DQ: In general, discuss both the reliability and validity as they relate to recruitment and selection practices

 
Organizations always look forward to recruiting the best employees available. Doing so ensures that employees can perform everyday roles as expected and the organization’s productivity stays at optimal levels. As a result, human resource managers and other recruiting personnel usually reject many applicants during the selection process. Poor performance during an interview is a common rejection consideration. Reliability and validity are critical for the selection process to get the right employees.

Reliability measures the consistency of the selection process. As Stewart and Brown (2019) put it, reliability in employee selection implies that methods, tests, and results do not differ with time, place, and the subjects. In this case, applicants being tested on their ability to perform a certain role should be assessed using one method. Reliability is usually measured through selection scores and on-the-job performance ratings (Amos et al., 2021). On the other hand, validity represents the extent to which a selection method measures what it is intended to measure (Azmi, 2019). For instance, a method testing a nurse’s ability to use electronic health records can test them practically. Reliability and validity are critical when considering the method to use in making hiring decisions since an applicant’s score should be directly proportional to their performance ability.

Organizations use different methods to select potential employees. My firm primarily relies on interviews during the selection process. Regarding reliability, it is possible to use interviews consistently without issues related to time, place, or subjects. Many potential employees can be interviewed orally and get consistent results. Interviews can also include a section where employees demonstrate their ability to perform a task practically. Such sections improve the validity of scores and ensure that interviews measure what they are designed to test accurately and consistently.

References

Amos, A. J., Lee, K., Sen Gupta, T., & Malau-Aduli, B. S. (2021). Systematic review of specialist selection methods with implications for diversity in the medical workforce. BMC medical education, 21(1), 448. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02685-w

Azmi, F. T. (2019). Strategic human resource management: text and cases. Cambridge University Press.

Stewart, G. L., & Brown, K. G. (2019). Human resource management. John Wiley & Sons.