Strategies for reducing employee turnover: A meta-analysis.

Investigated the relative effectiveness of realistic job previews (RJPs) and job enrichment as turnover reduction strategies. A thorough literature search located 20 experiments (N?=?6,492 Ss) dealing with attempts to reduce turnover in field settings. Several meta-analysis techniques showed that variation in the outcomes of job enrichment studies can be attributed to sampling error alone, whereas variation in the outcomes of RJP studies cannot. A search for moderators in the latter case revealed moderate support for the notion that task complexity affects RJP outcomes. Furthermore, the meta-analyses indicated that job enrichment interventions are about twice as effective at reducing turnover as RJPs. Based on the calculated effect sizes, estimates of savings from turnover reductions are provided. (62 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The matching model: An examination of the processes underlying realistic job previews.

Using information systems and data processing personnel in 9 major insurance companies, this research assessed the validity of J. P. Wanous's (1980) matching model as a framework of the processes linking realistic job previews (RJPs) to employee adjustment and employment stability. Because the matching model is an adaptation of the Theory of Work Adjustment (TWA), this study also assessed the TWA's applicability to RJP and turnover research. Structural equation methodology tested the fit of the matching model to the data of newcomers and of more tenured employees. Also, two-group structural analysis was performed to determine differences between groups. Support for the matching model was obtained with newcomer data but not with data from tenured employees. Results also supported the applicability of the TWA to RJP and turnover research. Implications of the findings to work adjustment and RJP research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sampling variance in the correlation coefficient under indirect range restriction: Implications for validity generalization.

The authors conducted Monte Carlo simulations to investigate whether indirect range restriction (IRR) on 2 variables X and Y increases the sampling error variability in the correlation coefficient between them. The manipulated parameters were (a) IRR on X and Y (i.e., direct restriction on a third variable Z), (b) population correlations ρxy, ρxz, and ρyz and (c) sample size. IRR increased the sampling error variance in rxy to values as high as 8.50% larger than the analytically derived expected values. Thus, in the presence of IRR, validity generalization users need to make theory-based decisions to ascertain whether the effects of IRR are artifactual or caused by situational-specific moderating effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing the constancy of validity with computer-generated sampling distributions of the multiplicative model variance estimate: Results for petroleum industry validation research.

A comparison of computer-generated sampling distributions showed that increases in total N resulting from greater sample size/validity study reduced the sampling variation of multiplicative model estimates of true validity variance more than did increases in total N resulting from a larger number of studies. Validity coefficients, range restriction, and criterion reliability data for 5 tests predicting job performance and training performance were obtained from studies conducted at petroleum industry plants. Those tests included the Richardson-Bellows-Henry Ability, Arithmetic Reasoning, and Chemical Comprehension Tests; the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Tests; and the Mathematics scale of the California Achievement Tests. Studies for 3 job categories (operation, maintenance, and laboratory) were combined for analysis to maximize sensitivity to job and plant differences. Sampling distributions of true validity variance estimates were generated for each test–criterion type combination. A comparison of actual variance estimates with critical values indicated that 3 of the 5 tests did not vary significantly in true validities for job performance or for training criteria. Results for 2 arithmetic reasoning tests support the existence of variation in true validities for job performance and for training criteria. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigating newcomer expectations and job-related outcomes.

The initial experiences of newcomers as they enter an organization can provide important information that substantially influences the subsequent relationship between the individual and the organization. For example, the application of realistic job previews (RJPs) often results in desirable organizational outcomes (e.g., increased satisfaction and reduced turnover). RJPs are typically job specific and job-content laden and serve to reduce the expectations of organizational newcomers. The present study indicates that an expectation lowering procedure (ELP), which is not job specific and is relatively content free, may yield similar benefits (i.e., reduce expectations). Both the organizational implications of this research and suggestions for using ELPs in conjunction with RJPs in the newcomer socialization process are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity generalization results for two job groups in the petroleum industry.

Estimated the transituational generalizability (or "transportability") of the validities of 4 types of cognitive tests (Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test, Richardson-Bellows-Henry Chemical Comprehension and RBH Arithmetic Reasoning Tests, and general intelligence) and a weighted biographical information blank for performance in 2 petroleum industry job groups. Generalizability was strongly supported for mechanical and chemical comprehension tests for both jobs. In the case of the chemical comprehension tests, virtually all variance of observed validity coefficients was accounted for by artifacts, and thus the hypothesis of situational specificity was rejected. Support for generalizability was substantial for general mental ability and arithmetic reasoning tests. It was found, however, that corrections for variance due to sampling error accounted for an average of 90% of all variance due to artifacts, indicating the relative unimportance of differences between sudies in criterion reliability and in range restriction in accounting for variation in observed validities. Generalizable multivariate validities were estimated for various test batteries using beta and unit weights. Finally, true score beta weights were used to estimate the causal role of the 4 cognitive abilities in job performance. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is There a General Factor in Ratings of Job Performance? A Meta-Analytic Framework for Disentangling Substantive and Error Influences.

