Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons^™

Reference Checks, Tara Myers, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are reference checks? Reference checks are hiring tools, typically used as one of the last steps in the hiring process. “A reference check generally involves contacting applicants’ former employers, supervisors, coworkers, and educators to verify previous employment and to obtain information about the individual’s knowledge, skills, abilities and character” (Society for Human Resource Management, 2020, p. 1). For example, potential employers use this as an opportunity to get additional information about applicants’ job performance, communication, time management, teamwork, professionalism; honesty; and attention to detail (Hendricks, Rupayana, Puchalski, & Robie, 2018). The questions used on reference checks depend on the …

A Comparison Of The Two-Option Versus The Four-Option Multiple-Choice Item: A Case For Fewer Distractors, Allan Bateson, William R. Dardick

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Multiple choice test items typically consist of the key and 3-4 distractors. However, research has supported the efficacy of using fewer alternatives. Haladyna and Downing (1993) found that it is difficult to write test items with more than one plausible distractor, resulting in items with a correct answer and one alternative, also known as the alternate choice (AC) format. We constructed two 32-item tests; one with four alternatives (MC4) and one with two (AC), using an inter-judge agreement approach to eliminate distractors. Tests were administered to 138 personnel working for a U.S. Government agency. Testing time was significantly less and …

Is It Complicated? Validity Of Personality Interactions For Predicting Performance, Jacob C. Bradburn, Ann Marie Ryan, Anthony Boyce, Tamera Mckinniss, Jason Way

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Research on personality within the organizational sciences and for employee selection typically focuses on main effects, as opposed to interactive effects between personality variables. Large, multi-organizational datasets involving two different measures of personality were examined to test theoretically driven trait by trait interactions in predicting job performance. Interactive effects of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, Agreeableness and Extraversion, Extraversion and Conscientiousness, and Emotional Stability and Conscientiousness were hypothesized as predicting overall job performance. However, these hypothesized effects were generally not supported. Implications for personality assessment are discussed.

The Relationship Between Criminal Records And Job Performance: An Examination Of Customer Service Representatives, Jakari N. Griffith, Todd C. Harris

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Between 70 million and 100 million Americans—or as many as one in three—have some type of criminal record (Vallas & Dietrich, 2014). Having even a minor criminal record often functions as a significant impediment to gainful employment and resultant economic security. This is especially problematic given that: (a) many companies now incorporate background checks within their hiring process and (b) little empirical research exists about the relationship between criminal records and job performance. Thus, this study examined the relationship between criminal records and objective performance of customer service representatives (N = 627) in a large telecommunications firm. Our regression analyses …

The Machines Aren’T Taking Over (Yet): An Empirical Comparison Of Traditional, Profiling, And Machine Learning Approaches To Criterion-Related Validation, Kristin S. Allen, Mathijs Affourtit, Craig M. Reddock

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

Criterion-related validation (CRV) studies are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of selection procedures. However, traditional CRV studies require significant investment of time and resources, as well as large sample sizes, which often create practical challenges. New techniques, which use machine learning to develop classification models from limited amounts of data, have emerged as a more efficient alternative. This study empirically investigates the effectiveness of traditional CRV with a variety of profiling approaches and machine learning techniques using repeated cross-validation. Results show that the traditional approach generally performs best both in terms of predicting performance and larger group differences between candidates …

Editorial: Five Years In, Scott Highhouse

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

No abstract provided.

The Process Of Establishing A Green Climate: Face-To-Face Interaction Between Leaders And Employees In The Microsystem, Ingeborg Flagstad, Svein Åge Kjøs Johnsen, Leif Rydstedt

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

This study explores the processes of establishing a green organizational climate in small-scale companies. Previous studies have primarily focused on factors associated with pro-environmental behaviour in large organizations. The role of a green organizational climate—specifically, the interactional processes involved in the construction of a green climate—has largely been unexplored. Entrepreneurial small companies constitute an ideal arena in which to study the initial phase of greening processes. The present study examined the process of establishing a green organizational climate in seven small-scale Norwegian companies. This article presents a systems model that was developed to analyse how processes at different levels interact …

Building Capacity To Effectively Share And Use Data, Robert Blagg

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In child welfare, the need to utilize meaningful data to ensure that the services provided are effective in supporting children and families represents a continuing challenge. There is a large volume of data from sources that are internal and external to child welfare agencies; and it increases almost exponentially on a regular basis. It is difficult for leaders and practitioners to quickly and meaningfully synthesize, make use of, and share new information with colleagues who need it to make sound decisions. Even when data is transformed into knowledge, challenges remain around the preferred method of ensuring information reaches the individuals …

