This meta-analysis investigated the relationships between person‐job (PJ), person‐organization (PO), person‐group, and person‐supervisor fit with preentry (applicant attraction, job acceptance, intent to hire, job offer) and postentry individual-level criteria (attitudes, performance, withdrawal behaviors, strain, tenure). A search of published articles, conference presentations, dissertations, and working papers yielded 172 usable studies with 836 effect sizes. Nearly all of the credibility intervals did not include 0, indicating the broad generalizability of the relationships across situations. Various ways in which fit was conceptualized and measured, as well as issues of study design, were examined as moderators to these relationships in studies of PJ and PO fit. Interrelationships between the various types of fit are also meta-analyzed. 25 studies using polynomial regression as an analytic technique are reviewed separately, because of their unique approach to assessing fit. Broad themes emerging from the results are discussed to generate the implications for future research on fit.

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Consequences of individuals' fit at work: a meta-analysis of person-job, person-organization, person-group, and person-supervisor fit

A quantitative review of the relationship between person–organization fit and behavioral outcomes

Because measures of person-organization (P-O) fit are accountable to the same psychometric and legal standards used for other employment tests when they are used for personnel decision making, the authors assessed the criterion-related validity of P-O fit as a predictor of job performance and turnover. Meta-analyses resulted in estimated true criterion-related validities of .15 (k = 36, N = 5,377) for P-O fit as a predictor of job performance and .24 (k = 8, N = 2,476) as a predictor of turnover, compared with a stronger effect of .31 (k = 109, N = 108,328) for the more commonly studied relation between P-O fit and work attitudes. In contrast to the relations between P-O fit and work attitudes, the lower 95% credibility values for the job performance and turnover relations included zero. In addition, P-O fit's relations with job performance and turnover were partially mediated by work attitudes. Potential concerns pertaining to the use of P-O fit in employment decision making are discussed in light of these results.

The use of person-organization fit in employment decision making: an assessment of its criterion-related validity.

Person–environment fit.

Explaining educational influences on attitudes toward homosexual relations

The Omnia Profile[R] is a popular tool used by organizations throughout New Zealand to assess job applicants' person-organization fit (P-O fit), person-job fit (P-J fit), and overall compatibility in personnel selection. Despite its popularity, however, this selection instrument has received virtually no prior research attention. The present study investigated the criterion-related validity of the Omnia Profile[R] using three criterion variables (job performance, job satisfaction and organisational commitment). It was carried out using a predictive validity strategy in two private-sector organizations (one in New Zealand and one in Australia). Results indicated that, contrary to expectation, the P-O fit measure correlated significantly with job performance, but not with attitudinal measures; and the P-J fit measure correlated significantly with both job satisfaction and organisational commitment, but not job performance. Combined overall compatibility scores failed to predict job performance (as used in practice), though they did predict attitudinal criteria. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. Organisations are using new selection methods in the interest of avoiding the increased cost and time in dismissing employees unfit for the position. Increasingly, firms are basing their selection decisions on standardized techniques and tests that practitioners believe will aid them in selecting the best person for the position and for the company. In the present study, we test the criterion related validity of the Omnia Profile[R], a popular selection instrument that assesses applicants' `fit', based on measures of both person-job fit (P-J fit) and person-organization fit (P-O fit). The Omnia Profile[R] is reported to be a widely used fit measure for staff selection in New Zealand and Australia.(1) The test's distributor, The Omnia Group Inc., have indicated that, to date, the Omnia Profile[R] is used by over 10,500 client organizations in 20 countries (The Omnia Group Inc., 1987). The Omnia Group (NZ) Ltd reported that, in Australasia, the profile is regularly used as part of a standardized selection process by 150 organizations. In what follows, we review P-J and P-O fit literature germane to personnel selection instrumentation, and then review theoretical antecedents of the Omnia Profile[R] instrument. P-J Fit and P-O Fit The investigation of person-job fit has been a central concern in organisational research extending back 50 years. In a major review of person-job fit literature, Edwards (1991) came to the conclusion that the vast majority of empirical P-J fit research has focused on the fit between employee desires (i.e., the person side of the fit index) and job supplies (i.e., the job side of the fit index). With a few exceptions, most studies reviewed showed consistent positive relationship between P-J fit and work attitudes such as job satisfaction and organisational commitment (Dawis & Lofquist, 1984; Holland 1997; Locke, 1976; Tziner, 1987). The relationship of P-J fit with job performance has been less consistent, with a mixture of positive (Caldwell & O'Reilly, 1990; Tziner, 1987), and negative results (London & Klimoski, 1975; Porter & Lawler, 1968). Many researchers have suggested that it is imperative to take into account the organization as a whole (including the organization's culture, climate, goals, etc.) and how the candidate will fit within it (Barrett, 1995; Bowen, Ledford, & Nathan, 1991; Chatman, 1989; Kristof, 1996; O'Reilly, Chatman & Caldwell, 1991). For instance, Bowen et. al (1991) have argued that selecting people whose personalities are compatible with the organisational culture creates a flexible workforce with employees who can be moved easily between jobs. In a major review of person-organisation fit literature, Kristof (1996) came to the conclusion that empirical results supporting positive consequences for P-O fit predicting job satisfaction and organisational commitment was extensive (Boxx, Odom, & Dunn, 1991; Chatman, 1991; O'Reilly, Chatman & Caldwell, 1991). …

