2. The legal framework

In terms of the legal requirements in South Africa, such as the Labour Relations act and also the Employment Equity act, any selection process must be fair. Fairness in personnel selection can be defined according to three different dimensions, i.e. a Legal, Scientific and Societal dimension.

From a legal perspective, the Employment Equity Act, (act 55 of 1998)  Section 8 of the act prohibits ?psychological testing and other similar assessments? unless it has been sufficiently shown to be valid and reliable; can be applied fairly to all employees and is not biased against any employee or group. (Government Gazette, no 19370 1998, p. 16).

It is common cause that a selection procedure and (selection) tools of measurement (e.g. tests) must meet certain scientific requirements for it to be fair.  Principles of objectively, reliability and validity are really the foundations on which a fair selection process is built. This is the golden thread that should run through the process of determining discriminators and criteria, constructing evaluation batteries, administering tests and evaluating results.

Remember ? it is incumbent on the employer to proof that the process is fair, in terms of the legal requirements of the country.

A proper selection process will consist of the following process phases:

• Job Ananlysis and candidate description phase: During this phase the specific requirements for the job, and the ?ideal? candidate is described. What are the most important characteristics that the incumbent must possess to be successful? The predictors & discriminators are determined and described. Attributes such as skills, knowledge, experience, personality traits, and physical characteristics are determined. A selection process cannot be ethical and fair without a proper analysis of the position to be filled. A job analysis provides a deeper understanding of the individual?s job and the behavioural requirements. It is a requirement for the definition of a fair person specifications as well as critical success factors for the job, in terms of skills, knowledge, attitude, academic qualifications. It is here where the requirements for ?making the short list are established?. In this regard it could be incumbent upon the employer to prove that he has not set requirements to exclude certain designated groups and that the requirements are really job related. Tests or selection instruments can, according to the Society for Industrial Psychology, not be identified until the jobs have been studied and possible requirements identified. (Society for Industrial Psychology). The fact that a proper, valid job analysis will result in the definition of the requirements of the job and the identification of the correct discriminators and success criteria that can be objectively assessed, makes this step an important requirement for an ethical and fair selection process. Discriminators are those attributes that will qualify the candidate for selection. Discriminators such as educational requirements, technical skills, and years of experience help the selection agent narrow the field of applicants. 

• Assessment phase: During this phase, the assessment instruments, such as work sample tests, psychometric tests, interview structure, and assesment procedures are decided upon. The information on pre-determined categories (such as skills, knowledge, attitudes, personality attributes) of the candidate(s) is gathered, with the aid of specific ?tools? such as interviews, psychometric evaluation, reference checking, background investigation, work sample tests, honesty testing, and the like.

• Analysis, interpretation, and weighing phase: During this phase the gathered information, from the applicant(s), is standardized, interpreted, weighed, normalized, and transformed into measurable, compatible units. Meaningful, comparable profiles of the candidates are compiled.

• Matching phase. During this phase the person profiles are matched with the job profile and also ranked in terms of the required profile. There is no clear demarcation between this phase and the previous one. This matching process of candidates against pre-determined criteria already starts during the digestion phase by means of ?progressive elimination?, also known as multiple hurdle selection. Candidates are ranked and eliminated during each step of the selection process. This is also the ?discrimination? phase whereby a distinction is made between candidates, based on their performance on the selection process. It also includes a final decision to hire or not to hire a candidate.

• Feedback phase. During this phase the results of the process is compiled in a report and communicated to various stakeholders such as the candidates (those selected and those rejected), and the employer. Remember, selection results is highly confidential information, and must not be dissemiated to third party.

NB: The employer must obtain consent from any