Occupational Commitment, Megan Paul, Anita Barbee

Umbrella Summaries

What is occupational commitment? Occupational commitment refers to the extent to which employees are committed to their line of work (Meyer, Allen, & Smith, 1993). Over the past 40 years, various researchers also labeled the construct as career commitment or as professional commitment, but the term occupation is intended to convey that the concept (a) does not apply to a more general concept of a career, which may involve different occupations over time and (b) applies to both professional and non-professional occupations (Meyer et al., 1993). Occupational commitment is one of many forms of work-related commitment. Some of the other, …

More Research Is Needed On The Impact Of Workplace Violence, Bullying And Sexual Harassment In Child Welfare, Anita Barbee

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Many employees working in social services are exposed to workplace violence (described in Andersen, et al., 2018) and bullying (discussed in Whitaker, 2012). The workplace violence paper showed not only that up to three-fourths of social workers are exposed to violence at work, but that organizational structures and dynamics set the stage for violence to occur. Settings where staff lacked role clarity and predictability, and where emotional demands, role conflict, and work family conflict were high, also were associated with more threats and violence among employees and by clients. These findings, in addition to studies on bullying, seem to point …

Motivation Purity Bias: Expression Of Extrinsic Motivation Undermines Perceived Intrinsic Motivation And Engenders Bias In Selection Decisions, Rellie Derfler-Rozin, Marko Pitesa

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Organizational selection decisions often involve an exchange of information between candidates and decision makers as to why candidates are motivated to work in the given position. Drawing on popular management myths as our overarching framework, we theorize that candidates’ expressions of extrinsic motivation lead decision makers to infer that the candidate is less intrinsically motivated, leading to bias against such candidates. We term this effect motivation purity bias, and argue that it emerges despite ample evidence, which we review, showing that penalizing expressed extrinsic motivation is not only unfair to candidates but also counterproductive from the standpoint of maximizing future …

What's On Job Seekers' Social Media Sites? A Content Analysis And Effects Of Structure On Recruiter Judgments And Predictive Validity, Liwen Zhang, Chad H. Van Iddekinge, John D. Arnold, Philip L. Roth, Filip Lievens, Stephen E. Lanivich, Samantha L. Jordan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Many organizational representatives review social media (SM) information (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) when recruiting and assessing job applicants. Despite this, very little empirical data exist concerning the SM information available to organizations or whether assessments of such information are a valid predictor of work outcomes. This multi-study investigation examines several critical issues in this emerging area. In Study 1, we conducted a content analysis of job seekers’ Facebook sites (n = 266) and found that these sites often provide demographic variables that U.S. employment laws typically prohibit organizations from using when making personnel decisions (e.g., age, ethnicity, religion), as well as …

Predicting Counterproductive Work Behavior: Do Implicit Motives Have Incremental Validity Beyond Explicit Traits?, J. Malte Runge, Jonas W. B. Lang, Ingo Zettler, Filip Lievens

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study extends research on the link between personality and Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB) by investigating whether the implicit Affiliation, Achievement, and Power motives contribute to the prediction of CWB beyond basic personality traits. Employees high in Affiliation, Achievement, and Power motives may disengage from CWB because it is not rewarding and thwarts goal attainment. In Study 1 (N = 263), we found that Affiliation predicted self-rated CWB beyond traits. In Study 2 (N = 121), we found that Affiliation and Power predicted supervisor-rated CWB. Our findings thus suggest to also consider implicit motives as personality determinants of CWB.

Organizational Stressors As Predictors Of Burnout, Kristen Albritton

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine if organizational stress, measured by role conflict and role ambiguity, predicts burnout among employees. A review of the related literature identified variables that demonstrate a relationship with burnout, supported by the Maslach (1998) theory of burnout and Katz and Kahn’s (1966) organizational role theory. The researcher also examined whether organizational level and demographic variables (gender, education level, and job tenure) moderate the relationships between role conflict, role ambiguity, and burnout.