A database integrating 90 years of empirical studies reporting intercorrelations among rated job performance dimensions was used to test the hypothesis of a general factor in job performance. After controlling for halo error and 3 other sources of measurement error, there remained a general factor in job performance ratings at the construct level accounting for 60% of total variance. Construct-level correlations among rated dimensions of job performance were substantially inflated by halo for both supervisory (33%) and peer (63%) intrarater correlations. These findings have important implications for the measurement of job performance and for theories of job performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Realistic job previews: A test of the adverse self-selection hypothesis.

The realistic job preview (RJP) literature has focused more on posthire outcomes such as employee retention than on prehire outcomes such as applicant attraction and job choice behavior. This study extends the RJP literature by focusing on 2 important issues related to applicant attraction: (a) the weight applicants place on negative information in relation to other variables such as pay level and promotional opportunity and (b) whether the "best" applicants react differently to negative information than do other applicants (adverse self-selection). Results indicate that applicants place a fairly high negative weight on negative job information, relative to other vacancy characteristics. The results regarding adverse self-selection are less clear but suggest that the highest quality applicants may be less willing to pursue jobs for which negative information has been presented, especially when doing so imposes opportunity costs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moderating influence of self-esteem on relationships between job complexity, performance, and satisfaction.

Administered the Job Diagnostic Survey, the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, and measures of job complexity, job performance, and sense of competence to 166 15–22 yr old 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd-, and 4th-yr electrical apprentices. The measures were readministered 20 mo later to 92 of the original 1st- and 2nd-yr Ss to investigate the moderating influence of employee self-esteem on relationships between organizational variables. Analysis showed that global self-esteem and sense of competence did not moderate relationships between (1) job satisfaction and job performance and (2) job complexity and job performance or job satisfaction. It is suggested that the moderating effect of self-esteem on relationships involving job satisfaction, performance, and complexity may have little practical consequence. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job involvement and organizational commitment as longitudinal predictors of job performance: A study of scientists and engineers.

A study of 532 scientists and engineers from 4 industrial research and development organizations showed that as hypothesized, the scientist–engineer distinction had a moderating effect on the relationships between job involvement and 1-year-later job-performance ratings and on counts of patents and publications. Scientists had stronger relationships between job involvement and each of the performance measures taken 1 year later than did engineers. No moderating effect was found for the scientist–engineer distinction on the relationships between organizational commitment and the performance measures. Moreover, no moderating effect was shown for an interaction term of job involvement and organizational commitment on the performance measures. Implications are discussed for theory building of the construct of job involvement and for the differential management of scientists versus engineers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An unbiased correction for sampling error in validity generalization studies.

A correction for variance due to sampling error is part of all the statistical procedures used to study validity generalization. This correction is analogous to estimation of a variance component in a random effects analysis of variance. The correction usually has a large influence on the results of validity generalization analyses. James, Demaree, and Mulaik (1986) recently questioned the correction for sampling error, suggesting that several of the assumptions required for its derivation are questionable. In this article, I provide an alternative correction for sampling error that is shown to be (exactly) unbiased. A comparison of the calculations involved in the computation of the unbiased correction with the calculations involved in the calculation of the usual correction suggests that the 2 corrections will rarely differ substantially. Hence, the usual correction is not seriously biased. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing common sense.

Predictors of success in school, such as conventional psychometric intelligence (e.g., IQ) tests, are less predictive of success out of school. Even the most charitable estimates of the relation between intelligence test scores and real-world criteria such as job performance indicate that approximately three fourths of the variance in real-world performance is not accounted for by intelligence test performance. Researchers have begun to explore new constructs in search of measures to supplement existing cognitive ability tests as predictors of real-world performance. Among the most promising constructs is practical intelligence, or common sense. Performance on measures of practical intelligence predicts real-world criteria such as job performance but is relatively unrelated to performance on intelligence tests and other common selection measures. Consequently, its contribution to prediction is largely independent of the contributions of existing measures, including measures of cognitive ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unbiased estimation of sampling variance of correlations.

In a recent article, P. E. Spector and E. L. Levine (1987) asserted that the estimate of sampling error variance used in validity generalization studies is biased when the number of correlations is relatively small. In addition, Spector and Levine maintained that the bias is such that the sampling error variance estimate seriously overestimates the actual variance of observed correlations. A partial replication of Spector and Levine's study showed that the alleged bias was due to a distributional artifact and that the sampling error estimate is not seriously biased. We review evidence from several Monte Carlo studies indicating that the sampling error estimate is quite accurate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling Error Variance in Job Specification Ratings: The Influence of Rater, Job, and Organization-Level Factors.

