STAFFING PROGRAMS

Staffing programs are designed to bring human resources (people) into the organization to perform work and produce outputs. HR managers meet their staffing goals through a number of staffing programs, including position classification, examinations, recruitment, selection, retention, and layoffs. Position classification, which involves work processes, duties, and activities, is discussed in Chapter 5. This section presents a brief discussion of each of the other staffing programs.

Examinations

A variety of examinations are used to fill positions in the public sector, including written tests, training and experience examinations, oral tests, assessment centers, and performance assessments. After these examinations, eligible lists are created to certify interested and eligible candidates. Examinations evaluate whether a candidate possesses the critical competencies or KSAs to perform the necessary work. Job interviews, although used in the selection process, do not determine the final score or rank on an eligible list and so are not presented as an examination. Job interviews are discussed later in the chapter under recruitment and selection.

Written Tests

Written tests are the most common type of examination because large candidate pools can be tested quickly and there is a sense of fair play because the scores cannot be manipulated. Test validity generally runs in the range of .35–.40 for written tests. Test validity is a correlation coefficient that measures the correlation between candidate test scores and job performance. It can range from 1.0 to -1.0, with 1.0 indicating a perfect correlation between test scores and job performance and -1.0 indicating a perfect negative correlation, which would mean the worst candidates appear at the top of the eligible list and the best candidates at the bottom. A test with a validity coefficient of 0.0 means there is no correlation between test scores and job performance; these results equate to random chance.

Written examinations can evaluate general mental abilities through questions that test attributes such as verbal abilities, numeric abilities, or spatial relations, or they can test for precise KSAs related to specific jobs and job categories. While the findings of Schmidt and Hunter (1998) show that tests of general mental abilities generate the highest validity coefficients, legal defenses of test plans rely heavily on job analysis that links test questions to specific competencies or KSAs, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

For most promotion examinations, workers have had the opportunity to gain job-related KSAs such as knowledge of agency rules, regulations, and operational procedures. Since they need to know this information to perform the work, questions on agency operations and procedures are directly job-related. For candidates recruited from outside the organization, job-related KSAs might include knowledge of a technical field such as computer programming.

Training and Experience Examinations

Examinations that evaluate a candidate’s past training and experience are used for hard-to-fill positions, often where the candidate search is non-competitive and the ability to make a swift job offer is critical for getting the best person. Written examinations often take several months to complete, involving test development, administration, and grading, whereas training and experience examinations can be administered at once.

Training and experience examinations are often used for certain professional positions that require special licenses or certifications, since candidates have already been required to pass a professional examination. Candidates are required to complete a form that asks a series of questions related to their educational accomplishments and experiences. Test administrators might give credit for grade-point average, higher educational degrees, degrees most appropriate to the job, special credentials, and job-related experience.

While some studies of training and experience examinations have generated very low test-validity coefficients, the low validity is usually offset by larger bands of candidates on the eligible list or small pools of candidates where any candidate who applies is eligible for selection.

Oral Tests

Oral tests have been very popular but are rather expensive to hold, with the cost per candidate far exceeding the cost for a written test when there is a large candidate field. When the candidate field is very small, however, oral tests can actually be less expensive. At the New York State Department of Civil Service, the three factors most frequently evaluated during an oral test are a candidate’s ability to (1) reason clearly and make sound judgments, (2) communicate effectively, and (3) establish effective work relationships.

Besides cost, a drawback of oral tests (as opposed to written tests) is the appearance that they are subjective. Criticisms are often based on inter-rater variation in rater severity and within-rater variation of rater severity (Wilson and Wang, 1995). Some raters are harder, some are easier, and the same rater may be harder or easier on different candidates.

Criticisms are also based on “halo” errors, which according to Fisicaro and Lance (1990) can take three forms: the general-impression model, the salient dimension model, and the inadequate discrimination model. The general-impression model occurs as a halo error when a general impression affects scores of several or all of the test dimensions. The salient dimension model occurs when the rater’s score for one dimension influences the scores on other dimensions. The inadequate discrimination model occurs when the rater fails to identify which candidate behaviors are assigned to the various dimensions. Like written tests, validity coefficients for oral tests generally range between .35 and .40.

