The Ricci vs. DeStefano Supreme Court ruling continues to stir up debate around affirmative action and racial discrimination…two issues that greatly impact talent management today. Yet, the underlying issue in this historic case, one that will undoubtedly affect all organizations both small and large, is the issue of validated assessment testing. The legacy of Ricci vs. Destafano – a case where eighteen firefighters were denied promotions after the City of New Haven, CT invalidated their test results- will hold organizations accountable for the tools they use to select and retain their employees. With the proliferation of employment testing, organizations need a better understanding of the tests they are using and how various individuals in the organization are administering these tests.
What do organizations need to consider when evaluating assessment providers?
• Job Analysis Profile- Organizations need to begin by creating a job analysis profile. Before investing in the necessary tools and methods, companies need to understand their objectives and clearly identify the following key attributes for each position. These attributes are compiled into a job analysis that should be created as a joint effort between hiring managers, recruiters, HR professionals and the assessment providers.
• Reputable Providers- Dr Lisa Harpe, Senior Consultant and I/O Psychologist at Peopleclick, recommends that organizations find a reputable provider, one that can conduct either a local validity study or a transportability study if a company wants to use a test that has been validated in a different setting. Organizations should make sure that the providers are staffed with professionals, such as I/O psychologists, with a strong background in assessment testing.
• Assessment Center- One possible result of the Ricci vs. Destafano case is the creation of an assessment center that includes multiple test providers, I/O psychologists, and provides more variance in performance.
• Social Networking- The use of social networking to evaluate, select and test employees is a dangerous notion for organizations and can leave them vulnerable to discrimination lawsuits. As employers now have access to candidate and employee information via LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, they need to tread cautiously and combine any use of these sites with validated assessments tests.
• Consistency- Organizations need to use pre-hire assessments consistently for each job and enforce the same amount of rigor to each role. The goal of creating a standardized strategy can only be achieved through a consistent strategy.
• Integrated Assessment Strategy- Pre-hire assessments should work with and share data with development assessment tools that organizations use for employees.
A strategic assessment process will help organizations reduce turnover, increase productivity and identify the right fit for the organization. In order to achieve results and avoid a situation similar to the City of New Haven, organizations need to validate their assessment tests and create a standard process across the organization. We will publish a research bulletin on pre-hire assessments in the next week…stay tuned…