Recruitment and Selection assignment

Recruitment
Recruitment and talent management

General Career management and development Competencies Employer branding Induction Labour market Management development Online recruitment Retention of staff Selection methods

Revised August 2008

This factsheet gives introductory guidance. It:

provides advice to help improve the effectiveness and fairness of your recruitment process documents the stages of the recruitment and selection processes comments on the use of external recruitment services includes the CIPD viewpoint.

Having the right person, in the right place, at the right time, is crucial to organisational performance. Recruitment is a critical activity, not just for the HR team but also for line managers who are increasingly involved in the selection process. This factsheet gives outline guidance it doesnt replace legal advice. All those involved in recruitment activities should be aware of relevant legislation and the latest legal position on issues such as discrimination and the need to treat candidates fairly, asylum and immigration rules, data protection, and employing those with criminal records and anyone who will be working with children or vulnerable adults. Our other factsheets and research publications cover these topics (for example, our Research Insight Age and recruitment looks at how organisations are addressing recruitment in light of the age discrimination law which came into force in 2006).

Go to a list of our factsheets Go to our Age and recruitment report

CIPD members can find out more on the law from the Employment Law at Work area of our website.

Go to Employment Law at Work

The recruitment process

The figure below gives an overview of the main stages in good practice recruitment and selection.

Job analysis
Before recruiting for a new or existing position, it is important to invest time in gathering information about the nature of the job. This means thinking not only about the content (such as the tasks) making up the job, but also the jobs purpose, the outputs required by the job holder and how it fits into the organisations structure. It is also important to consider the skills and personal attributes needed to perform the role effectively. Ways to gather this objective information include observation of the job-holder, questionnaires, interviews or work diaries. Where a new role is being created the use of expert panels is particularly helpful. This analysis should form the basis of a job description and person specification/job profile.

Job description
The job description benefits the recruitment process by:

providing information to potential applicants and recruitment agencies who may be recruiting on your behalf acting as an aid in devising job advertisements and employment contracts, choosing selection techniques and, for example, when designing assessment activities and making decisions between candidates minimising the extent to which recruiters allow subjective judgements to creep into their decision-making, helping to ensure that people are selected fairly.

It can also be used to communicate expectations about performance to employees and managers to help ensure effective performance in the job.

Person specification/job profile

A person specification or job profile states the necessary and desirable criteria for selection. Increasingly such specifications are based on a set of competencies identified as necessary for the performance of the job. In general, specifications should include details of:

skills, aptitude, knowledge and experience qualifications (which should be only those necessary to do the job - unless candidates are recruited on the basis of future potential , for example graduates) personal qualities relevant to the job, such as ability to work as part of a team.

Competency frameworks may be substituted for job or person specifications but these should include an indication of roles and responsibilities. See our factsheet on competence and competency frameworks for more information.

Go to the Competence and competency frameworks factsheet

The person specification/job profile can then be used to inform the criteria you use to shortlist applicants.

Attracting applications
The first stage is to generate interest from candidates and there is a range of ways of doing this.

Internal methods
It is important not to forget the internal talent pool when recruiting. Providing opportunities for development and career progression increases employee engagement and retention and supports succession planning. Our factsheets on development planning and succession planning contain advice on these topics.

Go to the development planning factsheet Go to the succession planning factsheet

Some organisations operate an employee referral scheme. These schemes usually offer an incentive to existing employees to assist in the recruitment of family or friends and they have been growing in popularity over the last few years. But employers should not rely on schemes such as these at the expense of attracting a diverse workforce. see our factsheet on diversity for more information.

Go to the factsheet Diversity: an overview

External methods

There are many options available for generating interest from individuals outside the organisation. These include placing advertisements in trade press, newspapers, on commercial job boards and on your organisations websites. As the use of technology in recruitment increases, organisations are looking at how they can build databases or pools of ready candidates who they can draw on to slot into positions in the organisation as they arise, without the need to re-advertise. Some organisations have also tapped into virtual worlds such as Second Life to engage with candidates in a unique and powerful way, and are using social networking sites as a mechanism for targeting potential job-seekers. Although our latest recruitment, retention and turnover survey reveals that in reality the practice of these more advanced online methods are still in their infancy. See our factsheet on e-recruitment for more information.

Go to our e-recruitment factsheet Visit our recruitment surveys

Advertisements should be clear and indicate the:

outline requirements of the job necessary and the desirable criteria for job applicants (to limit the number of inappropriate applications received) nature of the organisations activities job location reward package job tenure (for example, contract length) details of how to apply.

Advertisements should be genuine and relate to a job that actually exists. They need to appeal to all sections of the community using positive visual images and wording.

