Shameless plug: The 2011 IPAC conference

And now for something completely different. A man with a marketing video.

It's getting toward the end of May, so if you haven't made up your mind about attending this year's premier event for practitioners of assessment and selection methods, you might want to do it soon.

Details: July 17-20, Washington, D.C. Dupont Hotel. So many great presentations I can't even begin to summarize. Check out the details here.

If that doesn't convince you, I doubt amateurish marketing tactics will work, but since you're still reading and I have you captive...

IPAC Conference 2011 on Prezi

Jan TIP gems: HRO, UIT, SIOP, and VII

Yes, my goal was to create a blog post title using words no longer than four letters.

Anyway, for those non-SIOP'ers out there, or SIOP'ers that may have missed 'em, there were some gems in the latest issue of TIP:

How I/O can shape the practice of strategic human resources outsourcing (HRO)

A great little study on perceptions of various ways of mitigating cheating on unproctored Internet testing (UIT)

The difference between academics and practitioners in terms of what topics are valued at the SIOP conference (e.g., the latter were more interested in job analysis, staffing, and strategic HR)

Last but not least, a point, counter-point on whether the addition of sex as a protected category under Title VII was a joke

Every once in a while, an idea comes along...

Once in a while a research article comes along that revolutionizes or galvanizes the field of personnel assessment. Barrick & Mount's 1991 meta-analysis of personality testing. Schmidt & Hunter's 1998 meta-analysis of selection methods. Sometimes a publication is immediately recognized for its importance. Sometimes the impact of the study or article isn't recognized until years after its publication.

The September 2010 issue of Industrial and Organizational Psychology contains an article that I believe has the potential to have a resounding, critical impact for years to come. Will it? Only time will tell.

The article in question is by Johnson, et al. and is on its face a summary of the concept of synthetic validation and champions its use. As a refresher, synthetic validation is the process of inferring or estimating validity based on the relationship between components of a job and tests of the KSAs needed to perform those components. It differs from traditional criterion-related validation in that the statistics generated are not based on a local study of the relationship between test scores and job performance. Studies have shown that estimates based on synthetic validity closely correspond to local validation studies as well as meta-analytic VG estimates. Hence it has the potential to be as useful as criterion-related validation in generating estimates of, for example, cost savings, without requiring the organization to actually gather sometimes elusive data.

But the impact of the article, if I'm right, will not be felt based on its summary of the concept, but on what it proposes: a giant database containing performance ratings, scores from selection tests, and job analysis information. This database has the potential to radically change how tests are developed and administered. I'll let the authors explain:

"Once the synthetic validity system is fully operational, new selection systems will be significantly easier to create than with a traditional validation approach. It would take approximately 1-2 hours in total; employers or trained job analysts just need to describe the target job using the job analysis questionnaire. After this point, the synthetic validity algorithms take over and automatically generate a ready-made full selection system, more accurately than can be achieved with most traditional criterion-related validation studies."

Sound like a mission to Mars? Maybe. But the authors are incredibly optimistic about the chances for such a system, and it appears that it is already in the beginning stages of development. The commentaries following this focal article are generally very positive about the idea, some authors even committing resources to the project. The authors respond by suggesting that SIOP initiate the database and link it to O*NET. They point out, correctly, that this project has the potential to radically improve the macro-level efficiency of matching jobs to people; imagine how much more productive a society would be if the people with the right skills were systematically matched with jobs requiring those skills.

So as you can probably tell, I think this is pretty exciting, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

I should mention there is another focal article and subsequent commentaries in this issue of IOP, but it's (in my humble opinion) not nearly as significant. Ryan & Ford provide an interesting discussion of the ongoing identity crisis being experienced by the field of I/O psychology, demonstrated most recently by the practically tie vote over SIOP's name. I found two things of particular interest: first, the fact that they come out of the gate using the term "organizational psychology" which deserves only a footnote (a fact pointed out by several commentary authors). Second, they take an interesting approach to presenting several possible futures for the field, from the strengthening of historic identity to "identicide."

Finally, I want to make sure everyone knows about the published results of a major task force that looked at adverse impact. It too has the potential to have a significant impact on the study and legal judgment of this sticky (and persistent) issue.

Meet the new SIOP...same as the old SIOP

The votes are in, and the new name for the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) is...the same.

