Industrial and organizational psychology and its impact on the recruitment of talent

 

Industrial and organizational psychology is a psychological branch that makes a study of the manner that human psychology and behavior have an effect on work as well as the way that they work. It considers the organizational, industrial and human factors and seeks to make sure that there is the promotion of a scenario where there is the description of job requirements and the assessment of individuals for their ability to ensure that they meet the requirements (Drewery et al., 2016; Jaidi et al., 2011). Moreover, when employees are hired, industrial psychology studies and undertakes the development of means through which to evaluate, train, and respond to a diversity of evaluations. Organizational psychology is mainly interested in the way that relationships among employees end up affecting them as well as the performance of the organization. It seeks to make a study of employee motivation, satisfaction, and commitment to the organization. This paper seeks to make an analysis of the way that industrial and organizational psychology impacts the recruitment of talent.

One of the most important aspects of industrial and organizational psychologists is to ensure that there is the selection of individuals who can fulfill various roles within the organization. This is done through the placement of employees that have been hired by the organization in tasks that are a good match in order to ensure that there is the accomplishment of organizational goals (Carlson et al., 2002; Glushko, 2017). Furthermore, there is the promotion of a scenario where there is the careful assessment of employees in order to ensure that they are placed in positions that are not only a match, but where they are most competent. In order to accomplish the process of selecting and placement of employees, a diversity of procedures are undertaken by industrial and organizational psychologists, including job analysis, personnel assessment, criterion development and validation (Slaughter et al., 2006). This is done as a means of making sure that there is the creation of an environment within which employee satisfaction and motivation allows for the attainment of organizational goals.

Industrial and organizational psychologists take part in job analysis, which involves the study of job requirements. This is a process that involves a description of the responsibilities and duties of the individual that is supposed to hold the job (Cascio, 1995). Moreover, this process goes beyond a description of tasks, and it also seeks to describe the characteristics essential for the successful accomplishment of the job involved. It is necessary to make sure that there is the advancement of a scenario where there is the understanding of the nature of the job prior to any attempt to make the selection and placement process. In addition, job analyses are necessary for guiding career development and training programs, as well as the development of systems of compensation (Phan & Johnsen, 2020). An understanding of the nature of jobs and the links that they have to a diversity of job functions can be significantly enhanced through the role that psychologists play in explaining them to employees.

In addition, industrial and organizational psychologists promote personnel assessments, which involve the assessment of the characteristics of individuals as a means of matching them with jobs within the organization. This process requires that the psychologists involved select methods for the assessment of job-relevant individuals’ characteristics that possess acceptable properties for reliability and validity, as well as being appropriate for the characteristics under assessment (Behling, 1998). The industrial-organizational psychologist has to ensure that he has the relevant knowledge of tests that have been standardized in addition to the way to make an evaluation and construction of tests. Standardized measures such as assessment centers, situational interviews, and biographical data, among other measures should be used as a means of measuring individual differences. In the end, it is the ethical, legal, and professional responsibility of the psychologist to ensure that there is the development of assessment procedures that are not only valid, but also reliable. Moreover, there should be a process where there is no unfair discrimination against particular groups of individuals (Aycan, 2000; Gilliland, 1993).

Industrial-organizational psychology can also be used in criterion development, which comes about once employees are on the job. Once employees have been given the job, it is often necessary to ensure that they are assessed, and the ways to do this is undertaken by industrial-organizational psychologists (Bergman & Jean, 2016; Shoenfelt et al., 2020). It is a process that requires that there is the identification of the job outcomes and behaviors that are relevant when it comes to the attainment of effective job-role accomplishment. It further ensures that there is the development of ways to ensure that there is the assessment of the reliability and validity of the identified dimensions. This process is significant because it ensures that there is the enhancement of means through which to promote the effectiveness of the employees in their jobs through the assessment of the various ways that they can achieve this goal (Mandelke et al., 2016). It allows for the accomplishment of the much needed angle of bringing about an enhancement of a greater connection between employees and the jobs that they are supposed to accomplish following getting hired.

The final step that industrial-organizational psychologists have to undertake in the selection and placement process is validation. In this step, they have to undertake the evaluation of the fit between the characteristics of individuals that were used for selection, and the effectiveness that these individuals have in the tasks that they have been given (Ryan & Tippins, 2004). This is a highly complex process that involves determining the competency of employees for the tasks that they have to undertake within the organization. There is the enhancement of the process of bringing about a scenario where those individuals that have been recruited by the organization are assessed for their effectiveness in addition to their competence for the tasks that they have been given. It is also a necessary process when it comes to ensuring that only the most competent individuals are a part of the workforce, so that employees can be matched to their positions in a way that considerably enhances organizational effectiveness (Brannick, 2014). It is also an opportunity to find out whether the individuals that have been recruited are suited to their tasks and whether the right decision was made in their hiring.

The discussion above has undertaken an analysis of industrial and organizational psychology and the way that it impacts talent. It has shown the processes that industrial and organizational psychology is directly involved in including job analysis, personnel assessment, criterion development and validation, and how these processes are undertaken. Therefore, industrial and organizational psychology plays a prominent role in the recruitment of talent for the organization and it provides means through which to ensure that the right workers are matched for the right tasks.