IN SUPPORT OF PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT IN ORGANIZATIONAL SETTINGS

Intelligenz, Persönlichkeit, Einkommen und Fremdbeurteilungen der Leistung in sozialen Berufen

Soziale Berufe (sensu KldB 92, Vh 86; Statistisches Bundesamt, 1992 , S. 51) bilden ein wesentliches Segment des Arbeitsmarktes in Deutschland. Gleichwohl liegen bisher keine Befunde dazu vor, wie Intelligenz und Persönlichkeitsmerkmale mit Leistungsbeurteilungen und Einkommen in diesem Bereich zusammenhängen. Dies wurde in der vorliegenden Studie bei 142 erwerbstätigen Personen aus sozialen Berufen untersucht. Die Leistung wurde auf den Dimensionen aufgabenbezogene Leistung, Arbeitseinsatz und Sozialverhalten durch Vorgesetzte oder Kollegen beurteilt. Kontrolliert wurden Alter, Geschlecht und Bildung. Die Allgemeine Intelligenz stand in Beziehung zum Einkommen, nicht aber zur aufgabenbezogenen Leistung. Gewissenhaftigkeit stand in Beziehung zur aufgabenbezogenen Leistung und zum Arbeitseinsatz. Das Sozialverhalten sowie der Arbeitseinsatz standen in Beziehung zum Persönlichkeitsmerkmal Verträglichkeit. Diese Befunde liefern Hinweise darauf, dass Persönlichkeitstests bei der Personalauswahl auch in diesem Berufsbereich nutzbringend eingesetzt werden können. Für Intelligenztests konnte dies nicht nachgewiesen werden. Weitere theoretische und praktische Implikationen der Befunde sowie Stärken und Grenzen der Studie werden diskutiert.

A preliminary factor analytic investigation into the firstorder factor structure of the Fifteen Factor Plus (15FQ+) on a sample of Black South African managers

Orientation: The Fifteen Factor Questionnaire Plus (15FQ+) is a prominent personality questionnaire that organisations frequently use in personnel selection in South Africa.Research purpose: The primary objective of this study was to undertake a factor analytic investigation of the first-order factor structure of the 15FQ+.Motivation for the study: The construct validity of the 15FQ+, as a measure of personality, is necessary even though it is insufficient to justify its use in personnel selection.Research design, approach and method: The researchers evaluated the fit of the measurement model, which the structure and scoring key of the 15FQ+ implies, in a quantitative study that used an ex post facto correlation design through structural equation modelling. They conducted a secondary data analysis. They selected a sample of 241 Black South African managers from a large 15FQ+ database.Main findings: The researchers found good measurement model fit. The measurement model parameter estimates were worrying. The magnitude of the estimated model parameters suggests that the items generally do not reflect the latent personality dimensions the designers intended them to with a great degree of precision. The items are reasonably noisy measures of the latent variables they represent.Practical/managerial implications: Organisations should use the 15FQ+ carefully on Black South African managers until further local research evidence becomes available.Contribution/value-add: The study is a catalyst to trigger the necessary additional research we need to establish convincingly the psychometric credentials of the 15FQ+ as a valuable assessment tool in South Africa.

A comprehensive model for the selection of medical students

BACKGROUND

Medical schools have a need to select their students from an excess of applicants. Selection procedures have evolved piecemeal: Academic thresholds have risen, written tests have been incorporated and interview protocols are developed.

AIM

To develop and offer for critical review and, ultimately, present for adoption by medical schools, an evidence-based and defensible model for medical student selection.

METHODS

We have described here a comprehensive model for selecting medical students which is grounded on the theoretical and empirical selection and assessment literature, and has been shaped by our own research and experience.

RESULTS

The model includes the following selection criteria: Informed self-selection, academic achievement, general cognitive ability (GCA) and aspects of personality and interpersonal skills. A psychometrically robust procedure by which cognitive and non-cognitive test scores can be used to make selection decisions is described. Using de-identified data (n = 1000) from actual selection procedures, we demonstrate how the model and the procedure can be used in practice.

CONCLUSION

The model presented is based on a currently best-practice approach and uses measures and methods that maximise the probability of making accurate, fair and defensible selection decisions.

Validation of a Test Battery for the Selection of Call Centre Operators in a Communications Company

Our aim was to determine whether personality and ability measures can predict job performance of call centre operators in a South African communications company. The predictors were personality variables measured by the Customer Contact Styles Questionnaire, Basic Checking and Audio Checking ability tests. These measures were completed by 140 operators. Supervisors completed the Customer Contact Competency Inventory for the operators as a measure of job performance. Additional criterion data were utilised by obtaining performance statistics regarding call handling time and quality of responding. Correlations and multiple regression analyses revealed statistically significant small to medium effect size correlations between the predictors and criteria.