External recruitment services

Many organisations make use of external providers to assist with their recruitment. Widely known in the industry as recruitment agencies or recruitment consultants, they offer employers a range of services - attracting candidates, managing candidate responses, screening and shortlisting, or running assessment centres on the employers behalf. One growing trend to help reduce costs and become more efficient is recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), which involves having one provider to co-ordinate all recruitment needs across agencies. In order to build and maintain effective working relationships with external providers, remember the following:

Examine the market carefully before selecting an agency or consultancy. Different services are provided by different agencies. It is important that an organisation selects an agency which reflects its aims and objectives and has experience of its labour market. Be clear about what is required from an agency. Provide a brief in writing, ensure it is fully understood and that all information given is current and accurate.

Always provide accurate, detailed and up-to-date job descriptions and/or person specifications/job profiles. Agree, in writing, the responsibilities of the agency and the organisation (for example, who will be responsible for checking qualifications or handling references). Agree the selection tools to be used and the criteria against which applicants will be selected from the initial approaches, to the short-list stage. Ensure these are consistent with the organisation's recruitment policy. Ensure equal opportunities standards are adhered to consistently and are in line with the requirements for in-house recruitment.

It is important that agencies develop a good understanding of the organisation and its requirements. To ensure the agency is meeting the good practice requirements set out in this factsheet and adding value to the organisations recruitment activity, it is essential that they monitor agency performance. Those employers and agencies committed to collaborative partnerships are more likely to achieve positive results. See our productive partnerships guide on the relationship between HR and recruitment agencies for more advice.

Go to our guide on relationships between HR and recruitment agencies

Other ways to attract applications include building links with local colleges/universities, working with the jobcentre and holding open days.

Managing the application process

There are two main formats in which applications are likely to be received: the curriculum vitae (CV) or the application form. It is possible that these could be submitted either on paper or electronically and the use of e-applications (Internet, intranet and email) is now part of mainstream recruitment practices. See our factsheet on e-recruitment for more information.

Go to our factsheet on e-recruitment

As the use of technology in recruitment increases, organisations are looking at how they can build databases or pools of ready candidates who they can draw on to slot into positions in the organisation as they arise, without the need to re-advertise.

Application forms
Application forms allow for information to be presented in a consistent format, and therefore make it easier to collect information from job applicants in a systematic way and assess objectively the candidates suitability for the job. A typical application form includes questions on basic biographical information, previous work experience, educational background and work-related training. For any particular job, it can be helpful to tailor the design of the organisations general application form as it is unlikely the recruiter will want the same kind of information from a customer services assistant as, say, a senior manager. This also gives employers the opportunity to ask some more involved questions, for example questions which link with the competencies required for the job.

Application forms can also be used to collect sensitive information, for example a candidate's medical history and for equal opportunities monitoring. Any such information should be used only for this purpose and be kept separate from information on which selection decisions will be based (for example using a separate piece of paper or detachable slip from the main application form). Application form design is also important - a poorly designed application form can mean applications from some good candidates are overlooked, or that candidates are put off applying. For example, devoting lots of space to present employment disadvantages a candidate who is not currently working. Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, it may be necessary to offer application forms in different formats. Application forms should:

use clear language be piloted for readability and ease of completion be realistic and appropriate to the level of the job not request detailed personal information unless relevant to the job state the procedure for taking up references, how these will be used and at what stage in the recruitment process they will be taken be accompanied by details of the job and clear information about the application and selection procedure enable you to draw up a short list of candidates provide a source of information to draw on in the interview help track how applicants found out about the position to enable a review of the effectiveness of recruitment methods used provide a store of information about good but unsuccessful candidates that can be filed (either in hard copy or electronically) for future use.

CVs
The advantage of CVs is that they give candidates the opportunity to sell themselves in their own way and dont restrict the fitting of information into boxes which often happens on application forms. However, CVs make it possible for candidates to include lots of additional, irrelevant material which may make them harder to assess consistently.

Dealing with applications

All applications should be treated confidentially and circulated only to those individuals involved in the recruitment process. All solicited applications (such as responses to advertisements) should also be acknowledged, and where possible, so should all unsolicited applications. Prompt acknowledgment is good practice and presents a positive image of the organisation. Increasingly candidates are being treated as customers a bad recruitment experience will fail to entice talented individuals into the organisation and is likely to damage the employer brand.

