Faculty & Research
How to Compare Apples to Oranges: Balancing Internal Candidates' Job-Performance Data with External Candidates' Selection-Test Results
By: Robin A. Cheramie, Luke H. Cashen and Michael C. Sturman Ph.D.
Executive Summary: It has been widely accepted that past performance is a good predictor of future performance. The exact strength of that relationship, however, has been unclear. Knowing the predictive power of past performance on future performance is particularly important for employers who make hiring decisions based in part on internal candidates' performance record. Generally, some of the internal candidates' performance would be measured at different points of time (e.g., 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months ago). Others under consideration will be external candidates, whose employment information is derived from selection devices such as structured interviews and intelligence tests. This paper uses a metaby analysis to examine 20 previously published studies on the stability of job performance over time. It provides an estimate of the relationship between existing performance measures and future performance, and models the nature of this relationship as a function of the elapsed time between measures. The findings show conclusively that, in general, past performance is, indeed, a good predictor of future performance for a variety of job types (i.e., exempt, nonexempt, and those that are evaluated subjectively). Using a hypothetical selection scenario, this report also demonstrates how that information can be used to compare multiple internal and external candidates.
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- How to Compare Apples to Oranges: Balancing Internal Candidates' Job-Performance Data with External Candidates' Selection-Test Results By: Robin A. Cheramie, Luke H. Cashen and Michael C. Sturman Ph.D.
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About Michael C. Sturman Ph.D.
Michael C. Sturman teaches undergraduate, graduate and executive education courses on human resource management, compensation and cost-benefit analysis. His research focuses on the prediction of individual job performance over time, the influence of compensation systems, and the impact of human resource management on organizational performance. He has published research articles in such journals as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Personnel Psychology, and Journal of Management. He has also published practitioner papers in the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Lodging Magazine, Lodging HR, A.A.H.O.A. Hospitality , HR.Com, and The American Compensation Association Journal. Sturman is the Kenneth and Marjorie Blanchard Professor of Human Resources. He holds a PhD, MS, and BS from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and is a Senior Professional of Human Resources as certified by the Society for Human Resource Management.
For more information visit http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/facultybios/faculty.html?id=96