After over a thousand votes from members, the existing acronym beat The Society for Organizational Psychology (TSOP) by a tally of 51% to 49%--a difference of 15 votes. You can read my comments about this option--and my prediction of the outcome--here.

Why is this non-news, news? Because it's problematic that the main professional, scientific body that devotes itself to researching the psychology of organizations and work (POW!) repeatedly has identity issues. This is in large part because of the word "industrial", which makes it sound like we're all studying factory workers. I am not alone in having people look at me sideways when I attempt to explain our field.

To be perfectly honest, I am reluctant to describe my focus as "psychology", except to others in the same field. It sidetracks the conversation (perhaps due to my insufficient skill). It's much easier to connect with people by saying I'm in Human Resources. This isn't to say that the focus on psychology isn't important, or that others in I/O psychology might not mind using this phrase, or that there isn't some brand value in SIOP. But call me crazy, if you're reluctant to name your field (and attorneys don't count--people know, or think they know, what you do), the profession has a problem.

So, our identity struggle continues. An interesting follow-up study might be to ask SIOP members how they describe their field of work to non-I/O folk and break that down by area of focus. It's a big tent.

Personally, I prefer something that includes Work and Organizational. Mix and match letters as you will.

On a positive note, did you know you can access all of SIOP's quarterly news publication, TIP, here? The January 2010 issue has pieces on integrated performance management, a preview of Lewis v. City of Chicago, and a lot more.

SIOP Name Change: Will They or Won't They?

The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) is considering a name change. For those that don't know, SIOP is a division of the American Psychological Association and has thousands of members devoted to research into a variety of phenomena, including recruitment and assessment.

SIOP was established in 1982 and a significant number of members have been asking on and off for years whether the name continues to accurately describe what they do. The problem is mainly with the "Industrial" part--it's just not a word that gets as much attention as it used to (remember when everything was "industrial strength"?).

The name change is something they've tossed around for years, but beginning in October they're going to survey their members and ask them to consider three alternatives:

1. The Society for Organizational Psychology (TSOP) - name's okay but continues implication that focus is on cleaning our offices; acronym sounds like a rapper; oh, and URL is taken.

2. Society for Work Psychology (SWP) - a little bland but definitely simpler; how do you say the acronym? Is it like "swap"? Or maybe "swip"? Oh, and restricts the field to "work", which is a little narrow.

3. Society for Work and Organizational Psychology (SWOP) - the most complete name in terms of description; acronym easy to use but has some interesting brethren. Too bad we couldn't come up with SWOT (ya know, as in strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). Oh, and URL is taken. Sort of.

The winner between these will take on SIOP for the final determination.

My bet? Members will split among the three, none will receive a passionate endorsement and it will lose against SIOP.

Any takers?

SNWs for R&A professionals

In the August 2009 issue of IPAC's Assessment Council News I write about how recruitment and assessment professionals can take advantage of social networking websites (SNWs) such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Ning, and offer some cautionary notes about using them.

The article covers what will be familiar ground to many of you, but I tried to also talk about how we can use these sites for professional development, not just for sourcing or selection.

The article ends with a very Web 1.0 idea--a solicitation of letters to the editor. I'll make the same request here: what do YOU think about these websites--flash in the pan or here to stay? Approach with kid gloves or jump right in?

SIOP offers multimedia presentations

As part of its learning center, SIOP is now offering audio and video content from its conferences and events. Price ranges from $100-150 depending on membership status and whether or not you attended the event.

You can hear/see samples here, including presentations on personality in the workplace, reducing turnover using selection, and global talent management.

Good stuff. Hope other professional organizations follow their lead.

SIOP has a blog!

Well it's been a long time coming, but SIOP finally has a blog, the SIOP Exchange (with feed here).

Right now it's focused on updates from the conference, opening today in New Orleans, but moving forward it will broaden to "news and issues in the I-O community." Definitely a welcome addition to the blogosphere!

And speaking of the blogosphere, IPMA-HR's blog has a new location, along with a feed now. The most recent post is about a topic near and dear to me--social networking and performance management.

What's hot in I/O?

You can often get a sense of what's hot in a field by looking at conference presentations or workshops.

Recently I got the registration materials for the 2009 SIOP conference, and it includes a description of the seminars and workshops. Here's a sample:

Frontiers of personality research and practice

Making HR measurement strategic (by the authors of this book)

Reliability, ratings, and reality: Oh my!

