Take a chance on me
As part of ensuring recruitment complied with Equality,Diversity and Inclusion(EDI) policies HR departments tighten up on processes removing managers discretion and so hopefully removing unconscious bias ( or in some cases conscious bias) along side a standardised Job Description (JD) was an HR approved Person Specification (PS). CV’s were replaced by application forms. Shortlisting was a case of reviewing the application form against the PS ( essential criteria) .No longer could you invite an applicant for interview on the bases of an interesting CV or a “good” application form. This resulted in some very restrictive PS’s around experience and qualifications. Such as “ must have at least 3 years experience at this level” “ must have a professional background ground in this field , “ must have a degree” “ must have a specific professional qualification.” The unintended consequences of this ridged application of the PS-essential criteria was to arbitrarily exclude some potential very good applicants. When there were a lot of talented people applying for posts this was not seen as a problem but now the competition is fierce employers need to be more open to non traditional candidates.
Many organisation have recognised the need to be agile, able to make changes quickly and smoothly in order to remain competitive. As such they have placed increasing emphases on transferable skills across the workforce. Expectations of managers have also changed managers are expected to have Emotional Intelligence(EI) in order to deliver a compassionate management style that supports corporate initiatives around Wellbeing, Engagement and Inclusion. Coupled with fierce completition for talent and it’s obvious organisations need to spread their recruitment nets wider. From an HR perspective this means reviewing how we advertise posts, how we construct JD’s how we adapt PS’s and how we use candidate information in the selection process.
A quick check list
Retain application forms in preference to CV’s but give more weight to section on supporting evidence related to JD /job applied for.
Avoid specifying length of experience but focus on breadth - what candidates has leant, skills, knowledge how these can be applied to the post
Challenge /justify the need for a professional qualification
Interpreter words such as “ relevant” very broadly.
Place more emphases on Values and look for evidence that the candidate is in tune with the organisations corporate values and beliefs.
Consider recruiting for the organisation , as opposed to a specific post. After appointed decides which post/team would be most beneficial.
Evidence of relevant experience doesn’t have to be restricted the work situations. Hobbies, community involvement, family life /carer can all provide evidence of skills, knowledge and experience which are relevant to post.
Take a risk - recruit is not a precise science but playing safe will exclude the non traditional candidate.
Case example
Local Authorites can be very traditional in their recruitment practices and the Registrars service is no exception managers are routinely appointed from within the service.
Recently a shoe shop manager was appointed to a management post in the Registrars service much to the disapproval of some colleagues who felt the individual's lack of a professional back ground in the service should have disqualified them. "What will they know about the service and the procedures?" It was apparent that these colleagues did not give as much value to experience of, hitting income targets, managing a large staff group, operating a seven day a week service, dealing with customer complaints, and dealing with building maintenance and security as did the interview panel.
Blair Mcpherson former director author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
