Abercrombie & Fitch - Essay Example

Analysis of employment assessment tools utilised at Abercrombie & Fitch BY YOU YOUR ACADEMIC ORGANISATION HERE YOUR HERE HERE Table of Contents Executive Summary 1.0 Introduction……………………………………………………………………… 4 2.0 Sales environment and assessment issues……………………………………….. 5 3.0 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………. 10 4.0 Recommendations………………………………………………………………. 12 References Executive Summary Abercrombie & Fitch is a mid-level retailer specialising in fashion and accessories targeted at the youth consumer. The business has positioned itself as a luxury brand without the price tag associated with upscale luxury apparel. The company currently utilises a single assessment variety which the firm has labeled as the Communications Competence assessment, designed to measure several personality-based characteristics. There are flaws in the company’s view regarding the current validity of their chosen assessment template as the business leadership does not recognise that the company’s current selection process is not congruent with job role expectations. Strengths associated with Abercrombie & Fitch assessment procedures are highlighted as well as recommendations for improvements in the company’s selection process. The use of a single Communications Competence testing instrument is a standardised testing template, regulated by a highly centralised human resources heirarchy. There is no room for flexibility or adaptation of current assessment instruments or policies and the company is routinely audited for compliance to assessment methods. This creates an environment in which the company is using assessment tests that are not congruent to finding the appropriate employee for Abercrombie & Fitch. Abercrombie & Fitch has experienced high levels of negative publicity in recent years for alleged unethical hiring practices related to youth, beauty and exclusivity. However, these corporate beliefs are part of the business’ organisational culture and are the criteria utilised to determine job role candidacy. In a business environment where personality is a key factor in whether a candidate fits the culture, the company requires a reexamination of existing selection efforts. Analysis of employment assessment tools utilised at Abercrombie & Fitch 1.0 Introduction Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is a mid-level clothing retailer which has positioned itself as an upscale fashion house catering to unique perceptions of youth, beauty and exclusivity. The company carries a wide variety of somewhat-provocative fashions, unique, politically incorrect apparel as well as traditional outerwear (Case Study, 2007). The company’s main competitors are other mid-level retailers both domestically and within the company’s international sales divisions such as Burberry or The Gap. The company currently utilises one form of psychometric testing in the firm’s selection processes. A&F maintains one of the most unique HR models in today’s retail as the business’ focus on exclusivity is at the heart of the company’s recruitment and selection policies. The company’s business structure operates with bricks-and-mortar stores which are run, in many ways, like fashionable day clubs with loud, contemporary music and attractive, youthful men and women serving as greeters and in-store sales representatives. One senior executive of the company even insisted that only certain individuals deserved to wear A&F brands (Annual Report, 2005). This suggests a company culture that is driven by youth and attractiveness which permeates into the senior levels of administration. It is a product of the company’s positioning tactics as a luxury-minded, exclusive club environment where the culture was created. Elements of this culture are evident in the company’s assessment tools and the level of sophistication of A&F’s assessment tools for selection. Psychometric testing is based on the notion that certain individuals are well-suited for various job roles based largely on their psychological profile (Ashley, 1998). However, reliability and validity are missing elements in the A&F selection and assessment processes. This was evident as business representatives did not indicate advanced knowledge of various assessment procedures and their intended purposes. Weaknesses existed in interpreting results and the extent of personality which the current A&F assessment could provide. This report provides a critical analysis of the assessments currently in place at Abercrombie & Fitch in relation to hiring practices in the role of sales floor manager. Additionally, procedural strengths and weaknesses of A&F testing administration will be highlighted allowing for a series of improvement recommendations to be proposed creating a more efficient Abercrombie & Fitch assessment model. 2.0 Sales environment and assessment issues The in-store hierarchy at Abercrombie & Fitch consists of the sales floor associate, an intermediate supervisory role, a sales floor manager with the progression to the in-store human resources supervisor (for most sales floor areas). The role of the sales floor manager is to ensure subordinate activities are coordinated appropriately as linked to sales volume expectations and scheduling capabilities related to budget. The sales floor manager’s more interactive business responsibilities involve holding daily/weekly staff meetings, delivering training as dictated by human resources, and general management of sales floor activities. These include the more mundane such as stock replenishment and electronic sales entry through more complex interaction in a leadership capacity. It appears that A&F maintains a very rigidly-controlled series of standardised activities for each member of the selling staff and managerial staff and is centralised from the company’s headquarters. Corporate human resource policy, for example, is coordinated at the highest levels of the business and is not individualised for the company’s various divisions. This does not offer the sales floor manager (or their HR colleague) to adapt recruitment and selection materials/activities as