IMPACT OF VALID SELECTION PROCEDURES ON WORK-FORCE PRODUCTIVITY

Used decision theoretic equations to estimate the impact of the Programmer Aptitude Test (PAT) on productivity if used to select new computer programers for 1 yr in the federal government and the national economy. A newly developed technique was used to estimate the standard deviation of the dollar value of employee job performance, which in the past has been the most difficult and expensive item of required information. For the federal government and the US economy separately, results are presented for different selection ratios and for different assumed values for the validity of previously used selection procedures. The impact of the PAT on programmer productivity was substantial for all combinations of assumptions. Results support the conclusion that hundreds of millions of dollars in increased productivity could be realized by increasing the validity of selection decisions in this occupation. Similarities between computer programers and other occupations are discussed. It is concluded that the impact of valid selection procedures on work-force productivity is considerably greater than most personnel psychologists have believed. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1979 American Psychological Association.