Criterion-Related Validity of a Measure of Person-Job and Person-Organization Fit

Interviews were conducted with representatives from 100 randomly-selected organisations with 200 or more employees, and 30 recruitment consultancies in New Zealand in order to determine current personnel selection practices, how those practices have changed over recent years, and respondents' beliefs about the predictive validity of alternative selection procedures. In comparison to a parallel survey conducted in the early 1990's (Taylor, Mills & O'Driscoll, 1993), results demonstrate a substantial increase in the use of psychological tests, greater standardization/structure of selection procedures and linking of selection methods to pre-determined job competencies. Areas where practice-research gaps in personnel selection continue are discussed in terms of both how practitioners could better apply research findings and how research could better respond to practitioner needs. ********** One of the fundamental applications of organisational psychology, both in New Zealand and overseas, has been the development, implementation, and evaluation of methods for staff selection. While this aspect of organisational psychology has been a rich area of research for over 70 years, there has been a proliferation of personnel selection theory and research over the past 15 years. The extent to which selection research is able to improve organisations' ability to better match people and jobs-ultimately to improve staff members' productivity, tenure and job satisfaction-is dependent on whether findings are adopted by practitioners. The identification of research-practice gaps is important to determine both areas of research which require further dissemination to practitioners, and areas of practice which can be improved through the application of research. This paper reports on two surveys of selection practices in New Zealand, one of relatively large organisations (employing 200 or more staff) and the other of recruitment consultancies. These surveys follow up on two, parallel surveys conducted in 1991 and reported in the New Zealand Journal of Psychology (Taylor, Mills & O'Driscoll, 1993), with the aim of identifying changes that may have occurred in organisations' and consultancies' selection practices in the intervening years. Recent Influences on Selection Practices in New Zealand A few factors are likely to have led to recent changes in staff selection practices in New Zealand over the past decade. These include: (1) a proliferation of selection research; (2) improved dissemination of research findings to recruitment practitioners; (3) greater accessibility of occupational tests; and (4) changes in employment-related legislation. We provide a brief review of these influences below. Proliferation of selection research. Starting in the mid-1980's, there has been a resurgence of interest in selection research. Major organisational psychology journals, such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and the Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, regularly publish research on personnel selection methods, and even journals with broader scopes than organisational psychology (e.g., Psychological Bulletin, Human Performance, Journal of Organizational Behavior) have recently included articles reporting selection research. Much of the recent staff selection research is applicable to recruitment practice. For example, personality research has recently focused on particular, job-relevant personality traits, primarily the Five-Factor model, though also other job-oriented traits, such as integrity, proactivity and customer service orientation. Large scale meta-analyses of the validity of personality tests in occupational settings (e.g., Barrick & Mount, 1991; Tett, Jackson & Rothstein, 1991) have now demonstrated that measures of particular job-related personality constructs are able to predict important aspects of job performance, and in the case of conscientiousness and integrity, personality can make incremental contributions to validity beyond cognitive ability test scores (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). …

