Clear definitions of essential terms in human resources and people science.
Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 The statistical link between a selection tool and job performance, expressed as a validity coefficient — the primary evidence for whether a hiring tool is worth using.
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Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 The GDPR applies to employment references because they contain personal data about identifiable individuals — requiring a lawful basis, transparency, and respect for data subject rights.
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Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 Multi-source feedback collects evaluations from multiple perspectives — supervisors, peers, direct reports — to build a more complete and accurate picture of workplace behavior.
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Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 Credential portability is the ability for a professional credential to travel with the individual across employers, industries, and borders, with independent verification.
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Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 Rater training teaches evaluators how to make more accurate and consistent ratings, with frame-of-reference (FOR) training being the most effective approach.
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Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 The halo effect is a cognitive bias where an overall impression of someone colors how you evaluate them on every specific trait, reducing differentiation in reference ratings.
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Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 A behavioral observation scale (BOS) is a rating format that asks evaluators to assess how frequently a person exhibits specific, observable work behaviors rather than making global judgments.
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Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 Content validity is the extent to which an assessment measures what it is supposed to measure — whether its items represent the knowledge, skills, and behaviors required for the job.
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Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 Leniency bias is the tendency for raters to assign scores that are higher than actual performance warrants, making it difficult to distinguish between truly exceptional and merely adequate performers.
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Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 Psychometric validity is the degree to which a measurement tool actually measures what it claims to measure and whether the conclusions drawn from its scores are supported by evidence.
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Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 Employment verification confirms factual details like job title and dates. A reference check evaluates how someone performed, their strengths, and workplace behavior.
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Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 360-degree feedback is a structured process where an employee receives performance evaluations from multiple perspectives — supervisor, peers, direct reports, and sometimes clients.
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Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 Negligent hiring is a legal doctrine holding employers liable for harm caused by an employee when the employer failed to exercise reasonable care in the hiring process.
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Johnathen Evans-Guilbault March 11, 2026 A standardized assessment is any evaluation where every person is given the same items, under the same conditions, and scored using the same criteria.
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