Introduction
Woods is the Director of Human Resources for the Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health (ADAMH). Her roles include recruiting and selecting potential employees to join the organization. Wood took part in this interview and provided a detailed account of human resource activities and practices at ADAMH, including problems encountered and their solutions.
This study focused on understanding different aspects of human resource management at ADAMH from I/O psychology point of view (Spector, 2012). Some of the human resource practices covered include recruitment, employee selection, employee motivation, employee training, job attitudes, giving feedback, creating incentives, and managing conflict.
A summary of the interview with a focus on two major problems identified by the Director of ADAMH
The study interview focused on common problems that Woods faced while recruiting employees at ADAMH. Woods claimed that employee recruitment was a multifaceted role that required proper planning and execution. Therefore, the recruiter must maintain professionalism throughout the process in order to achieve the intended goals of the hiring process. According to Woods, on most occasions, it was difficult to hire the right persons for vacant positions. The process was laborious. From Woods’ point of view, a hiring manager must be confident about his or her choice of employees based on the employment criteria.
Woods commented that there were two major problems in the hiring process, which included failing to hire the right person for the job and the costs of advertising the vacancy.
The Director noted that she applied some approaches to overcome the two major challenges in the hiring process. Woods said that she relied on social networks to find and screen potential employees for vacant positions. She believed that many hiring managers evaluated potential employees’ social networking pages as a critical stage before the actual interview. This could lead to effective employee recruitment. It implied that successful interviews resulted in selecting the right employees, who would assume their roles and work professionally in the organization.
From Woods’ perspective, social networking media delivered favorable results because they reduced the costs of advertising a job vacancy. Social media have become fundamental components in the job search because many recruiters use them to eliminate initial contacting and screening interviews since most potential employees express their achievements and experiences in their pages. Woods also noted that social media were tools for assessing potential employees’ professionalism, personality, and other relevant traits that could affect job performance. Hence, social media have become effective tools for starting an effective recruitment process.
A “scholarly commentary” with recommendations to Woods from the perspective of I/O (Industrial/Organizational) psychology
Many human resources or hiring managers constantly wonder how they can make the hiring process more effectual by finding the right employees for vacant positions. However, if hiring managers rely on recruitment and selection tools based on assessments and job analysis for competencies, then the hiring process will be more effective and consistent. In this regard, they must use the best practices from I/O psychology studies to understand employees’ behaviors and competencies.
Hiring managers could improve employee recruitment and selection if they depend on I/O psychology research outcomes (Schmidt and Hunter, 1998). The study can aid in enhancing current employee recruitment and selection practices by introducing job analysis procedures in order to incorporate all elements that are necessary for a given position.
Woods should consider working with I/O psychologists in order to develop effective employee recruitment and selection tools. Employee recruitment must focus on identifying the right employees for a position among a pool of potential employees who apply for a post in an organization. During employee recruitment processes, Woods must engage in job advertisements, announcements, defining required qualifications and experiences, and screening out candidates who do not meet the minimum qualification criteria.
Woods also conducts employee selection, which involves hiring and promotion. This process requires evidence-based practices from I/O psychology to identify a suitable potential employee for a post (Schmidt and Hunter, 1998). The hiring manager can useability tests, knowledge tests, work outcomes, and structured interviews to determine the right candidates. I/O psychologists can assist human resource specialists by evaluating evidence based on the selection tool, which could predict job outcomes and their validity. Validity in a selection process seeks to show job relevance and enhance professionalism. On this note, I/O psychology introduces the best practices and current state of knowledge in employee selection processes so that hiring managers can have the best personnel for the job.
Woods could also apply I/O psychology to assess potential employees’ attitudes toward the job. On this note, I/O psychology helps in assessing employees’ attitudes in order to align them with job analysis and job satisfaction. This would assess or predict possible employees’ performance once hired or promoted. Therefore, Woods should work with I/O psychologists to assess and test employees’ attitudes. Employees who have positive attitudes toward their jobs experience high-levels of job satisfaction and overall work experience. Such satisfaction would also be reflected in their behaviors and emotions. Job satisfaction and attitude are some of the most studied topics in I/O psychology with the aim of selecting the right personnel for improved job performance. Schmidt and Hunter noted that studies in employee selection approach using I/O psychology established that “broad mental ability was the best overall predictor of job performance and training performance” (Schmidt and Hunter, 1998, p. 262).
Arthur, Bennett, Edens, and Bell (2003) found out that employees’ training was effective, and that organization recovered any associated costs in terms of increased productivity and profitability. Woods must note that not all hired or promoted employees have the right skills, knowledge, or experience for the job. Training would make ADAMH employees beneficial and enhance their employability in other organizations as they add value and new skills.
Like in performance management, I/O psychologists apply job analysis techniques alongside elements of instructions in order to develop the most suitable training programs for specific employees and organizations. Woods should include a summative evaluation in employee training programs to ascertain that all trained employees have achieved the required training objectives and can conduct their duties effectively. At the same time, there should be formative evaluations to evaluate the outcome of the program as it proceeds. This allows the trainer to identify problems during training processes, and I/O psychologists can address those issues as training proceeds.
It is imperative for Woods to understand the importance of providing feedback to employees, particularly about job performance and outcomes. Feedback aids in improving future performances.
Woods should also understand the factors that motivate employees as I/O psychology emphasizes. Motivation is an internal process, which depends on the type of incentives that an organization offers. Employees react to incentives differently. I/O psychologists apply incentives to predict behaviors of employees in a given environment. However, employees’ reactions to incentives differ significantly. On this note, human resource managers must include other factors that could affect employees’ behaviors and performance. Woods must understand the underlying role of incentives in influencing and motivating employees’ behaviors and job outcomes. Therefore, it is imperative for ADAMH to comprehend and structure its motivating factors in ways that encourage preferred behaviors and performance but reduce unproductive behaviors (Deckers, 2010).
Conflicts are bound to happen in an organization, and human resource managers must manage such conflicts. Employees could develop behaviors that oppose organizational goals. While such behaviors could be planned or unplanned, they could lead to conflicts in an organization. Some may result from prevailing conditions in an organization. I/O psychologists explore factors that could cause conflicts among employees and propose suitable approaches to eliminating any potential conflicts. They tend to concentrate on the role of supervisors, emotional responses, and job stress and their overall impacts on employee performance and conflicts (Dollard and Bakker, 2010).
Conflicts may result in counterproductive behaviors among employees as some of them may resort to poor job performance, resignation, absenteeism, and even physical confrontation and sexual harassment. I/O psychologists tend to focus on such behaviors, including less common forms like violence in order to understand their underlying causes.
Therefore, Woods, as a hiring director, must ensure that she focuses on recruiting and selecting the right employees for the job. Hence, she must utilize I/O psychology principles, evidence-based outcomes from studies or work alongside I/O psychologists during employee recruitment, selection, and training to ensure that employees are in the right positions for improved performance.
References
Arthur, W., Bennett, W., Edens, S., and Bell, T. (2003). Effectiveness of training in organizations: A meta-analysis of design and evaluation features. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 234-245. Web.
Deckers, L. (2010). Motivation; Biological, Psychological and Environmental (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Web.
Dollard, M., and Bakker, A. (2010). Psychosocial safety climate as a precursor to conducive work environments, psychological health problems, and employee engagement. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83, 579- 599. Web.
Schmidt, F. L., and Hunter, J. E. (1998). The validity and utility of selection methods in personnel psychology: Practical and theoretical implications of 85 years of research findings. Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 262–74. Web.
Spector, P. (2012). Industrial and organizational psychology: Research and practice (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Web.