BSS Staffing: Background Testing, EEO Compliance & Assessment

Introduction to BSS Staffing Objectives

The staffing objectives of BSS are to establish the desired fit between the employee, the job, and the organization. To accomplish these goals, BSS must gather all relevant supporting information. First, a detailed job analysis would help establish the job requirements — specifically, the job specifications expected of the incumbent employee — including duties, tasks, and responsibilities associated with the position. Second, information about what BSS's potential employees require to perform their duties and tasks effectively must be obtainable, and this is typically captured through the job analysis process. Third, valid and reliable measures of the organization's key objectives in relation to the job are necessary. Without appropriate measures, BSS will not achieve the desired level of confidence during the selection process and decision-making (Heneman, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012). Finally, decision-makers in the selection process require criterion scores that set the minimum level of expertise a qualified candidate must demonstrate to be offered a position.

BSS should make use of coefficient alpha testing to assess the internal consistency reliability of its selection instruments. When measuring applicant reliability, a high coefficient alpha indicates that various items on a test measure the same underlying construct, meaning applicants' responses are correlated and consistent. In the case of a formal job test, decision-makers in the staffing process would seek a minimal coefficient alpha when measuring heterogeneous job skills — that is, when the focal job demands an assortment of varied skills across different areas of expertise, such as clerical, managerial, and mathematical competencies. In such cases, the applicants' responses should not be highly correlated with one another, and the employer would want the coefficient alpha to be as low as possible (Heneman, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012).

Background Testing Methods for BSS Applicants

BSS should also consider test-retest reliability in situations where BSS is measuring an unstable attribute among applicants. In this context, participants would demonstrate varied levels of the measured attribute at different points in time. Psychological factors such as attitudes and moods may manifest differently among applicants across the test and retest administrations. When the interval between test and retest is long, attributes associated with achievement and ability are more likely to be reflected in the reliability coefficients (McLean, 2006).

Under Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) legal provisions, it is illegal for BSS to request an applicant's race, national origin, religion, genetic information, or disability status. It would also be illegal to demand information pertaining to an applicant's involvement in previous lawsuits or to retaliate against a candidate based on his or her role in prior employment discrimination cases. The law forbids BSS from requesting any information that could be used in a discriminatory manner (McLean, 2006).

Information BSS Must Avoid Under EEO Law

EEO rules further prohibit BSS from applying neutral employment practices and policies that might have a disproportionately adverse impact on applicants of a particular color, sex, religion, or national origin. Failure to comply with these rules would constitute a violation of lawful business operating standards. EEO also restricts BSS from gathering information about an applicant's age when it is unreasonable to tie the job position to age alone. If BSS requires job tests, those tests must be directly related to the job, and must be administered without discrimination based on race, color, background, religion, sex, or disability status. BSS must have a sign language interpreter available when an applicant requires such an accommodation. Any reasonable accommodation must be provided by BSS, provided that it does not impose a significantly burdensome expense on the organization (McLean, 2006).

The results discussed in this report indicate that work samples and clerical tests are both crucial components of the selection procedure for customer service representatives (CSRs). The work sample tests generate similar results to one another, suggesting some redundancy between them. The clerical test, however, has proven to be an effective predictor of a unique performance criterion. Therefore, combining both the work sample and the clerical test appears to be the most effective approach for making reliable predictions about candidate performance (Heneman, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012).