Darany Associates
Public Sector Selections Solutions

Selection Thoughts

 

Welcome to PSST.  This is a space where we share thoughts that we have gained by having the privilege of working for and with many of those who helped to shape our profession, such as our founder, Ted Darany.  If you read Ted’s biography (provided in the "Our Founder" section on this site), you will note that he worked for State and Federal agencies during the critical development period following passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  During that time, he was instrumental in founding professional organizations that continue to serve as vital resources to practitioners. He was a true advocate of the value and importance of sound selection, instilling in us a love of our profession and a passion for pursuing excellence in it.  Through his teaching and his encouragement of professional involvement, we have had the opportunity to learn from so many of those brilliant, dedicated people who were "in the room" so to speak as much of our profession was taking shape.

Whether you are new to selection, a seasoned professional, or someone who fits into the wide range of selection program customers, it is our hope that these brief insights will provide perspective and, perhaps, even inspiration.  In the end, it is our objective to promote and preserve the ideas and values that have shaped our profession.  Using Ted’s own words from a presentation to the Personnel Testing Council of Arizona in 2006, "We have the best story around.  We need to discover and develop the best ways to tell it."

This is our effort to preserve and continue the story.  The acronym "PSST" was chosen for two reasons.  First, it reflects the idea that the power of sound selection tends to remain one of the "best kept secrets" and we need to pass it on.  Also, Ted loved acronyms.  Much of his work (WRIB, DELPOE, DELFE, . . .) has an acronym associated with it.  Rumor has it that he would sometimes start with the acronym and then come up with words to fit.  We had some pretty lively discussions as some of them evolved since they occasionally took humorous (and less printable) turns.  Thus, it is in keeping with Ted’s spirit and his dedication to public sector selection that we offer PSST.

Note: The PSST offerings are written by Darany Associate, Kristine Smith with input and insight from fellow associates, Christie Jacques and Jennifer French. If you’d like to comment on the content or suggest ideas for future topics, please contact Kristine at ksmith@daranyassociates.com.

 
 
 
 

PSST #1 - Why Test? Part 1: Fairness

During the course of his career, our founder, Ted Darany, was often asked to address assessment-related groups across the country.  Though the topics were varied, Ted often found a way to work his favorite question (and response) into the content:  Why Test?  We "associates" have fond memories of trying to guess at what point in each presentation the "Why Test?" slide would appear.  We always understood his intention was to reinforce the idea that every facet of the selection process should be founded upon the purpose-defining question "Why are we doing this?"  Ted’s response to the question always included the concepts of merit, public accountability, and return on investment.

We’ll start with merit.  As selection practitioners, we are always intrigued by the work performed by others.  Every job can be connected to some important purpose.  This is, of course, also true of our jobs.  As selection specialists, we sit at the nexus of organizations, jobs, and people, with the meaningful purpose of creating a qualified and competent public work force.  However, a unique distinction of our work is that, beyond an important purpose, it is founded upon a concept that embodies an essential social and community value - fairness.  While purpose tends to be a universal job component, work that is rooted in a crucial societal value is much less so.

While fairness may seem elusive or ill-defined in many settings, we have the good fortune to work in a profession in which the concept is essentially in our DNA.   Fair and equitable treatment of candidates and decisions based upon valid assessment of job-related qualifications lie at the heart of everything we do.  The regulations, guidelines, court decisions, and science behind sound assessment are all intended to maximize the validity, and hence, fairness of public sector selection processes. Whenever we feel bogged down by rules, procedures, or structure, it is essential that we remind ourselves of this fundamental reason for them.  When deciding what should be changed and what should be retained in our processes, the impact on validity and fairness is the North Star that should guide us.

In the next entry we’ll continue the "Why Test" discussion.

Darany Associates