required by the business. Several commentaries about the reliability and overall approval of the assessment materials currently in use at A&F hinted toward dissatisfaction company-wide. However, without HQ approval, A&F representatives are required to use the templates and testing instruments provided by the senior business division. The staff frustration over this was quite evident. Abercrombie & Fitch uses a corporate testing assessment which the business has labeled the Communication Competence tool. The template is that of a personality-based assessment designed to measure the candidates’ abilities to effectively discuss managerial issues and to socialise effectively. A 1-5 scale indicates the level by which the candidate agrees with the statement as to whether the phrase given befits their unique personality construct. The objective of the assessment is to determine whether an individual illustrates specific, desired communications characteristics which make them an appropriate fit for the Abercrombie & Fitch organisational culture. The responses given will correspond to a particular number which is appropriate as the desired answer and compares it to the respondents answer. For instance, question two might be a highly desired characteristic whilst the respondent dismissed the characteristic. If a trend is observed, the individual may not be the proper fit for the business’ long-term management philosophy of exclusivity and upscale socialisation. The difficulty of assessing A&F’s approach to employment testing lies in the fact that this is the only standardised screening instrument utilised to determine potential job role candidacy. Outside of the corporate-regulated series of interview questions, which are standardised for both domestic and overseas divisions, this is the only viable psychometric testing conducted by the firm. The company had tried, a few years prior, to adopt a wider variety of testing instruments but found difficulty in getting staff certified in administration and senior leadership felt it too costly to the business model so these efforts were scrapped. The Communication Competence test is administered as a first-round initiative in the selection process during the initial, brief interview. Once the test has been assessed, along with a review of attached CV or other appropriate items, the potential employee either becomes a candidate for the business or they are not considered. However limited this might appear, this is the order of selection events desired by the corporate headquarters. Corporate headquarters conducts random audits of different divisions to measure internal compliance so HR must not be flexible in testing administration or addition of materials. One human resources professional describes the psychometric test as a “standardised measure of a clearly defined human attribute” (Hackston, 2007). When utilised appropriately and for the appropriate job role, psychometric tests are viable selection instruments. The key term applied to this definition is the word clearly, which is a failure in the assessment tool at A&F. The Communication Competence assessment tool is used to determine whether an individual maintains communication abilities which are most befitting the role of sales floor manager. However, amidst an environment where upscale exclusivity are at the forefront of the culture, the questions utilised on the testing instrument are not proportionate to situations which would be experienced in-store at A&F. The company’s testing instrument appears to reflect more on the individual’s capability to assess their social environment but speaks less as to what might constitute an appropriate response to hypothetical in-store or social situations. The previous assessment is supported by Lyons (2008) who suggests that psychometric evaluations are only quality research tools to measure personality-based characteristics when they are structured appropriately. Though it would seem that communication skills would be important in a managerial role, the testing instrument is not suited for an accurate determination of the candidates’ fit for the business role. Barnes (2008) reinforces that today’s companies are much more conservative when it comes to selection techniques as companies want individuals who are able to fit in, from a personality perspective, even more than job-related competency expectations. Because the exclusive culture exists at Abercrombie & Fitch at all levels of the business, finding someone with this same youth-minded and upscale mentality would seem like an appropriate business goal. For a company with such unorthodox recruitment and selection criteria, the research instrument cannot provide with any measurable accuracy whether the individual will fit into the A&F company culture. This is somewhat justified by the staff recognition that turnover rates had been increasingly high in 2008. Sappal (2005) offers that companies use psychometric testing for succession planning; determining who is most viable for a job promotion. A&F maintains a promote-from-within policy (when appropriate), so it would stand to reason that a company who recognises the importance of some form of psychometric testing might also consider succession planning issues as well when hiring for a management position. However, after careful review of the A&F Communication Competence assessment, clearly succession planning is not something which could be considered as part of the selection process with any measurable reliability based on the current assessment system in place. A&F further indicated that the business believed that the current Communication Competence form could somewhat-accurately measure emotional intelligence in terms of linking emotion to complex thought. The business felt that the questions provided could potentially illustrate behavioral actions based on emotional responses to social situations. Christie, Jordan, Troth & Lawrence (2007) suggest that motivation is a factor closely linked to emotional intelligence. This professional viewpoint regarding the link between motivation and emotional intelligence serves to somewhat refute