The study follows a non-experimental, cross-sectional design using data collected from a survey. Results of linear regression analyses reveal role conflict and …

Organizational Justice, Tara Myers, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is organizational justice? Organizational justice is the extent to which an organization treats people fairly. Organizational justice includes fairness related to outcomes, procedures, and interpersonal interactions. Fair workplace outcomes and decisions (e.g., equitable/favorable pay, raise, promotion) are called distributive justice (Adams, 1965). Procedural justice means that outcomes are determined through procedures that are based on accurate information and standard ethics, represent everyone affected by the procedure, include opportunity for input and appeal, are free from bias, and are used consistently (Leventhal, 1980; Thibaut & Walker, 1975). Interactional justice refers to people feeling they were treated with dignity and respect …

Workplace Bullying In Healthcare: A Qualitative Analysis Of Bystander Experiences, Neill James Thompson Mr, Madeline Carter, Paul Crampton, Bryan Burford, Jan Illing, Gill Morrow

The Qualitative Report

Bystander action has been proposed as a promising intervention to tackle workplace bullying, however there is a lack of in-depth qualitative research on the direct experiences of bystanders. In this paper, we developed a more comprehensive definition of bullying bystanders, and examined first person accounts from healthcare professionals who had been bystanders to workplace bullying. These perspectives highlighted factors that influence the type and the extent of support bystanders may offer to targets. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 43 healthcare professionals who were working in the UK, of which 24 had directly witnessed bullying. The data were transcribed and …

Introduction To Data Dictionaries, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Are you interested in exploring how to leverage the data necessary to examine and address child welfare workforce challenges in your agency? If so, you may consider developing and using a human resources data dictionary to help guide your work. A data dictionary is a collection of detailed information about the content and structure of data in one or more databases. This descriptive information is often called metadata (i.e., data about data). Other terms used to describe data dictionaries include data definition matrix, metadata repository, design dictionary, and business glossary. You also might see other variations of these terms, further …

Thriving, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is thriving? Thriving is defined as “a positive psychological state in which individuals experience both a sense of vitality and a sense of learning at work” (Spreitzer, Sutcliffe, Dutton, Sonenshein, & Grant, 2005, p. 538). Vitality refers to feeling energized, and learning is about experiencing personal growth and development (Spreitzer et al., 2005). The most popular measure of thriving includes ten items, with instructions to think about the questions in relation to work (Porath, Spreitzer, Gibson, & Garnett, 2012). Examples of vitality items include, “I have energy and spirit” and “I feel alive and vital,” and examples of learning …

Introduction To Workforce Metrics, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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It is important for Human Resources (HR) and child welfare leaders to start with a question-based mindset when analyzing workforce data (i.e., being thoughtful about what you and/or your stakeholders want to know), but it is also important to leave room to explore the data as well. This can only be accomplished if you know what is possible. This blog post describes some of what is possible to explore within the realm of workforce metrics as they relate to employee well-being, performance, and retention. In many ways, the concept of workforce metrics is still in its infancy and many things …

Personnel Selection: A Longstanding Story Of Impact At The Individual, Firm, And Societal Level, Filip Lievens, Paul R. Sackett, Charlene Zhang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper discusses how and why the field of personnel selection has made a long-lasting mark in work and organizational psychology. We start by outlining the importance and relevance of the well-established analytical framework (criterion-related validity, incremental validity, utility) for examining the impact of selection at the individual (job performance) level. We also document the substantive criterion-related validities of most common selection procedures on the basis of cumulative meta-analytic research. Next, we review more recent research that investigated the impact of selection at the more macro organizational (firm performance) level. We show that the positive relationship between selection and performance …

Assessment Centers, Tara Myers, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are assessment centers? Assessment centers measure knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics by assessing participants’ responses to job-related simulations. Assessment centers can be used for hiring, placement, and career and skill development (Gaugler, Rosenthal, Thornton, and Bentson, 1987). Typically, participants complete a combination of in-basket, leaderless group discussion, role play, case analysis, and oral presentation exercises (Hoffman, Kennedy, LoPilato, Monahan, and Lance, 2015). Within each exercise, participants review job-relevant information and complete tasks. For the in-basket, participants are presented with documents (e.g., emails, memos, reports, requests—things that might be in an inbox) to which they provide responses and about …

Milwaukee Progress Update- Identifying Barriers & Working Through Solutions, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Staff voice is an important element of organizational culture, or the behavioral norms and expectations that characterize a work environment. According to the developers of the Availability Responsiveness Continuity (ARC) model, these norms and expectations direct the way employees in a particular work environment approach their work, specify priorities, and shape the way work is done. The Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services (DMCPS) is a child welfare agency that experienced significant leadership change in recent years and, like other agencies nationwide, has struggled with a decade of staff turnover. In partnership with the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development …

