Weighing job performance predictors to both maximize the quality of the selected workforce and control the level of adverse impact.

Considerable thought has been given to the effects of various strategies of weighing predictor information on adverse impact, minority hiring, and quality of the selected workforce. However, these efforts do not solve the dilemma faced by employers who want to achieve an optimally qualified workforce but at the same time want to eliminate adverse impact. To remove this limitation, the present article shows how constrained nonlinear programming can be used to combine job performance predictors into a predictor composite such that the average quality of the composite selected employees is maximized, the intended overall selection rate is achieved, and the adverse impact ratio remains within acceptable bounds. Although the new procedure allows for situations in which the performance criterion is multidimensional, a further extension is needed to handle multistage selection decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The significance of task significance: Job performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions.

Does task significance increase job performance? Correlational designs and confounded manipulations have prevented researchers from assessing the causal impact of task significance on job performance. To address this gap, 3 field experiments examined the performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions of task significance. In Experiment 1, fundraising callers who received a task significance intervention increased their levels of job performance relative to callers in 2 other conditions and to their own prior performance. In Experiment 2, task significance increased the job dedication and helping behavior of lifeguards, and these effects were mediated by increases in perceptions of social impact and social worth. In Experiment 3, conscientiousness and prosocial values moderated the effects of task significance on the performance of new fundraising callers. The results provide fresh insights into the effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions of task significance, offering noteworthy implications for theory, research, and practice on job design, social information processing, and work motivation and performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of job experience and ability on job knowledge, work sample performance, and supervisory ratings of job performance.

Based on data from 4 independent studies reported by R. Vineberg and E. N. Taylor (1972) with a total sample size of 1,474, path analysis was used to examine the causal impact of job experience on job knowledge, performance capability as measured by job sample tests, and supervisory ratings of job performance. Findings support the conclusion that (1) when mean job experience is 2–3 yrs, there is substantial variance in job experience and (2) when the jobs are of an intermediate complexity level, job experience has a substantial direct impact on job knowledge and a smaller direct impact on performance capabilities as assessed by job sample measures. Job experience also has a substantial indirect effect on work sample performance through its effect on job knowledge, which, in turn, was found to be the strongest determinant of work sample performance. The pattern and magnitude of causal effects of general mental ability were similar to those of job experience. The effect of job knowledge on supervisory ratings was several times stronger than the effect of job sample performance, confirming the findings of J. E. Hunter (1983). When job experience was held constant, the direct impact of ability on the acquisition of job knowledge increased substantially, and this, in turn, increased the indirect effect of ability on job sample performance. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting sales performance, job satisfaction, and depression by using the Achievement Strivings and Impatience-Irritability dimensions of Type A behavior.

Recent research suggested that two dimensions of Type A behavior, namely, Achievement Strivings (AS) and Impatience-Irritability (II), differentially predict physical health and performance outcomes. The present study extends this research and examines whether AS and II differentially predict work performance (number of insurance policies sold), work attitudes (job satisfaction), and depression in a sample of 117 life insurance salespersons. As hypothesized, after statistically controlling for relevant biographical variables and II, AS predicted the number of policies sold and job satisfaction but was not related to depression. After partialing out the effect of relevant biographical variables and AS, II was associated with depression but not with the number of policies sold. In addition, controlling for the same variables, II was negatively associated with job satisfaction. Implications for the prediction of sales performance, job satisfaction, and depression, and interventions designed to decrease the negative consequences of Type A by reducing II but not AS, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of job performance from assessment reports: Use of a modified Q-sort technique to expand predictor and criterion variance.

Compared predictions of performance and personality characteristics made on the basis of preemployment psychological assessment reports with subsequent performance evaluations contained in the fitness reports of 32 government employees. 7 psychologists reviewed the assessment reports to predict overall job effectiveness, specific performance, and personality characteristics. They then reviewed the narrative section of each fitness report to rate the overall effectiveness of each S. Ratings were made using a modified Q-sort technique that reliably expanded the variances of predictor and criterion variables. A significant positive relationship was found between predicted and actual effectiveness. In addition, the psychologists were able to predict specific performance and personality dimensions on a significantly better than base-rate basis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of professional isolation on teleworker job performance and turnover intentions: Does time spent teleworking, interacting face-to-face, or having access to communication-enhancing technology matter?