Development in place: Leveraging the other 90% of your organization's talent

The future of HR metrics: It's a brave new world

O*NET products and tools: What's new and what's useful for your research and practice (O*NET is here)

Selection of first-line supervisors: What we know

Exploring new frontiers in test security: Approaches for protecting your testing program

Hmmm....sounds like metrics are here! As always, I'm sure the conference will be a great learning and networking opportunity. Feel like going to New Orleans in April?

IPMAAC is now IPAC

As of January 1st, 2009, the professional organization formerly known as the IPMA-HR Assessment Council (IPMAAC) has changed its name to IPAC--the International Personnel Assessment Council.

Who?

IPAC is a group of professionals devoted to the science and practice of employee assessment. That pretty much covers it. Smaller, more accessible, and more focused than SIOP. Larger than say a regional PAC or PTC.

Why the change?

IPMA-HR restructured and decided having IPMAAC a Section no longer fit with their mission. IPMA-HR targets HR heads, while IPMAAC tends to focus on practitioners.

Why join?

1) Networking. IMHO the biggest benefit. Great group of people dedicated to their field, extremely knowledgeable, and willing to lend a hand. IPAC's forum is one of the best.

2) Top notch conference. If you're looking for the latest research and best practices on employee selection, this is where it's at, and members get a discount. Check out some of last year's presentations.

3) Leadership opportunities. Looking to distinguish yourself in the field through a leadership post? IPAC's always looking for people to step up.

4) Training. Staying on top of this field can be challenging. Hooking yourself into an organization dedicated to being current is a great idea.

5) Speaking of staying up-to-date, did I mention the monthly newsletter?

Interested in joining? Head on over to this page.

New SIOP networking groups

The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), bless its heart, is getting into the 21st century.

In their April newsletter they mention that two SIOP members, John Golden and Daniel Russell, have formed a LinkedIn group called I-O Practitioners Network. To join, click here. (If you don't have a LinkedIn account, and shame on you, you'll have a chance to create one)

But wait, that's not all, John Golden has also created a Ning site for I-O practitioners, which comes with joining the LinkedIn group. ("What the heck is Ning?" you say? Think Wikipedia meets MySpace)

So bravo, John! And SIOP, welcome to the party! (now will someone please tell them about RSS feeds?)

IPMAAC Conference Registration Open

Registration is now open for the 31st annual IPMAAC Conference in St. Louis on June 10-13.

Along with the annual SIOP conference, this is THE professional event to attend to learn about innovations, best practices, and the latest research in personnel assessment.

Highlights

Presentations:

- Dr. Wayne Cascio on Do employee behaviors matter? Some economic effects.

- Dr. Robert Hogan on What we know about leadership.

- Dr. Nancy Tippins on Unproctored testing.

Pre-conference workshops:

- Using logic-based testing to develop powerful measures of reasoning ability.
- Oral examinations.
- Examination planning.
- Situational judgment test: Development and applications.
- Adverse impact: Pitfalls, Pollyanna, and practical advice for practitioners.

Unlike some conferences, IPMAAC is very doable--there are a lot of presentations but you can generally hit most that you're really interested in. Another benefit? It's cheap. Registration is only $345 for IPMAAC members, $445 for non-members. Still not convinced? Take a look at some of the presentations from previous annual conferences.

I'll post more about the content when the full program is published. Registration brochure is here. Highly recommended!

2007 SHRM Staffing Management Conference in New Orleans

From April 23-25, SHRM will be having its annual conference devoted to employment and staffing in New Orleans, LA. (Note this used to be the Employment Management Association Conference & Exposition).

So why would I go?

1) You're a SHRM member and you have $875 to spare, OR
2) You're a non-SHRM member and you have $1120 to spare

AND

3) You're really into conferences devoted to recruitment and assessment
4) You like New Orleans

Unfortunately I meet the third and fourth criteria but neither the first nor the second. But, I can give you a flavor of what's in store in addition to some great keynote speakers, including Malcolm Gladwell, whose books are often mentioned on this blog.

What are the topics?

Rather than attempt to summarize the entire conference, I'm going to list the most relevant presentation titles, which are heavy on sourcing techniques and avoiding legal pitfalls. Several of these look really interesting; the full menu can be found here.