Perspectives On Multi-Intervention, Multi-Design Evaluation For The Child Welfare Workforce, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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The QIC-WD is working with eight sites and the Children’s Bureau in a participatory fashion (Fetterman, 2014) to implement utilization-focused (Alkin & Vo, 2017; Patton, 2008) site-specific and cross-site evaluation strategies. The goal of this research is to build knowledge of interventions to improve child welfare workforce retention, and ultimately outcomes for children and families. A complex systems approach (Westhorp, 2012) is being taken to identify how factors such as organizational structures and culture, staff workload, supervision, and caseworker values influence outcomes, including safety and permanency of children. The QIC-WD team has extensive experience conducting rigorous evaluations within and across …

Coworker Influence, Megan Paul, Lauren Sparks

Umbrella Summaries

What is coworker influence? Coworkers are the individuals in an organization that regularly work with a given employee, often performing similar tasks or collaborating in some way. Coworkers are typically in a similar hierarchical position in the organizational structure, differentiating them from subordinates, supervisors, or managers. Coworker influence is about how coworkers impact a given employee’s work experiences. There are two facets of coworker influence—coworker support and coworker antagonism (Chiaburu & Harrison, 2008). Coworker support is a positive influence, including desirable actions and behaviors. More specifically, there are two types of coworker support—instrumental and affective (Chiaburu & Harrison, 2008). Instrumental …

Oklahoma Progress Update - A Revised Employee Selection Process: Virtual & Paperless, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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“I am convinced that nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day, you bet on people, not on strategies.” – Lawrence Bossidy, former CEO of Honeywell International Inc. This quote is especially true for child welfare workers. Child welfare work is difficult and demanding; it requires compassion and attention to detail. Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS), in partnership with the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD), worked throughout 2018 and 2019 to create a competencybased employee selection process for Child Welfare Services (CWS) workers. Competencies are the knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, …

Ohio Progress Update- Addressing Secondary Traumatic Stress And Providing Supportive Supervision, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Secondary traumatic stress (STS) refers to the experience of people – generally professionals– who are exposed to others’ traumatic stories as part of their work. As a result of this exposure, these professionals can develop their own traumatic symptoms and reactions. Child welfare staff are particularly susceptible to STS because of the vulnerable nature of the families they work with, the unpredictable nature of their jobs, and their general lack of physical and psychological protection (ACS-NYU Children’s Trauma Institute, 2011). As such, STS can mimic the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Bride, 2007) including nightmares, sleep disruption, avoidance, and irritability. …

Social Worker Shortages And The Rise In Competition For A Competent Child Welfare Workforce, Anita Barbee

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Several national studies have been conducted over the past few years (e.g. Hooyman, & Uniitzer, 2011; Lin, Lin, & Zhang, 2016) to project the number of social workers that will be needed by the year 2030. What they all point to is a huge deficit in the number of social workers (upwards of 200,000) needed to care for children, the elderly and those with addictions, mental health, and other health issues. However, those estimates may be low given that as of 2018 there was no regular gathering of comprehensive data on workforce needs in such areas as child welfare, juvenile …

Working From Home And The Office During A Pandemic: The Experience Of Louisiana Child Welfare Workers, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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Staff from the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, Child Welfare Division (CWD), like many other child welfare professionals from across the country, have been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. CWD caseworkers had to adjust to working at home, interacting with families differently, and remaining connected to colleagues via technology. It was, according to some staff, difficult and challenging at times. CWD staff in three parishes that have implemented the job redesign in partnership with the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QICWD) were asked to provide some insight into their experience of working during the pandemic. The …

Telework, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is telework? Telework is a type of alternative work arrangement in which employees perform some or all of their job duties at an approved location other than their official worksite. Other labels for telework include telecommuting, remote work, mobile work, virtual work, distance work, distributed work, work from/at home, and flexplace, though definitions can vary (e.g., Allen, Golden, & Shockley, 2015). Telework arrangements can be informal and determined through individual agreements or formal, as part of a more structured program. Formal arrangements may be governed by federal or state statute, executive orders, organizational policy, or collective bargaining agreements. The …

Perspectives From A Permanency Team, Hannah Gettys, Natasha Mccoy, Jameka Paige

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Louisiana’s job redesign includes the creation of permanency teams (formerly known as the foster care program). Permanency teams consist of pairs of caseworkers who work together on a shared caseload, with one worker assisting parents and the other focusing on the care and needs of the children. Permanency teams are supported by a child welfare team specialist (CWTS) who assumes more of essential administrative tasks such as gathering documentation and transporting children, so the child welfare worker can focus on more clinical tasks. Teaming was a new way to approach the child welfare worker job. Some staff members were apprehensive …