Although preemployment medical examinations are prohibited, such examinations are permitted once an employment offer is made and prior to commencement of the job. An employer could therefore make a job offer contingent on successful completion of the physical. However, questions about whether the person has a disability, and the nature and severity of the disability, are prohibited.
An Issue of Integrating Diversity
It should come as little surprise that the United States is becoming more diverse. According to the US. Census Bureau, one-half of the U.S. Population will be African American, Hispanic American, Native American, and Asian American by 2050, and the median age of the U.S. population is projected to rise from the current 36 years to 39 years by 2010. While these statistics suggest significant changes in the future U.S. workforce, future problems could emerge as some comp find it difficult to integrate and utilize a truly heterogeneous workforce at all levels in the organization. Companies that attempt to address diversity issues by meeting hiring quotas are unlikely to be successful. Changes must be made in the way corporations work. Although the solutions are not clear, some of the problems companies grappling with include the following:
- Identifying and eliminating discrimination in hiring and managing people based on ethnicity, age, and gender.
- Developing creative ways to encourage productive people to stay in the workforce longer by offering part-time, flexible schedules and retraining to upgrade skills.
- Recognizing the concerns of men and women with different family structures and family responsibilities by addressing the issue of family care.
It is important for corporate America to address these concerns because, unless employee differences are taken into account, companies may be unable to attract a sufficient number of qualified people to meet their needs Another reason is that the markets for products are becoming more diverse, and it is necessary to have an in-depth understanding of those markets that may be facilitated by employee diversity. As a result, managers are faced with a number of challenges in leading newly diversified sales organizations to optimal performance. Not only are we faced with challenges at home, but throughout this text there are examples of how global companies must recognize and adjust to cultural differences in other countries.
VALIDATING THE HIRING PROCESS
The last step in the hiring process involves validating the relationship between the selection criteria used by the firm and job success. Validation is generally most useful in large samples criteria used by the firm and job where information is collected on the progress of sales personel and is fed back into the system to modify the factors considered in the hiring process. Validation requires that managers specify exactly what distinguishes top performers from poor performers.
A new insurance salesperson, for instance, might have to meet the following criteria by the end of the first year of work: sales premiums of $120m: renewal of policies at a rate of 60 percent or more; and submitting orders, reports, and paperwork that are legible, accurate, and timely. Those who achieve the standard will be examined carefully to what common traits they share. The common traits of those who fail to meet the see also be examined to determine differences. The objective of the validation process is to build a profile of the successful performer that can be used to select additional salespeople.