- Recruiting the best and the brightest: How to develop a market-and customer-focused mindset
- Interviewing: Identifying the liars, avoiding illegal questions
- Interactive recruitment marketing: Navigating the Internet to attract A-level talent
- Extreme caution advised: Dealing with federal and state laws regulating preemployment screening and safe hiring
- Recruiting an agile workforce that adds value to customers and shareholders
- Superstar selling techniques for non-sellers
- Impacting recruitment, retention and employee engagement with culture
- Daniel Boone and the tracking of applicants [new OFCCP regs]
- Extreme makeover: Renovating recruiting at Great-West
- Personality assessment in employee selection and promotion
- Avoid negligent hiring--best practices and legal compliance
- America's new regional demography
- "DOT" jobs: What have we learned about Internet recruiting in the past five years?
- Talent hunting: Sales skill development for the corporate recruiter
- Recent changes in immigration law that affect HR decision-making
- Rebuilding a world-class staffing function--from administration to profit center
- I'm not just a recruiter...I'm an expert consultant! Key consulting skills for recruitment professionals
- Effectively interviewing global talent
- Best practice techniques for finding and selling professional-level candidates
- Winning the talent war--meeting the recruitment challenges of the next decade
- Your candidate's experience: Black hole or North star?
- Background checks and the law
- The circle of recruitment success
- Get GenderSmart! Communicating with and managing women for recruiting and retention results

Employer branding made easy

There's been a lot of discussion over at ERE these days about employer branding, so it was nice to see IPMA-HR get into the swing of things in its most recent edition of IPMA-HR News (unfortunately not available to non-members but keep reading).

There were several good articles in this edition, including:

"Can HR Have a Brand Image, and If So, How Can One Determine HR's Current Reputation?"

"Attracting Talent to Government: Marketing the Mission"

Another article that really stood out was Mark Hornung's, titled "The Benefits of Employer Branding for Government Agencies: What Reglators May View as a Luxury Is a Necessity in Today's Tight Labor Market."

Mark did a great job summarizing the challenges organizations face when thinking about branding, how to assess your current brand, how to communicate it, and playing to your strengths. Targeted at the public sector, but applicable to any organization.

Although this publication isn't available to non-members (although if you join you get access to the newsletter back to November '04), Mark's employer, the Bernard Hodes Group, has some great information on their website, including a branding game (!) and an interview with Mark.

----

...By the way, feel free to let me know what you're interested in by responding to the survey posted on my main page. I had been running a similar survey using Sparklit but switched to PollDaddy after seeing how easily Joel Cheesman integrated it into his blog postings.

ATP Conference in Palm Springs

Tired of cold weather?

Feel like being spontaneous?

Then maybe you should consider the 2007 Association of Test Publishers Conference in Palm Springs, CA.

The conference takes place February 5-7 and has some tantalizing presentations, such as:

Converting from Paper-Based Tests to Computer-Based Tests: The Practical Issues

Head to Head: Online Technology Vendors Sound Off

Creating Computerized Performance Assessments

Video, Audio, and Simulations Over the Web

Cross-Cultural Testing: Issues and Practice

That's just a very small sample of the all the conference goodness. Another highlight is Dr. Frank Schmidt receiving the Career Achievement award. Full conference program is available here.

Cost? A mere $695 for ATP members, $750 for non-members.

I don't know about you, but sunny and mid-70s sounds heavenly right now!

Survey reveals hiring ramp-up for public sector agencies

According to the IPMA-HR HR Bulletin, their 2007 Hiring Outlook Survey revealed that public sector agencies plan on doing a substantial amount of hiring this year.

The survey of 656 IPMA-HR members was conducted from 1/10-1/17/07.

Highlights:

• 75% of respondents plan on hiring this year, up from 68% in 2006
• Employers are planning on hiring in larger numbers
• As with previous years, most new positions will be in public safety
• Need will also be strong in public works and finance & management
• Only 12% of respondents plan on conducting layoffs this year, down from 16% in 2006 and 18% in 2005
• 89% of respondents indicated they currently have vacancies
• Fewer organizations are purposely leaving positions unfilled for budgetary reasons

I'll put up a link to survey results once (if) they're posted.

SIOP Conference Registration open

Registration is now open for the 2007 SIOP Conference, to be held in New York City on April 26-29.

