predict, and control organisational actions” – Bratton (2015)

2. Personality: Relatively stable, individual difference characteristic that exert a causal influence on our perceptions and behaviours (Nettle, 2007)

3. Personality: stability? Heritability (i.e. how much of a particular trait or characteristic that is due to inherited genetic factors) E.g. Approximately 40% of variation in personality based on heritable factors (Loehlin, 1992) Stability (i.e. how similar is your personality at 18 and 30, or 50, or 80?) E.g. Costa & McCrae (1988): large correlations between individual traits over long periods (up to 20yrs Reduced likelihood of trait changes after age 30 (Costa, Herbst , McCrae & Siegler, 2000)

4. Influence on behaviours and Performance: Personality and intelligence/cognitive ability

5. Personality Theories

   • Type theories: Examples Type A & Type B personality Type A : driven, persistent, achievement-focused, more aggressive Type B personality characteristics considered to be the opposite. Myers Briggs Type-Indicator
   • The Big 5 Trait theory: The Big Five ‘model’ of personality proposes that our personalities are based on 5 broad traits which are Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism/ emotional stability.
     • It is more complex than that, of course, because each trait can be made up of some of the more specific aspects such as Low (Cautious, conventional, narrow range of interests) and High (Imaginative, spontaneous, wide range of interests) which are all aspects for Openness.

6. Assessing Personality: Projective tests (e.g. Thematic apperception, or Rorschach tests), Graphology (i.e. handwriting analysis) “Psychometric assessments give a standardised sample of behaviour which can be described by a numerical scale or category system.” - Cronbach (1984) Should be reliable & valid Reliability: is it consistent? (if I take test today and again next week, would I get the same or similar result?) Validity: is it measuring what we need it to be measuring? They can give us a general idea of leadership style, personality traits, or whatever the assessment might be attempting to measure…

7. Conscientiousness not always ‘positive’… Hough & Furnham (2003) also find negative relationship regarding creativity …and Neuroticism (i.e. lower emotional stability) is not always a negative… Problem solving (e.g. spotting problems) And ability buffered effects of high neuroticism (Perkins & Corr, 2005) In other words, when people were skilled at what they were doing, having a ‘neurotic’ personality did not have any effect. Creative occupations: e.g. writers, musicians, painters, dancers, photographers, etc… Compared to general population… Conscientiousness (lower) Neuroticism (higher) Agreeableness (lower) Openness (higher) Extraversion (higher).... *From Feist (1998): A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity

8. Personality & sales roles… Which of the Big 5 has the strongest relationship with sales performance? Extraversion? Yes! Meta-analysis by Vinchur et al, (1998) No! Barrick et al (2001; meta-analysis of 15 meta-analyses): positive, but non-significant relationship......... Maybe…? Grant (2013): Very highly extrovert individuals actually performed worse than those scoring just above average…

9. Conscientiousness: what is it? Examples of some ‘narrow’ traits that make up conscientiousness* Organisation (i.e. how ‘organised’ you are) Responsibility Low impulsivity (i.e. self-control) Achievement Deliberation

10. Personality Assessments: A personality test is a questionnaire or other standardized instrument designed to reveal aspects of an individual's character or psychological makeup. The issues: Faking and social desirability… Solution: lie scales Solution: ipsative version of questionnaires… Ipsative scales: “a type of measure where candidates compare and select their preferred option from two or more desirable (or undesirable) options” (Smith & Smith, 2005) Personality: Links between some personality dimensions and general work outcomes – e.g. Conscientiousness But not clear cut – relatively modest relationships Need to be more specific than just broad traits… Consider context The role itself + which traits are really relevant Very complex and lots of factors to consider!

11. Jobs

    • Lots of different methods: May aim to assess: - Skills Experience ‘Fit’ (with the role, or even with the organisation?) How candidate is likely to approach the role Potential? Ethics/values
    • First: what do you actually need?: Job analysis Create a job description Which then leads to a person specification What type of skills and characteristics are you looking for?
    • Shortlisting: At least two people should shortlist candidates independently Why? Note where applications do not meet the requirements of the job and the person specification Then shortlisters agree on who meets the set criteria for the job and then (usually) invite those candidates to interview although depending on the job and organisation, there may be other hurdles for candidates to get over before they get to interview!
    • Reliability’ and ‘Validity’ Reliability: does it always measure the same thing, time and again? In other words: if we measured/tested/interviewed again, would we get the same result? Reliable: If you used a ruler or tape measure to measure height of a table, it will give the same reading every time Unreliable: If you used apples to measure the height of the table, you may get different results each time; e.g. might be 9 apples high the first time, but if you use different apples next time you may find it is 11 apples high If a candidate took an intelligence test today and scored 130, but scored 90 when they took it next week, we should be highly sceptical. If they scored 130 and 135, it is more likely to be reliable However, just because something gives you consistent results, it doesn’t mean it is good…
    • ‘Reliability’ and ‘Validity: Validity: does it measure what it is supposed to measure? Very high validity: Measuring temperature, using a thermometer Not very high validity: Measuring temperature by asking people how warm it is Zero validity: Measuring temperature with a ruler Or measuring someone’s ability to do the job based on their hair colour! Recruitment & selection methods should assess the skills and abilities actually needed to do the job

12. Selection Interviews: The most commonly used method of selection (CIPD, resourcing and talent planning survey, 2017) Valid and Reliable? What factors might affect the reliability and validity of job interviews?

13. Types of interviews? One to one Why might one-to-one interviews be potentially problematic? Successive interviews Panel interview

14. Interviews: not just about interviewing: Recruitment usually seen from the employers perspective But candidates’ experience is important E.g. interviews provide an opportunity for candidates to ask questions of potential employer, and get a sense of the type of people and environment they could be working in. Establishing the psychological contract…?

15. The psychological contract

    • CIPD definition: - Refers to mutual (unwritten) expectations, beliefs and obligations as perceived by the employer and the employee. Not a ‘real’ contract and different from formal contract/terms & conditions Perceptions of the psychological contract are often informal and imprecise: they may be inferred from actions or from what has happened in the past, as well as from statements made by the employer, for example during the recruitment process or in performance appraisals
    • The psychological contract: example During interview, the employer paints a positive picture of the supportive environment, and the training available to employees in their organisation… However, once the new employee starts working there they find it is not really like that. Therefore, likely to perceive a ‘breach’ of their psychological contract. This can lead to dissatisfaction and a host of negative consequences for both parties In other words, there was a mismatch between what was expected and what was actually delivered. The psychological contract is based on employees’ sense of fairness and trust and their belief that the employer is honouring the 'deal' between them So, interviews can be a great opportunity to clarify what the role is really like

16. Other selection methods: Intelligence tests – e.g. numerical tests, verbal reasoning, logical reasoning Work samples Role play Group work/team work activities Assessment centres In-tray exercises

17. The cost of getting it wrong: Start up time for a new job holder Training time for new job holder Shortfall in productivity if new job holder is not effective Psychological impact on the department if new jobholder ‘fails’ The cost of the whole process – eg. interviewers’ time, advertising costs