Validity of the ERI^® Screening System

When considering the use of a pre-employment screening system as part of your hiring process, it is essential that you review the validity of the systems you are considering. In simplest terms, validity refers to a system's accuracy in predicting the work behaviors that are of importance to you. Validity is determined using advanced statistical techniques. To ensure that validity studies conform to professionally-accepted standards, you should pay primary attention to those studies which have been published in professional journals.

The ERI^® System has undergone a comprehensive validation process. The ERI^® has been carefully validated and consistently cross-validated, using the criterion-related method. This method studies the relationship between use of the ERI^® and measures of an applicant's subsequent performance on the job. The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures describe this validation method as being closest to the "ideal". Because the various criteria used to validate the ERI^® are related to behavior in the context of actual job performance, the questionnaire has a high degree of job relatedness, and its use is quite consistent with business necessity.

Research published in professional journals consistently demonstrates the positive effects and cost savings associated with use of the ERI^® System. Use of the ERI^® has been associated with significant reductions in turnover, workplace accidents, terminations for cause, unauthorized absence, and inventory shrinkage.

Because applicants want to "put their best foot forward" when applying for a job, the ERI^® questionnaire was created and validated using a method which provides accurate results whether or not the applicant answers truthfully.

Reference Materials:

The following materials describe, in detail, some of the validation studies that have been conducted for the ERI.^® All of these materials are available from Bay State Psychological Associates.
 

• User's Manual for the Employee Reliability Inventory Screening System -Components of this booklet describe, in detail, the inital validation and cross-validation process for each of the seven scales. In addition, the manual contains detailed statistical norms for each of the seven scales. These are based on a broadly representative sample of over 60,000 job applicants from all regions of the country, representing all ten Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Divisions and a wide range of job categories.

 
• Reprints of studies published in professional journals - These reprints provide technical details and the results of statistical analyses, that have been used to further demonstrate the validity of the ERI^® in a wide variety of work settings.

 
• The Employee Reliability Inventory Screening System: Selected Research Summaries - This booklet describes, in "plain English", many of the validation studies that have been conducted using the ERI^® in "real-world" business settings, such as retail, hospitality, service, manufacturing, etc..