EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF SELECTION PRACTICES ON SUBSEQUENT EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT By Sofia Rodriguez Christopher J. L. Cunningham Michael D. Biderman UC Foundation Professor of Psychology Professor of Psychology (Chair) (Committee Member) Brian J. O’Leary Department Head and Associate Professor of Psychology (Committee Member) EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF SELECTION PRACTICES ON SUBSEQUENT EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT By Sofia Rodriguez A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Master of Science: Psychology The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee May 2017 ii Copyright © 2017 By Sofia Nicole Rodriguez All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Employee engagement is often defined as the vigor, dedication, and absorption one feels about and/or displays within their job. It has long been asserted that engagement is highest for employees who “fit” better with their work. Applicants determine their anticipated levels of fit throughout the selection process. Therefore, it is crucial that the information organizations provide will allow applicants to make accurate assumptions of fit to increase the probability that the vacancy will be filled by an applicant best suited for the position. This study was designed to identify if the practices used during organizations’ selection processes influence the accuracy of employees’ anticipated person-job and person-organization fit, and employees’ ultimate levels of engagement. This mediation model was not supported when including covariates; however, the accuracy of person-job fit perceptions was nearly significant as a mediator between applicants’ perceived information-richness of the selection process and their subsequent engagement on the job. iv DEDICATION I would like to dedicate my thesis to my parents, Patricia and James Rodriguez, for their unwavering support and continuous encouragement to further my education and achieve my goals. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout this process. Specifically, I would like to thank my thesis chair, Dr. Chris Cunningham, for his guidance, support, and dedication to seeing me succeed. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Michael Biderman and Dr. Brian O’Leary, for providing feedback and helping to make my thesis a better product. Lastly, I would like to thank my family and friends for the immense amount of support they have provided. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................ iv DEDICATION ..................................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................. x LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................. xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................. xii LIST OF SYMBOLS ........................................................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 Employee Engagement ..................................................................................... 4 Constructs Similar to Engagement ............................................................ 6 Organization-level Antecedents to Engagement ...................................... 7 Person-level Antecedents to Engagement ............................................... 8 Selection Practices and Processes .................................................................. 10 Information-gathering Selection Practices ............................................. 13 Information-giving Selection Practices ................................................... 14 Job-fit and the Selection Process .................................................................... 15 The Present Study ........................................................................................... 16 II. PILOT STUDY METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 22 Participants ..................................................................................................... 22 Procedure ....................................................................................................... 22 Materials ......................................................................................................... 23 III. PILOT STUDY RESULTS .............................................................................................. 25 vii IV. PILOT STUDY DISCUSSION......................................................................................... 30 V. MAIN STUDY METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 31 Participants ..................................................................................................... 31 Recruitment ............................................................................................ 31 Sample .................................................................................................... 33 Design ............................................................................................................. 34 Measures ........................................................................................................ 34 Employee Engagement ........................................................................... 35 Selection Process .................................................................................... 35 Person-job Fit .......................................................................................... 36 Person-organization Fit ........................................................................... 37 Job Satisfaction ....................................................................................... 38 Affective Commitment............................................................................ 39 Demographics ......................................................................................... 39 Procedure ....................................................................................................... 40 VI. MAIN STUDY RESULTS .............................................................................................. 42 Descriptive Statistics ....................................................................................... 42 Hypothesis Testing .......................................................................................... 46 Hypothesis 1 ........................................................................................... 46 Hypothesis 2 ........................................................................................... 48 Hypothesis 3 ........................................................................................... 49 VII. MAIN STUDY DISCUSSION ......................................................................................... 56 Exploratory Analyses ...................................................................................... 63 Other Selection Practices Experienced ................................................... 63 Impact of Number of Selection Practices Experienced .......................... 63 Behavioral Engagement .......................................................................... 64 Implications .................................................................................................... 66 Limitations and Future Research .................................................................... 67 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 68 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................... 70 viii APPENDIX A. EEOC/SIOP COMMON SELECTION PRACTICES AND ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES ..... 74 B. PILOT STUDY SURVEY ........................................................................................................ 80 C. RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES TO IDENTIFY RECENT HIRES ................................................. 95 D. MAIN STUDY SURVEY ........................................................................................................ 98 VITA .............................................................................................................................................. 129 ix LIST OF TABLES 1 Classification of the most common selection procedures as information- giving or information-gathering and the extent that they identify rich, job-relevant information .................................................................................................. 18 2 M (SD) of selection practice ratings as information-gathering and information- giving ............................................................................................................................. 26 3 M (SD) of selection