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Summary

I Attracting the best people is one thing, retaining the best people
I is quite another. Salaries and perks may not motivate directly, but
I they are the symbols of the value of their contribution. The right
I questions often save a manager from the difficulties that arise
I from demotivating staff.

Can we save time screening applications?

n Who should do the initial screening of applicants?
n What evidence do we have that they won’t screen out the best

candidates?
n Does the job purpose really demand the qualifications or is that

merely the re-application of old requirements because it has always
been thus?
n If psychometric tests are to be used what is the evidence that they
are reliable (if given to the same person on different occasions
would produce the same result), credible (applicants will take them
seriously and complete them honestly) and most important, valid
(they actually measure what they claim to measure).

Psychometric tests

All tests are, or should be, supported by research papers and those that are
offered commercially should have summary research papers attached that
are comprehensive and readily understood by the layperson. In my day in
industry it was not uncommon to find that:

n The research specifically stated that the test used could not be
relied upon for recruitment purposes.

n The test was valid and reliable, but those using it lacked the
training to interpret the test effectively.

n The test had been rushed into the market without proper testing.
(The “Ohio – Fleischman” leadership test, a relatively simple test
of leadership style, although useful to professional psychologists
from its inception, took almost twenty years to perfect for wider
use.)

For those readers qualified in psychology who are asking the question,
the answer is “yes, I do know that there are other important forms of reli-
ability”. For example, in the laboratory it is often necessary to check that
if the test were presented in a different form the results would be consis-

44 Key management questions