Although the teleworking literature continues to raise concerns regarding the adverse consequences of professional isolation, researchers have not examined its impact on work outcomes. Consequently, the authors first examine professional isolation's direct impact on job performance and turnover intentions among teleworkers and then investigate the contingent role of 3 salient work-mode-related factors. Survey data from a matched sample of 261 professional-level teleworkers and their managers revealed that professional isolation negatively impacts job performance and, contrary to expectations, reduces turnover intentions. Moreover, professional isolation's impact on these work outcomes is increased by the amount of time spent teleworking, whereas more face-to-face interactions and access to communication-enhancing technology tend to decrease its impact. On the basis of these findings, an agenda for future research on professional isolation is offered that takes into account telework's growing popularity as a work modality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multistage selection strategies: Simulating the effects on adverse impact and expected performance for various predictor combinations.

Examination of the trade-off between mean performance and adverse impact has received empirical attention for single-stage selection strategies; however, research for multistage selection strategies is almost nonexistent. The authors used Monte Carlo simulation to explore the trade-off between expected mean performance and minority hiring in multistage selection strategies and to identify those strategies most effective in balancing the trade-off. In total, 43 different multistage selection strategies were modeled; they reflected combinations of predictors with a wide range of validity, subgroup differences, and predictor intercorrelations. These selection models were examined across a variety of net and stage-specific selection ratios. Though it was still the case that an increase in minority hiring was associated with a decrease in predicted performance for many scenarios, the current results revealed that certain multistage strategies are much more effective than others for managing the performance and adverse impact trade-offs. The current study identified several multistage strategies that are clearly more desirable than those strategies previously suggested in the literature for practitioners who seek a practical selection system that will yield a high-performing and highly representative workforce. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of age, tenure, training, and job complexity on technical performance.

Effects on performance of age, tenure, training level, and job complexity were investigated in a cross-sectional study using a sample of 1,308 service engineers employed by a multinational office equipment company. Two measures of job performance were derived from production record data, one relating to the quality of servicing and the other to the speed with which services were completed. Scores for each performance measure were analyzed by analysis of variance. For the quality of servicing measure, a significant main effect of age and a significant Age?×?Training interaction were obtained, and the relation between age and job performance took the form of an inverted U. For the speed of servicing measure, the main effects of age, tenure, training level, and job complexity were significant and there were no significant interactions. However, for both performance measures, age accounted for only a very small proportion of the variance. We discuss these results with reference to the existing literature on age and technical job performance, and conclude that training, especially if it is recent, may moderate adverse effects of age on job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of age to ten dimensions of job performance.

Previous reviews of the literature on the relationship between age and job performance have largely focused on core task performance but have paid much less attention to other job behaviors that also contribute to productivity. The current study provides an expanded meta-analysis on the relationship between age and job performance that includes 10 dimensions of job performance: core task performance, creativity, performance in training programs, organizational citizenship behaviors, safety performance, general counterproductive work behaviors, workplace aggression, on-the-job substance use, tardiness, and absenteeism. Results show that although age was largely unrelated to core task performance, creativity, and performance in training programs, it demonstrated stronger relationships with the other 7 performance dimensions. Results also highlight that the relationships of age with core task performance and with counterproductive work behaviors are curvilinear in nature and that several sample characteristics and data collection characteristics moderate age-performance relationships. The article concludes with a discussion of key research design issues that may further knowledge about the age-performance relationship in the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of predictor and criterion judgments of managerial performance using the multitrait-multimethod approach.