Assessment Centers

Assessment centers evaluate a variety of factors and are often used to recruit people for top-level positions. Assessment centers may ask candidates to complete an oral test, an interview, and other group interactions or exercises that demonstrate leadership and command. They might also include a battery of technical tests that measure various competencies.

While quite expensive to administer, assessment centers are used when the consequences of making a poor choice can place an organization at substantial risk. Still, an assessment center is likely to produce a validity coefficient comparable to that of oral tests and written tests, raising questions about its cost-effectiveness.

Performance Assessments

Performance assessments examine a promotion candidate’s job performance over the previous several years. This author has used performance assessments in conjunction with other tests and achieved test validity coefficients approaching .90, far exceeding any other form of examination.

The reason for the high validity is that the job performance scores used to evaluate test validity are also part of the examination. Performance assessments can be very time-consuming and expensive to administer, and they can be used for promotion candidates only when claims about past job performance can be verified. (Performance assessments are discussed in more detail in Chapter 7.)

Eligible Lists

Once the examinations have been completed, eligible lists are created and maintained to certify to program managers the names of candidates who are interested and eligible for appointment. The results of the responses from candidates who are canvassed from the eligible lists are recorded on the lists, such as “interested” in the appointment or “temporarily unavailable.” Once an operating division has made a selection, information on appointments and declinations is posted to the eligible lists.

Overall, the low test validity of most examinations raises questions about the usefulness of the eligible lists compiled from the tests. As a result, even when there are sufficient candidates, agencies may seek flexibility in selecting a candidate, usually unsuccessfully.

The “rule of three,” which is used in many states, requires that a candidate be selected from among the three highest-standing candidates on an eligible list. At times, agencies may be required to choose between selecting one of three entirely unsatisfactory candidates who happened to perform well on the test or leaving the position unfilled until another agency selects one of the three. This problem is especially likely to occur when a large number of appointments are being made, placing a greater strain on agencies that may need to fill multiple jobs.

To overcome this problem, some states have turned to “band” scoring by concluding that test scores within a certain range are comparable, and all candidates within the band are given the same consideration for appointment, thus enlarging the group from which a candidate may be hired. Still, problems remain for lists where agencies may have made so many appointments that the highest band or bands are still reduced to three unsatisfactory candidates.

An alternative recommendation is to have a “rule of ten,” although this would expand the choice of candidates on very small lists to anyone who passed the test. Another option frequently discussed is to allow agencies to pass over a candidate who was deemed unacceptable at three separate job interviews. There is a risk in such proposals for increased appointment flexibility—the more flexibility there is, the greater chance of political favoritism, and the average person may not get the opportunity to compete on an equal footing with people who are well-connected.

Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment activities can involve many kinds of events, such as visits to colleges and universities or job fairs, community outreach programs to attract minority candidates, and paid advertisements. The Internet has become an important tool for recruiting candidates and for candidates to find employment opportunities.

Recruitment challenges are looming just ahead: the challenge to fill vacancies as large numbers of baby boomers retire over the next several years, and with a shortage of replacement workers. Some of the greatest concerns about worker shortages are in the field of health care, professional positions such as engineers and accountants, and high-level administrators. Part of the shortfall in health care providers is being dealt with through immigration. The Philippine Nurses Association of New York actively promotes the employment of Filipino nurses in New York (Philippine Nurses Association of New York, Inc., 2008)—an example not only of the increasing use of the Internet but also of how today’s workforce is affected by globalization.

Recruitment challenges for public-sector agencies include getting a sufficient pool of highly qualified candidates and recruiting college students before they graduate and are hired by private companies. Some states address these challenges by using continuous recruitment examinations that evaluate training and experience. Candidates can apply at any time and receive their scores quickly instead of waiting several months for the results of a written test. Moreover, the scores are banded, so there are generally larger pools of candidates to consider.