The conference program won't be available until mid-late February, but we do know what the half-day workshops (held on the 26th) will be. Here are some you might be interested in:

- Building Legal Defensibility Into Your HR Processes

- Are We Ready? Strategic Human Resource Management and the Maturing Workforce (including how to recruit and retain older workers)

- Leading a Thriving Consulting Practice: Building the Foundation, Operating Practicalities, Clients, and Their Needs

- The State of the Art in Personality Assessment (focusing on alternatives to multiple-choice self-report surveys)

- An Update on the Science and Practice of I/O Psychology (worth going just to see/hear Frank Landy)

- Early Identification and Development of Senior Leadership Talent: The Secret Insider's Guide

- The Role of E-HR in Human Resource Transformation: Build, Buy, or Outsource, and at Least Twenty More Questions Answered

- Fits about Fit: Can You Have Too Much of a Good Thing and Is There Anything You Can Do About it? (includes a focus on the possible downsides of having too many of the same type of person in an organization)

- Talent Management: The Promise and Paradox of Potential

Cost? Two sessions cost $400 for SIOP members and affiliates, $650 for non-members.

Register here.

I'll try to do a similar summary for the actual conference sessions, but chances are I'll get about 20 sessions in and pass out (there are an unbelievable number of session choices at every SIOP conference. Check out 2006's program).

Unproctored online testing

There's a very interesting thread going on over at IPMAAC's listserv about the appropriate and potential use of unproctored internet testing that started with this post from Eric Palmer from the City of Forth Worth.

Some of the back-and-forth has been about how common unproctored internet testing is (which says something about the profession's knowledge of its own practices), but the more interesting aspects have to do with candidate perception, logistics, reliability, and validity.

IMHO internet testing, along with modular testing, is the future of professional assessment for many hiring scenarios, particularly as we move more and more towards an employment society based on knowledge work and providing services. You simply cannot beat the utility of administering quality on-line exams--regardless of how you verify the scores (seems to me the best way is to re-administer similar items to the final candidate pool).

That said, decisions regarding how to assess should always be based on the KSAs/competencies required by the job and operational needs. But the ability to gather and track data, the ability to quickly link test results with job performance and other candidate information, and the flexibility of a "one stop shop" for testing simply cannot be ignored.

Updated: Las Vegas Metro PD taps applicant family members

The most recent IPMA-HR News reports that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) was awarded the "HR Innovations in the Public Sector" grant from IPMA-HR and CPS.

The $25,000 grant is for a LVMPD program called Household Inclusion Recruitment and Employment, or HIRE, and it's quite interesting and potentially controversial.

The idea is LVMPD will ask job applicants to complete a short supplemental questionnaire to describe the "composition, names, ages, interests and employment needs" of immediate family members. An HR staff member will then contact and speak directly with family members looking for a job to see if there's an opportunity within LVMPD.

The recruitment assistant would also "determine the family's hobbies, interests, religious or civic affiliations, long term goals, and other factors that could become an obstacle or an aid to employment within the department."

The idea seems to be to remove barriers that might prevent a qualified applicant from joining the agency, and to increase the pool of talent.

Here are my thoughts:

1) It is indeed innovative. Although attempts have been made to take advantage of professional networks to identify talent, I know of little effort being made to take advantage of family or personal relationships. It occurs to me that creating and sourcing networks in this way has huge potential. In fact I'm surprised no one has tried to create a more formalized network among employed individuals (e.g., you're not interested in the job but your buddy who works down the hall might be).

2) I see some potential privacy and discrimination complaints emerging from this. I'm sure the questionnaire is voluntary, but any time you ask people to identify things like religion or civic affiliations yer just askin' for trouble, IMHO.

3) This could be the best thing for nepotism since changing one's last name. Nepotism's already a huge problem in many public sector organizations--from both merit and morale standpoints. I don't see this program helping.

It will be very interesting to see where this goes, and I truly wish them luck with it as I happen to know some of the LVMPD HR folks and I'm sure their hearts are in the right place. Just be careful what you ask for.

Update: Check out LVMPD's advertising campaign.

SIOP Awards Nominations

It's award nomination time.

SIOP has announced that its 2007 awards are now available for nominations. You can nominate someone online and details of the awards can be found here .

Restrictions: you must be a SIOP member, an APA member, an APS member, or sponsored by one of these professional organizations to nominate someone. All nominees must be SIOP members except for the Katzell Media Award .

'nother example of our profession giving some props to individuals but I'd sure like to see some employer awards .