Used the multitrait-multimethod matrix technique to examine the predictive validity of ratings of management potential derived from an industrial assessment center program. Ss were 71 professional, technical, and lower level managerial personnel. Psychologists' and managers' ratings on 13 assessment dimensions were correlated with supervisors' ratings of current job performance on the same dimensions. Ratings obtained of on-the-job performance were lower in quality than the predictor ratings. The median reliability of the criterion ratings was .52 compared to median reliabilities of .85 and .89 for the psychologists' and managers' ratings, respectively. Supervisors failed to differentiate the various dimensions. Results are compared with findings of other studies that used this technique to determine the sources of unreliability in the criterion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity and utility of alternative predictors of job performance.

Meta-analysis of the cumulative research on various predictors of job performance showed that for entry-level jobs there was no predictor with validity equal to that of ability, which had a mean validity of .53. For selection on the basis of current job performance, the work sample test, with mean validity of .54, was slightly better. For federal entry-level jobs, substitution of an alternative predictor would cost from $3.12 (job tryout) to $15.89 billion/year (age). Hiring on ability had a utility of $15.61 billion/year but affected minority groups adversely. Hiring on ability by quotas would decrease utility by 5%. A 3rd strategy—using a low cutoff score—would decrease utility by 83%. Using other predictors in conjunction with ability tests might improve validity and reduce adverse impact, but there is as yet no database for studying this possibility. (89 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptual similarity as a source of illusory halo in job performance ratings.

Tested whether a possible source of difficulty in materially reducing illusory halo in job performance ratings is raters' beliefs that rating categories are conceptually similar and hence covary, thereby inflating observed correlation matrices. 11 graduate business administration students evaluated the conceptual similarities among job dimensions within 3 jobs. The previously observed interdimension correlation matrices were successfully predicted by Ss' mean conceptual similarity scores. When the observed correlation matrix obtained by W. C. Borman (see record 1980-26801-001) was compared with the normative true score matrix, the conceptual similarity scores were found to be inferior predictors of the observed correlation matrix compared with the superior predictive ability of the normative true score matrix. It is suggested that conceptual similarities among job dimensions represent one potentially recalcitrant source of illusory halo in performance ratings, particularly when ratings are based on encoded observations that have decayed in memory. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative analysis of the reliability of job performance ratings.

This study used meta-analytic methods to compare the interrater and intrarater reliabilities of ratings of 10 dimensions of job performance used in the literature; ratings of overall job performance were also examined. There was mixed support for the notion that some dimensions are rated more reliably than others. Supervisory ratings appear to have higher interrater reliability than peer ratings. Consistent with H. R. Rothstein (1990), mean interrater reliability of supervisory ratings of overall job performance was found to be .52. In all cases, interrater reliability is lower than intrarater reliability, indicating that the inappropriate use of intrarater reliability estimates to correct for biases from measurement error leads to biased research results. These findings have important implications for both research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intelligence, training, and employment.

Validity coefficients of cognitive ability tests for predicting job performance are impressive. Nevertheless, a need exists to supplement cognitive ability tests with additional predictors to maximize validity and utility and to minimize adverse impact, even for tests that are unbiased according to psychometric criteria. An agenda for research and practice is presented that includes building on the existing validity of cognitive ability tests for job selection by expanding both the set of constructs used to predict job performance and the set of performance criteria used to quantify job performance. Even greater benefits are likely to be associated with advances in knowledge about effective training. Such advances will require substantial investment in well-designed, large-scale studies and facile adaptation of lessons from other domains, such as cognitive psychology, to the organizational-training context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recovery, Health, and Job Performance: Effects of Weekend Experiences.

This study extended research on respites by examining the extent to which experiences during the weekend contribute to health and job performance after the weekend. Longitudinal data including 3 measurement occasions from 87 emergency service workers indicated that nonwork hassles, absence of positive work reflection, and low social activity during the weekend predicted burnout and poor general well-being after the weekend. Weekend experiences also predicted different aspects of job performance after the weekend. The results reveal practical implications for individual and organizational optimization of recovery processes. Suggestions for future research on specific recovery processes and their effects on individual health and performance are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reconsidering vocational interests for personnel selection: The validity of an interest-based selection test in relation to job knowledge, job performance, and continuance intentions.

