By Marion Power *
Local Government is becoming an increasingly attractive employment option for many Australians. Consequently, the opportunity exists to incorporate appropriate selection components into recruitment decision packages.
Progressive, innovative employers are aligning themselves with this choice.
My involvement with Local Government Human Resources in Victoria has extended over the past ten years, and I am delighted at the growing use of well chosen selection instruments in employee selection.
Whether the target group be finance graduates, planners or community services staff, there is an ever expanding range of reliable and valid selection instruments which vastly improve the chances of making a good recruitment decision.
Studies reported in journals, such as Personnel Management, indicate that the accuracy of predicting the successful outcome of a selection decision jumps from about 0.3 with just an interview to almost double that when the appropriate assessment instrument is used as well.
We all know the cost of a failed recruitment choice. It can run into tens of thousands of dollars with advertising, training of initial selection and then the repeat of the whole scenario.
At the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), I provide advice to employers Australia wide on the most appropriate selection instruments for their particular recruitment task.
ACER has a catalogue of tests available which includes a brief summary of each test, its purpose, its target group and prices.
These are grouped into Ability tests, which provide an excellent indication of future performance across a wide range of industries and occupations.
Both general ability and specific, such as mechanical or spatial reasoning, are available.
Human Resource Development includes such measures as Assessment Centre exercises, Team Climate measures and Conflict Styles.
In the Career Development arena are instruments that assist with identification of vocational choice and career/succession planning.
Blockages to constructive career progress are included. Personality profilers, such as 16 PF, are used by psychologists but we include some that may be used by purchasers who complete our accreditation course.
Pinpoint, in particular, was designed to assess qualities considered critical in successful employees and it is one of our most popular sellers.
Occupational Stress and Work Environment measures are available as well as the full range of Myers Briggs Type Indicator instruments.
For further information contact Marion Power at ACER, telephone (03) 9835 7411.
* Marion Power is an Organisational Psychology & HR Management Consultant with ACER.
