Karen Lowry, manager of a social service agency in a midsized city in Illinois, loved to see her employees learn and grow to their full potential. When a rare opening for a supervising clerk occurred, Karen quickly decided to give Charlotte Hines a shot at the job. Charlotte had been with the agency for 17 years and had shown herself to be a true leader. Charlotte worked hard at being a good supervisor, just as she had always worked hard at being a top-notch clerk. She paid attention to the human aspects of employee problems and introduced modern management techniques that strengthened the entire agency.

However, the Civil Service Board decided that a promotional exam should be given to fi nd a permanent placement for the supervising clerk position. For the sake of fairness, the exam was an open competition— anyone, even a new employee, could sign up and take it. The board wanted the candidate with the highest score to get the job but allowed Karen, as manager of the agency, to have the final say-so. 

Because she had accepted the provisional opening and proved herself on the job, Charlotte was upset that the entire clerical force was deemed qualified to take the test. When the results came back, she was devastated. Charlotte placed twelfth in the field of candidates while one of her newly hired clerks placed first. The Civil Service Board, impressed by the high score, is urging Karen to give the new clerk the permanent supervisory job. Karen wonders whether it is fair to base her decision only on the results of a written test.

What Would You Do?

1. Ignore the test. Charlotte has proved herself and deserves the job.

2. Give the job to the candidate with the highest score. You don’t need to make enemies on the Civil Service Board, and, after all, it is an objective way to select a permanent placement.

3. Devise a more comprehensive set of selection criteria—including test results as well as supervisory experience, ability to motivate employees, and knowledge of agency procedures—that can be explained and justified to the board and to employees.