Public agencies can recruit college students who are close to graduation but have not made other employment commitments, and often agencies will hire a college student as an intern as well. If the student shows promise and scores high enough on the examination, the agency will offer a permanent position upon graduation.

Another recruitment strategy is to allow agencies to offer salaries above the minimum entry level when the entry salary is not competitive in the job market. While government agencies are required to abide by the principle of equal pay for equal work, different regions may have higher housing and transportation costs. Geographic pay differentials can be available for areas with especially high costs of living.

While the selection process for public-sector agencies generally requires the use of eligible lists, a number of factors are considered at the interview. A candidate’s oral presentation and interpersonal skills, general appearance, and level of interest in the position can have a strong influence on a decision to hire. Very often, the job interview offers a great opportunity to build HR capacity. A well-conducted interview can expose valuable strengths or significant concerns about a candidate.

Redeployment

Redeployment of a worker can occur by promotion, transfer, reassignment, or assignment to a special project. Promotion redeployment occurs when a person is promoted into another part of the organization or into a different job classification. Interdepartmental promotion eligible lists are used to promote a person to a different agency when that agency’s departmental promotion list is exhausted.

To foster redeployment, promotion fields are sometimes broadened from direct-line titles to include collateral titles or a combination of salary grade and additional qualifications. For example, “You must be serving in a Grade 18 title or higher, and in addition, you must have had two years of experience in preparing or negotiating personnel service contracts or purchases for goods or equipment.”

Transfers can be made to the same title in a different agency or to a different title in the same or different agency. In New York State government, transfers require the consent of both the agency and the individual. A reassignment is the movement of a worker from one position to another under the same title and appointing authority, and it does not require the consent of the worker. Often, however, a person will request a reassignment because of personality conflicts or workload problems.

An assignment to a special project can be a good opportunity to enhance one’s resume. These short-term assignments generally involve several people from various parts of the organization brought together to address a particular problem or need. Many of these assignments involve computerization, where work previously completed by people is reconfigured to complete part of the work process electronically. Important connections can be made by getting to know other people in the organization and proving one’s worth to them. However, unfavorable attributes can just as easily be exposed, which will thwart future opportunities for someone who is unhelpful or uninterested in the special assignment.

Equally important, new skills can be developed from these assignments, including project management skills, team skills, skills for building interpersonal relationships, and problem-solving skills. Volunteers for such assignments show initiative, particularly when they are required to simultaneously carry out their regular work duties. Organizations look closely at special project participants when planning for their future leaders.

Retention

Retention can be an effective tool for meeting staffing goals. Salaries, benefits, work environment, and job satisfaction generally contribute to a worker’s decision to stay or leave. Employee satisfaction surveys, new employee surveys, and exit interviews and surveys can often identify reasons for employees’ dissatisfaction or decisions to leave an organization, providing important information for improvements. The high retention rate of employees in the public sector suggests that job security, salaries, benefits, and quality of work life are quite attractive to many people. (Building HR community, which can be measured in part by retention and turnover rates, is discussed in Part 3.)

Layoffs

Layoffs in private industry often occur as a result of financial losses and downsizing, consolidation of functions, or computerization that eliminates the need for workers. In the public sector, where there is no invisible hand of the marketplace, layoffs appear to be more politically strategic. There may also be few political rewards for saving available money. While a new administration might come in and “clean house” because of financial problems created by a previous administration, there often seems to be a protocol of downsizing early in an administration, so funds are available later to build alliances and create new programs that will symbolize the achievements of the new administration. Ironically, when one administration is frugal and saves money, the next administration can benefit by choosing to spend the accumulated rainy day money.

Layoffs can often be avoided or minimized through normal attrition. In the 1990s, New York State adopted laws, rules, and policies to avoid layoffs by instead using redeployment lists and early retirement incentives. While “preferred lists” are used for people who have been demoted or laid off as a result of the abolition or reduction of positions, “redeployment lists” were created to redeploy people to vacated positions due to normal attrition rather than layoffs.