A new TOPSIS-based multi-criteria approach to personnel selection

Selection of qualified human resources is a key success factor for an organization. The complexity and importance of the problem call for analytical methods rather than intuitive decisions. The aim of this paper is to support adequately the decision making process. The steps of fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) are considered, incorporating a new concept for the ranking of the alternatives. This is based on the veto threshold, a critical characteristic of the main outranking methods. The ultimate decision criterion is not the similarity to the ideal solution but the distance of the alternatives from the veto set by the decision makers. Additionally, a real life application on the selection of a top management team member shows the practical implications. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.