Recruitment Manual - Units 11 - Selection Assessment Guidance

UNIT 11

Recruitment Manual – step by step guide

SELECTION ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE

11.1 How should the Council assess all the candidates?

The justification for selecting the successful candidate as against all other candidates put through the selection assessment process needs to be fair and transparent in order to make the right appointment and, in case of challenge, the reasons for selection or not of all candidates clearly recorded. The selection decision should be based on the assessment made throughout the process and by the Selection Panel measuring candidates against the tasks required by the job description and person specification and the other candidates in order to make the right appointment for your Council.

The best way to do this is to enable all members on the Selection Panel to independently consider and record the assessment of each candidate through the interview and other parts of the selection process and then jointly make the comparisons between candidates and by using a Selection Interview Assessment Matrix of key factors to help reach your collective decision.

11.2 How should the Council handle the selection assessment process?

Firstly, you must be cautious of first impressions of the candidates and avoid making snap decisions. Selection decisions must not be influenced either by stereotypical racial or sexual profiles or prejudices generally. The selection decision must be based on the information gained during the whole selection assessment process which must be structured, fair and transparent and the decision reached on the basis of confirmation of the initial information gained at the short-listing stage, the interview outcomes and any test results used as part of the process.

Where a candidate with a disability is identified as best meeting the person specification, it is the Council’s responsibility to ensure that the needs of the employee and, where possible and practicable, any aids or adaptations are agreed and provided to allow him/her to carry out the duties of the job.

As explained above the use of a Selection Interview Assessment Matrix will assist in ensuring a fair and visible comparison is made between candidates and help justify the final decision. It is suggested that members of the Selection Panel make their own notes after each interview and mark each candidate on their individual Selection Interview Assessment Matrix. On completion of the interviews and assessment scores for each candidate, individual views of each member of the Selection Panel should be discussed jointly and individual assessments compared generally in order to reach agreement on the appointment usually of the highest scoring candidate.

The final marking and therefore decision of the Selection Panel should be recorded

for future reference in this way and the completed Matrix should be retained along with the application forms and any interview notes for all candidates so that they are available if the appointment is challenged by an unsuccessful candidate.

All candidates interviewed should be notified as quickly as possible of the decision

either verbally and/or in writing and the Council should be prepared to offer and give feedback, if requested, for the unsuccessful candidates.

In summary the use of the Selection Interview Assessment Matrix will assist in ensuring a fair approach and all interviewers must:-

·        complete a Matrix form for each candidate interviewed immediately after each interview

·        keep any additional notes from the interviews to support their views and ensure that a fair comparison can be made between candidates and reasons provided to justify the decision; and

·        compare and discuss the scores with the rest of the Selection Panel’s assessments and any test results when all candidates have been interviewed to reach a decision on the appointment.

11.3 Situations where there is no clear choice

You need to have agreed a process for dealing with this situation – in law a toss of a coin has been accepted as a fair way to decide but there are other ways namely:-

·        review the scores given to the individual candidates

·        call each candidate in and re-interview

·        set a new task or mini-project related to the job role

·        ask the candidates to consider one or more case studies and how they would deal with the scenarios

·        use a technical test if not already used.

11.4 Positive Action Provision

Where you have previously determined you are under-represented in certain categories such as sex or race you will need to consider the following when making a final selection decision.

In order to use positive action provisions in a tiebreaker situation, you must first establish that the candidates are of equal merit. If this is the case, then you may offer the appointment to the person representing the under-represented group.

However, you should ensure that any criteria do not indirectly discriminate against people who share a protected characteristic – for example, a requirement that staff must work shift patterns that mean they have to be on-call at certain fixed times might put women, who are more likely to be responsible for childcare issues, at a disproportionate disadvantage.

This would be unlawful indirect discrimination unless it could be shown that the need for these work patterns could be objectively justified. Employers must consider whether candidates are of equal merit in relation to the specific job or position they are applying for. While two candidates may be considered to be of equal merit for one particular post, the same two candidates might not be equally suitable for another job.

11.5 Specimen Selection Interview Assessment Matrix

The enclosed specimen Selection Interview Assessment Matrix for the post of Clerk to the Council at Appendix 11 (a) will achieve the aims set out above and should be completed for each candidate interviewed. The Matrix may be adapted as appropriate for your post, the Council’s priorities and/or workload. Whilst the Matrix is designed for the post of Clerk to the Council one is also enclosed for the post of Responsible Financial Officer at Appendix 11 (b) it may be revised and used for any post using other relevant assessment factors and values. Appendix 11 (c) sets out examples of how you can take the key factors in the job description and person specification and identify the appropriate methods of assessment.

11.6 Further Help

If you require training, help or any other assistance with your recruitment and selection processes or have any questions on anything in the Recruitment Manual please email your county association.

Updated November 2022