the validity of A&F’s belief in the Communication Competence assessment as an emotional intelligence measurement tool. The questions provided do not point toward motivation only response to various social situations. The fact that the business hierarchy believed that the Communication Competence was sufficient for emotional intelligence testing illustrated a clear lack of understanding regarding psychometric testing importance and scope. Three professionals offer that efforts to develop sound psychometric tests have created outcomes ranging from the “absurd to the hopeful” (Scroggins, Thomas & Morris, 2008: 186). In the case of A&F’s reliance on the Communications Competence testing instrument as a valid personality measurement tool is, too, absurd and somewhat hopeful. This might clearly indicate a need for extensive human resources assessment training company-wide, starting at the highest levels of business leadership. A&F identified that the additional assessment functions they consider in the selection process included issues such as the personal smile, the candidate’s educational background, their punctuality, and speech patterns as a means to justify employment compared to the Communications Competence assessment. Interestingly, Edenborough (2005) offers that these assessments cannot help individuals come to conclusions about long-term, predictive behavior patterns which is why formal questioning is developed to assist in selection. From yet another professional viewpoint, the Communications Competence assessment in conjunction with a brief character assessment are not valid psychometric instruments to measure the ability to fit within the organisational culture or job role expectation. People Management (2003) offer that socialisation is an important element of the selection process, offering a strength to the current assessment in use at Abercrombie & Fitch. The Communications Competence test does serve to measure potential responses to social situations and measures whether the job candidate is aware of their actions and how their own behaviours impact others. These are important elements of the social environment which adds small-scale validity to the chosen selection process. If the employment candidate clearly indicates an extroverted type of thinking, they will likely not be a quality candidate for the A&F culture. 3.0 Conclusion High turnover rates could likely explain why Abercrombie & Fitch could benefit from an assessment of the business’ current psychometric testing instruments. The Communications Competence assessment is not practical to the needs of the business and is not constructed in a fashion which outlines the unique A&F sales and management environment. There are weaknesses in analysis of the testing instrument as well as understanding the specific human characteristics which it is supposed to measure. This illustrates weaknesses both in corporate human resource strategy and in the entire selection process. The highest levels of the business appear to pride the company on its exclusive-minded culture and reinforces this routinely. With a trickle-down culture based on these personality criteria, clearly the Communications Competence assessment is an inferior testing instrument and requires modification. Further, it would appear that the majority of the report’s highlighted recommendations would require the decentralisation of the HR division. There is clearly a need for more appropriate consultation between corporate HR and the sales floor environment leadership regarding administration and analysis of the test. Administerers of the test do not accurately understand the specific attributes it is designed to measure and are attempting to apply the instrument’s functionality as a measure of more complex behavioural patterns. In somewhat of an anything goes selection environment, instinct appears to have become the norm over that of rational measurement based on solid analysis tools. This represents a problem with how human resources is coordinated within Abercrombie & Fitch and should be considered as a primary improvement effort in relation to creating sound selection techniques and policies. In order to identify which candidate would be the most appropriate choice for long-term benefit to A&F, the Communications Competence tool is inferior as a part of quality human resource strategy. It provides none of the personality-based assessment which appears to be required of A&F selection expectations other than an ability to communicate effectively and assess the social environment. However, with the idea that instinct is an element of analysis at the company, the assessment tool is likely being utilised incorrectly in nearly every administrative and selection situation and is leading to unqualified candidates who do not fit the attitude and culture of Abercrombie & Fitch. The fact that the business understands the benefit of psychometric testing is a positive aspect of existing HR as it relies on something other than staff perceptions as a tool for determining an appropriate employee fit. Issues of bias in this type of selection process already exist in most situations and would only increase if the Communications Competence assessment were to simply be eliminated from the selection process. Clearly, A&F requires improvement to existing hiring policy. 