Question

Project Title: Development of pre-employment selection testing for entry-level Retail Salespersons in retail clothing stores.

Scope of Project: The entry-level Retail Salesperson position is responsible for selling the popular “Big Turtle” clothing and merchandise at their retail stores. There are approximately 50 retail stores located throughout the Southeast region, employing over 600 Retail Salespersons. Currently, turnover for this title is averaging 50% annually. Big Turtle Clothiers, Inc. (BTC) also anticipates opening 10 new stores per year for the next 5 years. The starting pay scale for Retail Salespersons ranges from $9.50 to $11.00 per hour, depending on the location, with health benefits provided after 6 months of employment. Retail Salespersons also receive a 15% discount on all “Big Turtle” clothing and merchandise. At present, there is no formal pre-employment selection testing for this job title. Candidates are screened using application forms developed by the individual stores, with preference given to candidates with prior retail or customer-service experience. BTC would like to standardize this process, to use the same testing process for Retail Salespersons throughout all current and future stores. It is also very important that the selection system be legally defensible against charges of discrimination. BTC is also concerned about problems with shrinkage in their retail stores.

Information Requested: Please prepare a report with the following information, along with rationales for each decision: • Initial task-KSA linkage, based on O*NET job analysis information • Job analysis process proposed—method(s) of job analysis chosen, number and job titles of SMEs required, and geographic locations of SMEs • Preliminary recommendations of selection tests (e.g., paper-and-pencil ability or personality tests, interviews, simulations, etc.) for use in this job title, linked to O*NET tasks/KSAs, and evidence of reliability/validity • Validation strategy recommended for each test—criterion-related (predictive or concurrent) and/or content validation, with number of individuals required for the study o How the tests assess the job-relevant KSAs • Test administration order and method for combining test information (e.g., multiple hurdle, multiple regression, etc.)

Project Start and End Dates: Big Turtle Clothiers, Inc. would like to begin this project in June of 2018 and preferably complete it by December of 2018. Decisions about bidders will be made in May of 2018.

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Outline

Proposal for Big Turtle Clothiers, Inc.

1)      Brief overview of Big Turtle Clothiers

a)      Mention some of the relevant statistics and information about BTC from the RFP

i)        Focus on how this information might be relevant to the selection system

ii)      Consider what issue(s) BTC is facing that a selection system might solve

2)      Initial Task-KSA Linkage for the Job of Retail Salesperson

a)      List 5-7 important tasks for this job(from O*NET)

b)      Identify the most relevant KSAs needed for each task for this job (also from O*NET)

c)      Link the tasks and KSAs together in an initial task-KSA linkage (you can create a table or matrix showing how they link

3)      Job Analysis

a)      Methods of Job Analysis

i)        Which method(s) do you propose to use—interviews, questionnaires, observation, focus groups, etc.?

ii)      How many Subject Matter Experts are needed to participate in each method?

(1)   Where are those SMEs from (# of stores, #of states, etc.)?

(2)   How many of the SMEs will be supervisors, incumbents, and/or other SMEs?

4)      Initial Test Recommendations

a)      Briefly describe each selection test you think might be useful and why

i)        Link these test choices back to the important KSAs from O*NET that you listed in the task-KSA linkage earlier

(1)   In other words, you will pick tests to measure important KSAs—what tests will be used to measure what KSAs?

ii)      Indicate prior evidence of reliability and validity, or validity generalization evidence for these tests

iii)    You can look for tests and test publishers from various sources (see pp. 83-88 in the textbook, especially Tables 3.3 & 3.4)

b)      Also look at consulting firms’ information, such as: https://www.panpowered.com/take-a-tour/catalog/

Answer 1

solution-

1.(a) (i)“Big Turtle” clothing and merchandise at their retail stores.Big Turtle Clothiers, Inc. (BTC) also anticipates opening 10 new stores per year for the next 5 years. The starting pay scale for Retail Salespersons ranges from $9.50 to $11.00 per hour, depending on the location, with health benefits provided after 6 months of employment. Retail Salespersons also receive a 15% discount on all “Big Turtle” clothing and merchandise.\

1.(a)(ii)At present, there is no formal pre-employment selection testing for this job title. Candidates are screened using application forms developed by the individual stores, with preference given to candidates with prior retail or customer-service experience. BTC would like to standardize this process, to use the same testing process for Retail Salespersons throughout all current and future stores. It is also very important that the selection system be legally defensible against charges of discrimination. BTC is also concerned about problems with shrinkage in their retail stores.

2.(a)(.i)O*NET job analysis information. (ii)Job analysis process proposed. (iii)Method(s) of job analysis chosen.(iv)Number and job titles of SMEs required.(v)Geographic locations of SMEs.

2.(b)Preliminary recommendations of selection tests (e.g., paper-and-pencil ability or personality tests, interviews, simulations, etc.) for use in this job title, linked to O*NET tasks/KSAs, and evidence of reliability/validity.Validation strategy recommended for each test—criterion-related (predictive or concurrent) and/or content validation, with number of individuals required for the study o How the tests assess the job-relevant KSAs.Test administration order and method for combining test information (e.g., multiple hurdle, multiple regression, etc.).

2.(c)Development of pre-employment selection testing for entry-level Retail Salespersons in retail clothing stores.

3.(a)(i) The following are the methods of Job Analysis( one aspect):

(i)To interview the incumbents and also to the supervisors

(ii)To use questionnaires may be in the form of structured, open-ended, or may be both.

(ii) To do the observation, as may be required

(iv) To gather background information.

Amongst the above methods,already mentioned, perhaps the obsevation method, is the best beacuse, it takes into account the real life situation.

3.(a)(ii)Subject Matter Experts are needed to participate in each method, depends on case to case basis.

(1)SMEs may be from stores,states, etc.

(2) Number of SMEs, depends on case to case basis, no defined rule.