Evolving Personnel Selection Practices in New Zealand Organisations and Recruitment Firms

Given the widespread use of cognitive ability tests for employment selection in New Zealand, and overseas evidence of substantial ethnic group differences in cognitive ability test scores, a study was conducted to examine the extent to which cognitive test score distributions differ as a function of ethnicity within a New Zealand sample. An examination of 157 Maori and 82 European verbal and numeric ability test scores from within a New Zealand government organisation revealed sizeable and statistically significant mean differences between the two ethnic groups on two of three cognitive tests evaluated. Specifically, Maori scored, on average, 0.55 standard deviations lower than European applicants on a measure of verbal reasoning, and 1.79 standard deviations lower on a measure of numerical business analysis. No mean difference was observed between ethnic groups for a test of general numeric reasoning. In light of these substantial differences on two of the three tests, we discuss strategies that organisations using cognitive tests can employ to minimize adverse impact on Maori applicants, as well as further research that is needed. ********** Many organisations in New Zealand strive to achieve multiple objectives with their personnel selection procedures, including maximizing both predictive validity and selection utility (i.e., cost effectiveness), as well as achieving and maintaining an ethnically diverse workforce. These goals, however, can conflict, such that selection methods that achieve one goal (e.g., predictive validity) work against another goal (e.g., diversity). Overseas research suggests that a cognitive ability test is such an example of a selection method that supports one goal at the expense of another (Huffcutt & Roth, 1998; Roth, Bevier, Bobko, Switzer & Tyler, 2001). Cognitive ability tests have been found to be one of the most valid forms of predicting future job performance for a wide range of jobs (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). For this reason, some authors have suggested that abandoning their use in employment decisions would result in a substantial sacrifice in workforce productivity (Gottfredson, 1994; Hunter & Hunter, 1984). Indeed, Schmidt and Hunter (1998) have argued that, since cognitive ability tests have such high predictive validities, other selection methods should simply be considered as adding incremental validity to the selection decision once the cognitive ability of the candidate has been assessed, implying that cognitive ability testing should be a major component of a thorough selection practice for many jobs. While more recent reviews of the validity of alternative selection methods suggest that, when estimates of range restriction and criterion reliability are standardized across studies, structured employment interviews are at least as valid (Robertson & Smith, 2001), if not slightly more valid (Hermelin & Robertson, 2001) than cognitive ability tests, cognitive ability tests clearly remain one of the more valid predictors of job performance. Cognitive ability tests play a prominent role in the personnel selection systems of many organisations both overseas and in New Zealand. In a recent survey of selection practices within 100 randomly selected New Zealand organisations and 30 recruitment firms, Taylor, Keelty and McDonnell (2002) found that almost one-half of the organisations sampled use cognitive ability tests for selecting managerial personnel--over twice the proportion used a decade ago (Taylor, Mills & O'Driscoll, 1993)--and that almost two-thirds of recruitment firms use cognitive tests in selection. In fact, the use of cognitive tests in personnel selection is now greater in New Zealand than in many other countries, according to a recent cross-national survey of staff selection practices in 18 countries. This survey found that the prevalence of cognitive ability test use in New Zealand was greater than all but three other countries (Ryan, McFarland, Baron & Page, 1999). …

Paul Taylor

Papers

Criterion-Related Validity of a Measure of Person-Job and Person-Organization Fit

Evolving Personnel Selection Practices in New Zealand Organisations and Recruitment Firms

Ethnic Group Differences in Cognitive Ability Test Scores within a New Zealand Applicant Sample