Although vocational interests have a long history in vocational psychology, they have received extremely limited attention within the recent personnel selection literature. We reconsider some widely held beliefs concerning the (low) validity of interests for predicting criteria important to selection researchers, and we review theory and empirical evidence that challenge such beliefs. We then describe the development and validation of an interests-based selection measure. Results of a large validation study (N = 418) reveal that interests predicted a diverse set of criteria—including measures of job knowledge, job performance, and continuance intentions—with corrected, cross-validated Rs that ranged from .25 to .46 across the criteria (mean R = .31). Interests also provided incremental validity beyond measures of general cognitive aptitude and facets of the Big Five personality dimensions in relation to each criterion. Furthermore, with a couple exceptions, the interest scales were associated with small to medium subgroup differences, which in most cases favored women and racial minorities. Taken as a whole, these results appear to call into question the prevailing thought that vocational interests have limited usefulness for selection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional dissonance, burnout, and in-role performance among nurses and police officers.

Two studies including 108 nurses and 101 police officers tested the proposition that emotionally demanding interactions with recipients may result in emotional dissonance, which, in turn, may lead to job burnout and impaired performance. More specifically, on the basis of the literature on burnout and emotional dissonance, the authors hypothesized that emotional job demands would explain variance in burnout (i.e., exhaustion and cynicism/disengagement) through their influence on emotional dissonance. In addition, the authors predicted that emotional dissonance would be (negatively) related to in-role performance through its relationship with burnout. The findings of a series of structural equation modeling analyses supported both hypotheses. The implications for research and practice are discussed, as well as avenues for additional research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderating influence of job performance dimensions on convergence of supervisory and peer ratings of job performance: Unconfounding construct-level convergence and rating difficulty.

Meta-analysis was used to cumulate the correlations between supervisor and peer ratings for different dimensions of job performance. The general pattern in the data suggested that raters from the same organizational level disagree as much as raters from different levels. Methods were used to separate the effects of rating difficulty and lack of construct-level convergence on the correlation between supervisor and peer ratings. The authors found complete construct-level convergence for ratings of overall job performance, productivity, effort, job knowledge, quality, and leadership but not for ratings of administrative competence, interpersonal competence, and compliance or acceptance of authority. Higher rating difficulty was more strongly associated with lower mean observed peer-supervisor correlations than were construct-level disagreements between peers and supervisors. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding performance ratings: Dynamic performance, attributions, and rating purpose.

The present two studies integrate and extend the literatures on dynamic performance, performance attributions, and rating purpose, making several important contributions. First, examining attributions of dynamic performance, Study 1 predicted that performance mean and trend would affect judged ratee ability and effort and that performance variation would affect locus of causality; both predictions were supported by the results. Second, investigating the interaction between dynamic performance and rating purpose, Study 2 predicted that performance mean would have a stronger impact on administrative than on developmental ratings, whereas performance trend and variation would have a stronger impact on developmental than on administrative ratings; again, both predictions were borne out by the results. Third, both studies found that performance trend interacted with performance mean and variability to predict overall ratings. Fourth, both studies replicated main effects of dynamic performance characteristics on ratings in a different culture and, in Study 2, a sample of more experienced managers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations between measures of typical and maximum job performance.

In this study we proposed that understanding of interrelations among criterion measures can be improved by differentiating between measures of typical and maximum job performance. We offered defining characteristics of typical and maximum performance measures and requirements for a fair examination of relations between the two. Typical and maximum performance measures of the speed and accuracy with which supermarket cashiers process items were obtained from two large samples (Ns?=?635 and 735) of cashiers from 12 supermarket chains. Relatively low correlations between typical and maximum performance measures were found. We discuss the implications of these findings for the use of maximum performance measures as criteria in the validation of selection systems and for the understanding of the impact of ability and motivation on job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)