Important Ksao for a Departmental Manager

Business Class Staffing Organization

A selection plan for the position of a department manager to determine the most important KSAOs

Currently, the company is using an experience checklist, the Maarshfield Applicants Exam real knowledge test and an education check. In this case, the major KSAOs will be derived from the job description of the position and are the necessary factors for success in this position. According to Tanglewood, the major KSAOs are:

Knowledge of organizational practices and policies

Ability to develop original solutions, think and prescribe parameters

Knowledge of retail policies, management and practices

Knowledge of customer service principles

Skills in personnel management

Speaking and communication skills

Selection sequence (Kammeyer-Mueller, 2014).

Initial assessment- the company uses initial assessment approaches to identify which applicants meet the minimum requirements of the job. Then, the applicants become candidates and shift to the substantive assessment stage. In this stage, the goal is to narrow the pool of applicants to reduce expenditure on unqualified applicants. In the process, if an applicant fails to meet the set requirements, they must be notified that they are no longer considered for the job. The following assessment methods have been recommended:

Cover letter and resume screening

Application blanks

Experience and education checks to verify the accuracy and honesty of the information given

Customer service data

Phone screening to verify information (Kammeyer-Mueller, 2014).

Substantive assessments -- after an applicant has passed the initial assessment stage, they are referred to as candidates. This implies that they met the minimum requirements. Substantive assessments are then conducted to establish the level at which each candidate is qualified for the job. These methods are costly to the company, in terms of both money and time. They include:

Personality exams

Retail knowledge exams

Structured interviews (Kammeyer-Mueller, 2014).

Finalist -- after a candidate has met all the above requirements, and identified as the most qualified candidate, they become finalists and an offer is made

Addressing loopholes in the current approaches

Based on the identified KSAOs, it will be vital to address the following KSAOs in a structured interview. Skills in decision-making and judgment, speaking and communication skills, Knowledge of retail policies, management and practices, Knowledge of customer service principles, Skills in personnel management. Because of issues of lack of guidelines, low standardization and lack of research on interviews conducted currently, structured interviews would be appropriate in addressing Tanglewood's challenges. The best interview questions must be broad enough to promote validity in responses and relevant to the key element of the job position. In addition, research on the best practice indicates that structured interview questions must not reflect knowledge or skills that an employee can easily obtain on the job (Kammeyer-Mueller, 2014). There are two types of structured interview questions that can be used: behavioral and situational.