A Validity Study of an Operational Pre-Hire Assessment Process for Professional, Managerial, Technical Personnel

Research concerning the validity of various procedures for assessing managerial potential is reviewed. It is found that several assessment techniques are valid for identifying and/or predicting potential and that a combination of techniques usually accounts for a significantly greater amount of criterion variance than does a single assessment procedure used alone. The lack of research concerning the use of multiplecomponent assessment techniques for the selection of individual job applicants for lower-level managerial positions is pointed out. The present study concerns itself with an operational individual assessment program designed to identify and select from among experienced job applicants those individuals exhibiting greater supervisory and/or managerial potential. It\u27s objectives are to examine the merits of this process from the organization\u27s point of view and to assess the relative values of the separate components utilized in the process, namely clinical ratings and objective tests. The results tend to support the ratings, though no significant correlations were found. Weaknesses in the criterion are pointed out and it is suggested that both the assessment process and the performance appraisal procedure be revised