The authors modeled sources of error variance in job specification ratings collected from 3 levels of raters across 5 organizations (N=381). Variance components models were used to estimate the variance in ratings attributable to true score (variance between knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics [KSAOs]) and error (KSAO-by-rater and residual variance). Subsequent models partitioned error variance into components related to the organization, position level, and demographic characteristics of the raters. Analyses revealed that the differential ordering of KSAOs by raters was not a function of these characteristics but rather was due to unexplained rating differences among the raters. The implications of these results for job specification and validity transportability are discussed. (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)     

The moderating role of goal commitment on the goal difficulty–performance relationship: A meta-analytic review and critical reanalysis.

Despite the nearly unanimous view that goal commitment is a vital component of goal setting, few studies have empirically assessed its hypothesized role as a moderator of the goal–performance relationship. In addition, those studies that have examined the moderating effects of goal commitment have presented inconsistent conclusions. To clarify this situation, a meta-analysis was conducted to examine the overall strength of the moderating effect of goal commitment. The results indicated that the Goal Difficulty X Goal Commitment effect accounted for less than 3% of the variance in task performance. Additionally, the type of goal commitment measure used (self-report vs. discrepancy) was a significant moderator of this relationship. Measurement issues and directions for future conceptualizations of the goal commitment construct are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative effects of personal and situational influences on job outcomes of new professionals.

We investigated the relative and combined effects of personal and situational variables on job outcomes of new professionals. The personal variables were cognitive ability, socioeconomic status, and career goals; the situational variables were job feedback, autonomy, and job context. Data were collected at two times from 280 newly hired, entry-level accountants at "Big Eight" firms. Both personal and situational variables predict job outcomes, but their relative influence depends on the outcome measure. Situational variables account for the most variance in job performance, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment; personal variables account for the most variance in promotability, internal work motivation, and turnover. The findings indicate that job performance does not take care of itself by selecting bright people, but requires constant vigilance and effective systems. The results also suggest that a given result can be achieved through a variety of behavioral science interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Continuing education and job performance: A longitudinal study.

Investigated the relationship of participation in continuing education to job performance of engineers. Performance and education data were obtained for 110 engineers in 3 organizations that differed in their technology, ranging from research and development (R & D) to manufacturing. The number of graduate courses taken early in the career was strongly related to job performance only for engineers working in the R & D organization. Engineers with poor job performance, regardless of organizational technology, had a greater likelihood of enrolling in more in-house courses, but this greater participation had no relationship to subsequent performance. The possible moderating effects of organizational variables, course characteristics, and individual differences are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job satisfactions and counselor performance in state rehabilitation agencies.

This study examined the job satisfactions of 143 rehabilitation counselors from 6 state agencies. A Job Satisfaction Inventory (JSI) incorporating satisfactions with 8 dimensions was used to investigate counselor job satisfactions and their relationships with immediate-intermediate performance criteria. The job satisfaction of male and female counselors was found to be essentially similar although the effects of satisfaction with performance criteria was felt to be different—dependent to some extent on the sex of the counselor. For women counselors, greater job satisfaction with pay and security appeared related to bigger case loads, more "12" closures and fewer "13" closures. In the case of men, there were relatively few instances of significant relationships and these might have occurred by chance. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging and work: How do SOC strategies contribute to job performance across adulthood?

The authors examined the impacts of selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) strategies—elective selection, loss-based selection, optimization, and compensation—on job performance across adulthood. A cross-sectional survey (Study 1, N = 355) and a 5-day experience sampling study (Study 2, N = 87) were conducted to assess Chinese insurance sales workers’ global and momentary employment of SOC strategies at work and compare the effectiveness of these strategies in predicting their job performance. Study 1 revealed that the use of compensation predicted higher performance maintenance among older workers, whereas the use of elective selection contributed positively to sales productivity for both age groups, with stronger association for younger workers. Study 2 demonstrated that the positive impact of SOC strategies on global and momentary measures of job performance differed across tasks with various difficulty levels. When the task was perceived as highly difficult, older workers’ greater use of elective selection predicted higher self-rated task performance; however, the positive association was weaker among younger workers. Older workers’ greater use of the 4 SOC strategies was positively associated with sales increases when the task was not difficult or moderately difficult, yet the relationship was negative when the task was highly difficult. A reverse pattern was observed among younger workers. This article contributes to the understanding of working adults’ psychological adaptation to the process of aging and reveals the moderating role of task difficulty on the association between SOC strategies and performance outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)