Assessment Methods in Recruitment, Selection and Performance: A Manager's Guide to Psychometric Testing, Interviews and Assessment Centres

Citation

Brown, M. (2008), "Assessment Methods in Recruitment, Selection and Performance: A Manager's Guide to Psychometric Testing, Interviews and Assessment Centres", Library Review, Vol. 57 No. 2, pp. 158-160. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530810854053

This book clearly identifies its potential readership as managers, although even this new paperback edition is a fairly weighty volume and questions might be raised as to how much of it the perennially busy manager might have time to take in. However, its aim to integrate a number of key assessment methodologies could certainly be useful for a non‐specialist Human Resource practitioner required to advise line management on appropriate assessment tools, and for mainstream managers to know about.

Edenborough is keen to stress his rationalist credentials from the beginning with a rapid dismissal of less validated selection methods such as graphology and astrology. It is interesting that, if the former is invalid, so many writers on selection techniques feel they have nevertheless to discuss it, and the space given to the latter suggests someone who might claim “I don't believe in astrology: I'm a Scorpio and they have me all wrong”. Interestingly, no reference is made to the research by the statistician Michel Gauquelin (1969) which purports to show that the births of athletes are accompanied by statistically abnormal positions of the planet Mars! But if Edenborough is a rationalist writer, it is not always easy to follow his rationale for the structure of the book. Why, for example, in chapter 1 is performance management a sub‐heading of individual differences? Surely it requires its own heading? Equally, although chapter 1 is titled “Why selection and performance management?”, it is never wholly clear how the latter topic fits in: and, arguably, it is a book topic in its own right. Although some of us might prefer Deming's assertion that appraisal is no substitute for leadership, Edenborough is correct that, if performance management systems are to be effective, it is arguably more sensible to attempt to assess performance by methods which aim for objectivity than through the whims of ill‐trained managers.

The author is good on the history of psychometrics and structure assessment techniques – the example of a supposedly antediluvian interview technique he includes from Dickens (p. 19) can be argued to be effective as it allows the interviewee to do most of the talking! – and the statistical chapters (4 and 5) are particularly helpful, managing to explain this sometimes fearsome topics in clear lay terms. The silly clip‐art illustration, however, does not add value and tends to trivialize some important points, particularly around issues of regulation. As a trained test user, I have seen “psychometric horror stories” such as, for example, the candidate who was sent a written personality profile describing him as a manic depressive. Edenborough is right that any psychometric instrument needs to be administered with great care.

This reviewer's scepticism is aroused at the point where performance management is discussed (chapter 13 onwards). There are questions raised here which are not answered in spite of the fact that some writers have advanced powerful arguments against the idea, for example, that personality informs performance. Yet the text refers to example written profiles which describe a “natural team player” with “natural gregariousness” believed to fit him for a management position (pp. 113‐4). We are told, apparently from the 16PF5 instrument, that “Mr Jones' optimum contribution will come when he has the opportunity to take leadership of a team of competent and able subordinates” (p. 115). I imagine most of us would make our optimum contribution if we were nominally in charge of a team of self‐ starters!

These may seem minor quibbles but it could be argued that, if an HR manager is to make good use of this text better appreciation of the debate, for example, on the link between personality and performance it could be useful in convincing a sceptical line manager (who just might have had an opportunity to review some of the research!). Overall, though, the book is a thorough and objective guide for the intelligent lay person, and is generally well written, apart from the odd typo such as Molière's acute accent (p. 11), D'Artagnan's absence of a capital letter (a Francophile needs to get these things right!), and a missing apostrophe from employees (p. 23). There are also one or two typos in the complex reasoning item example on p. 37, although having said that, I could not answer the questions! Also the references to the Management Charter Initiative are a little anachronistic as this initiative has been taken over by the government‐funded Management Standards Centre (www.management‐standards.org): a few web references like this would also have been useful.

There is an excellent glossary and “technical notes” which are helpfully sequestered to avoid frightening those with a phobia of statistics, and the chapter summaries are also useful. Overall, this is a relevant text for the HR practitioner and well worth stocking in libraries. For the student of the topic, however, working towards graduate membership of the Institute of Personnel and Development, it would be helpful to supplement it with research‐based literature which reports further on critical analysis of some of the claims made for the instruments described.