4.0 Recommendations The fact that A&F desires to measure personality-based characteristics to determine proper organisational fit would indicate a company which might benefit from a more appropriate testing variety. Fatt (2002) categorises the different psychometric tests available to include intelligence, personality, achievement and aptitude and behavioural assessments. These characteristics would be highly desirable in an environment where the sales environment is dynamic and upscale requiring an adaptive personality. One recommended testing instrument which would be appropriate for A&F is the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, consisting of 70 questions designed to determine whether an individual is introverted or extroverted, as well as judgmental or supportive (keirsey.com, 2008). This testing instrument has been used by millions of people across the globe to measure individual characteristics, which would serve to indicate its success. Having a standardised system which measures personality and behavior simultaneously is more appropriate for A&F needs and can provide a standardised system of measurement by which selection decisions can be made. Currently, the majority of analysis of the Communications Competence assessment appears to come from personal intuition more than an answer key. Additionally, another testing instrument which would be appropriate for A&F is the Kolbe Wisdom which measures areas of individual instinct and predicts leadership qualities. The Kolbe system has an 82 percent success rate in matching the right person for the right job (Wiley, 2008: 11). This psychometric testing instrument is a strong assessment of both behavioural tendencies and personality, two important characteristics of determination for A&F. This testing variety is administered with a standardised answer key which is appropriate within a firm where analysis relies strongly on instinct to measure total personality-related candidate competence. A further recommendation for improvement is to decentralise the human resources function so that selection procedures can be uniquely-tailoured in different business divisions at A&F. The corporate headquarters, with a somewhat misguided faith in their Communications Competence assessment as a valid psychometric tool for multiple characteristics measurement, might seek to adapt to a more flexible selection process and test a variety of different instruments to find one which reduces staff and manager turnover ratios. From virtually any perspective, a reduction in turnover based on a newly-implemented and accurate personality measurement system would speak volumes to the potential success rates of various psychometric tests. The company, despite its unified culture based on exclusivity, needs to have representatives in different divisions with the authority to modify or at least suggest modification improvements and have these taken seriously by headquarters. This could generate a greater pool of ideas by which to modify the existing Communications Competence template and create a new test based on the actual needs of the business. There are also implied issues of ethics in the current assessment methodology at Abercrombie & Fitch. Potential employees are only being assessed based on interview criteria and the Communications Competence assessment which fails to identify the wide variety of competencies that most candidates likely maintain. The company has experienced significant negative public relations outcomes from perceptions of unethical hiring policies (due to the controversial nature of their beauty and youth focus) all targeting their human resource policies (Case Study). When a company is already the target of public interest outcry, the development of an appropriate testing instrument as a means to justify the criteria used for selection would be an important risk control factor for the company. Incorporating different assessment types into A&F selection processes is the next logical step in HR evolution if the company is facing backlash for questionable hiring practices. Finally, the implementation of a tested Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire would be appropriate for A&F as a future HR objective as these tests can link emotion to action. Customising the assessment tool to include various in-store scenarios and choosing from a list of appropriate and desired solutions would provide insight into the candidates’ behavioral and emotional competences. The difficulty with such a testing instrument, however, lies in issues of reliability as an intelligent individual can likely observe a trend in the style of questioning and provide answers which they believe will appease the assessor. By providing an assessment which involves hypothetical business scenarios as part of the emotional intelligence test, this would provide the assessor to discuss why these scenarios were chosen during the interview process. Allowing the candidate to respond as justification for their responses will likely only serve to create a broader view of their entire personality make-up. References Ashley, Rod. (1998). Enhancing Your Employability: How to Improve Your Prospects of Achieving a Rewarding Career. Oxford, UK. How to Books, Ltd. Barnes, William. (2008). “If your face fits, you’ll get the job”. Financial Times, London. 10 Jan 2008: 20. Case Study. (2007). “Abercrombie & Fitch”. London College of Fashion. Retrieved 12 Oct 2008 from http://www.fashionforward.co.uk/articles/aber_fitch/0987.html. Christie, A., Jordan, P., Troth, A. & Lawrence, S. (2007). “Testing the links between emotional intelligence and motivation”. Journal of Management and Organization. Lyndfield. 13(3): 212-216. Edenborough, Robert. (2005). Assessment Methods in Recruitment, Selection & Performance: A Manager’s Guide to Psychometric Testing. Interviews and Assessment Centres, London. Kogan Page. Fatt, James Poon Teng. (2002). “The problem of ethics in psychological testing”. Management Research News. Patrington. 25(4): 12-19. Hackston, John. (2007). “Testing times”. Public Finance, London. 12 Jan 2007: S21. Keirsey.com. (2008). “The Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS-II)”. Retrieved 8 Nov 2008 from http://keirsey.com/aboutkts2.aspx. Lyons, Wendy. (2006). “Ability Testing”. The British Journal of Administrative Management. Orpington. Jun/Jul 2006: 23. Sappal, Pepi. (2005). “Top scorers”. People Management, London. 11(1): 38. Scroggins, W., Thomas, S. & Morris, J. (2008). “Psychological Testing in Personnel Selection, Part II: The Refinement of Methods and Standards in Employee Selection”. Public Personnel Management, Washington. 37(2): 185-199. Retrieved 8 Nov 2008 from ProQuest Database. Wiley, Sandra. (2008). “Improving Your Team Productivity Through Psychological Testing”. CPA Practice Management Forum. Riverwoods. 4(7): 11-15. Retrieved 8 Nov 2008 from ProQuest database. Appendices A: A&F Assessment Tool Read More