By now you will have advertised your vacancy and along with the recruitment panel, you need to plan how you will go about selecting the right candidate for your vacancy.
As a panel, you must decide which key criteria will be assessed as part of the shortleeting process and also as part of the interview process itself.
Methods of Selection
As a panel, you must decide on the methods of selection to be used to fill the vacancy to ensure you hire the best candidate for the post. The interview can be complemented by other carefully selected techniques which may include video questions, presentations, psychometric assessments, group exercises, assessment centres, case studies or in-tray exercises.
There is no “one-size fits all” solution to selection and you should choose the combination of selection methods most appropriate for the role. By doing this there is a better chance of getting it right first time.
Shortleeting
All required documents e.g. shortleeting forms, job description and employee specification, can be found on the recruitment portal in the attachments tab/hyperlinks. Each member of the panel should complete a shortleeting form (found here). The form is split into two sections – one for the essential criteria and one for the desirable criteria and each panel member should list the criteria on the form using the employee specification. Each panel member should assess each applicant against each requirement and record his or her individual view on the form.
Each applicant will be assessed against the essential criteria and you should only score the desirable criteria if you have too many applicants meeting the essential criteria.
However, applicants who apply under the ‘Guaranteed Job Interview Scheme’ by indicating they have a disability or are part of one of our supported employment programmes must be invited to attend for interview if they meet all the essential criteria. On Talentlink, these candidates will be identified by a score of 1000 (disability) or 2000 (supported employment). The panel should then compare notes, discuss and agree on the criteria each application meets. The interview request form (found here) should be completed listing the selected candidates for interview and returned with the panel’s shortleeting forms.
Applicants who are not invited to interview are entitled to request feedback from the Chair of the recruitment panel.
To support you when assessing a candidate’s work experience, the information below outlines the job evaluation definitions:
Minimal – Approximately 6 months, however might vary from 1 month to 1 year
Some – Approximately 1 year, however may be vary from 6 months to 2 years
Moderate experience – Approximately 2 years, however may vary from 1 to 3 years
Extended experience – Approximately 3 years, however may vary from 2 to 4 years
Significant experience – Approximately 4 years, however may vary from 3 to 5 years
Considerable experience – Approximately 5 years, however may vary from 4 to 6 years
Substantial experience – Generally but not always more than 5 years, however in practice might be as much as 7 years
Extensive experience – Generally more than 7 years’ experience, however could be as much as 10 years
Interviews
In line with the Recruitment policy, at least one of the panel members for interview and preferably the chair, should have undergone recruitment and selection training. If not, the recruitment team may suggest this is completed prior to the interviews taking place. To book yourself onto a course, visit the training section in mySelf.
Candidates will be notified electronically via the recruitment portal if they have been successful in gaining an interview, after which they can then select an appropriate interview date/time from the slots available, if applicable. An interview arrangements email is sent to the Chair of the panel with instructions and guidance on how to access all documents necessary to conduct the interviews.
Further guidance on conducting virtual interviews can be found here.
At interview, it will be the responsibility of the Chair of the panel to:
- Check that the candidates have provided evidence of the original certificates of qualifications relevant to the post.
- Check entitlement to work in the UK. Appropriate evidence for the candidate to provide is either a current British passport OR a document with their name and National Insurance number AND their birth certificate (original documents only). If documents have different names, the candidate must provide proof of the reason for the change of name e.g. marriage certificate.
Copies of the original evidence for the successful candidate(s) must be endorsed and sent to the Recruitment Team with the contract offer form.
If the successful candidate has not produced evidence of entitlement to work in the UK at interview, they should arrange to provide the original documents for endorsement by a member of the interview panel, in person, at a later date for subsequent scanning to the Recruitment Team.
In line with the terms of the Equality Act 2010, job applicants will not be asked to complete a health questionnaire or undergo a medical examination, until a job offer has been made to them. A job offer can be conditional subject to receipt of satisfactory medical information. Individuals self-assessed as having a disability will be subject to the same review process. However, the Council has a duty to consider any reasonable adjustments to facilitate employment.
Interview assessment forms should be completed by all panel members detailing comments and justification for scoring. All assessment forms should be signed by the panel. The interview assessments should only be returned for the successful candidate(s) along with: the interview assessment control form, contract offer, evidence of entitlement to work in the UK and qualifications (if appropriate).
All interview assessments and associated recruitment documentation for the unsuccessful candidates should be retained by the interview panel in line with retention schedules and destroyed after 6 months.
Unsuccessful candidates will be notified of the outcome electronically via recruitment portal and are entitled to request feedback from the Chair of the recruitment panel.
Selection Decision
Interviewers should individually score each applicant at the end of each interview. Following the interviews, the recruitment panel must assess, based on the evidence provided, which of the applicants is the best match, and who was most able to demonstrate the required behaviours, skills and experience for the vacant post. The panel should try to reach a collective decision on the basis of the evidence presented by each applicant.
Where more than one applicant is appointable, you can consider a second stage to the process such as a second interview or another method of assessment.
If no applicants meets the job criteria the post should not be filled at this stage. The post should be re-advertised.
Feedback
Feedback can help applicants identify development areas to improve their suitability in the future. It may also reassure the applicant that your decision was fair. The purpose of the feedback is not to debate the recruitment decision made. Where you are asked for feedback you should take time to carefully consider the key points and ensure that these are related to the role profile.
Complaints
Giving feedback may help you to avoid any recruitment complaints.
The Council has in place a Complaints Procedure available to any applicant at any stage of the recruitment process to pursue a complaint related to the recruitment process.
There is no “one-size fits all” solution to selection and you should chose the combination of selection methods most appropriate for the role. By doing this there is a better chance of getting it right first time.
See below for additional guidance on the selection process.