Introduction to Special Issue: Role of Technology in Shaping the Future of Staffing and Assessment

The nature of work has changed over the years (Viswesvaran, Sinangil, Ones, & Anderson, 2001). One of the major determinants of this change is the technology employed in organizations. Economic and business models have changed over centuries as technological changes are introduced. In fact, from agricultural societies to industrial and post-industrial societies, technological changes (some may call it advances) have played a role in how we live and make meaning in our lives. The science and practice of industrial, work, and organizational (IWO) psychology, as with any other profession, has been influenced by technological changes. Technological advances have profoundly influenced different areas of our science and practice (cf. Howard, 1996), the least of which is the science and practice of staffing and assessment. The people make the place (Schneider, 1987), and as such staffing is a critical activity for organizations. Assessments for staffing and for related developmental activities (e.g., designing training programs, performance appraisal) play a critical role in our science and practice. Thus, investigating the role of technological advances in the future of staffing and assessment is an important endeavor. Further, given the rapid changes in technology in the recent years, a special issue on this topic is timely. Technological advances have given us several new avenues for assessment and to tailor assessments to specific needs (e.g., web-based assessments, computer adaptive testing, work simulations, accommodating individuals with disabilities). All aspects of staffing and assessment, including recruitment, selection, performance evaluation, etc., have been influenced by technological advances. Furthermore, increasingly, technological trends reverberate globally. The wide spread influence of technological advances is accentuated by its ever increasing power as well as easy accessibility and user-friendliness. All types of organizations (different industries/occupations, small or large organizations) are affected by these technological advances. Of the technological advances, perhaps the introduction of computers and related technology has had the most profound impact on the science and practice of personnel staffing and selection. Whether it is job analysis or recruitment or selection or performance appraisal or needs assessment, science and practice in IWO psychology is changing. Consider some examples. In many settings, job analysis is being automated and large-scale databases are starting to link job characteristics and knowledge, skill, ability and psychological requirements of jobs. Recruitment has seen a tectonic change with the use of web sites and otherweb-based searchmechanisms either replacing or seriously rivaling the use of traditional sources of recruitment. While voluminous research has focused on traditional recruitment sources, research efforts are needed to assess the potential of web-based recruitment. Computerized and adaptive testing have sprouted over the past few years. Investigations of measurement equivalence and psychometric properties of new testing media are increasingly being addressed. Technological impact on performance evaluation systems, needs assessment, and training design are yet largely unexplored. The promise of optimal aptitude by instruction interactions can at last be realized with the new technologies. The impact and implications of technology on assessment of attitudes, surveys, and privacy issues are all areas ripe for investigation. In light of these developments, the International Journal of Selection and Assessment is proud to present this special issue featuring the cutting edge research on the role of technology in staffing and assessment. In this introduction, I will first provide a summary overview of the fifteen papers that comprise this special issue. In the second section, I discuss six themes that pervade the papers included here. Finally, I end with special thanks and acknowledgements to several individuals who made this issue possible.