The candidate experience

The recruitment process is not just about employers identifying suitable employees for the future, its also about candidates finding out more about the business, and considering whether the organisation is one where they would like to work for. The experience of candidates (both successful and unsuccessful) at each stage of the recruitment process will impact on their view of the organisation. This could be both from the perspective of a potential employee and, depending on the nature of the business, as a customer. With an upsurge in interest in the idea of employer branding, more employers are giving thought to ensuring a positive candidate experience and the kind of company material and communications received by individuals as part of the recruitment process. See our employer branding guide for more information on building strong employer brands.

Go to our Employer branding guide

Selecting candidates
Selecting candidates involves two main processes: shortlisting and assessing applicants to decide who should be offered a job. Selection decisions should be made after using a range of tools appropriate to the time and resources available. Care should be taken to use techniques which are relevant to the job and the business objectives of the organisation. All tools used should be validated and constantly reviewed to ensure their fairness and reliability. More information on this stage of the process can be found in our factsheets Selecting candidates and Selection interviewing.

Go to our Selecting candidates factsheet Go to our Selection interviewing factsheet

Making the appointment

Before making an offer of employment, employers have responsibility for checking that applicants have the right to work in the UK, and to see and take copies of relevant documentation - a list of acceptable documents demonstrating the right to work in the UK is available from the Home Office. For more guidance, see our factsheet on employing workers from overseas.

Go to our factsheet on Employing overseas workers

Offers of employment should always be made in writing. But it is important to be aware that an verbal offer of employment made in an interview is as legally binding as a letter to the candidate.

Employers must also be aware of the legal requirements of and what information should be given in the written statement of particulars of employment - see our factsheet on Contracts of employment.

Go to our factsheet on Contracts of employment

More information about terms and conditions of employment is available to CIPD members in our Terms and conditions of employment FAQ in the Employment Law at Work area of our website.

Go to our Terms and condition of employment FAQ

Joining the organisation

Well-planned induction enables new employees to become fully operational quickly and should be integrated into the recruitment process. For further information on this important phase see our factsheet on induction.

Go to our factsheet on Induction

Other points to consider

References
A recruitment policy should state clearly how references will be used, when in the recruitment process they will be taken up and what kind of references will be necessary (for example, from former employers). These rules should be applied consistently. Recruiters should always obtain references to check factual information such as qualifications. But they should not ask former employers to supply a subjective opinion as to an applicant's likely future performance. Such data is unreliable and can be misleading. For further details see our factsheet on references.

Go to our factsheet on References

Medical examinations
It is reasonable to request completion of a health questionnaire where good health is relevant to the job. Any particular physical or medical requirement should be made clear in the job advertisement or other recruitment literature. Organisations should pay for any medical examinations required. When it is necessary for medical records to be obtained, the requirements of the Access to Medical Reports Act 1988 must be observed. Care should be taken with regard to the

Disability Discrimination Act before making selection decisions relating to employees mental or physical health.

Documentation
The recruitment process should be documented accurately and access limited to recruitment staff for more on data protection issues see our factsheet on that topic.

Go to our factsheet on Data protection

Information should be kept for sufficient time to allow for any complaints to be handled - see our factsheet on retaining personnel records for more information on how long records should be kept.

Go to our factsheet on Retention of personnel and other related records

Unsuccessful candidates should be notified promptly in writing and if possible given feedback. As a minimum, feedback on any psychometric test results should be given.

Monitoring
Monitoring is not mandatory but it is good practice to ensure that all groups have an equal chance at all stages of the recruitment process. Data collected for monitoring should not be used for any other purposes.

CIPD viewpoint
CIPD believes that effective recruitment is central and crucial to the successful day-to-day functioning of any organisation. Successful recruitment depends upon finding people with the right skills, expertise and qualifications to deliver organisational objectives and the ability to make a positive contribution to the values and aims of the organisation. Recruitment is not only carried out to fulfil current needs. Recruiters should always be aware of and refer to future plans that have implications for organisational resourcing. Recruiters also need to be fully aware of equal opportunities legislation and understand how discrimination can occur both directly and indirectly in the recruitment process. For example, untrained interviewers can make subjective judgements based on non job-related criteria and some forms of advertising may discourage or fail to reach potential applicants from certain groups. A diverse workforce which reflects customer groups within the local community is to be encouraged. Organisations should monitor their recruitment processes continuously to ensure their validity, and that they are non-discriminatory. CIPD believes that selection processes should be based only on a candidates:

ability to do the job ability to make a contribution to the organisation's effectiveness potential for development.

Useful contacts

Recruitment and Employment Confederation UK Border Agency preventing illegal working

Further reading

CIPD members can use our Advanced Search to find additional library resources on this topic. They can also use our online journals collection to view selected journal articles online. People Management articles are available to subscribers and CIPD members on the People Management website. CIPD books in print can be ordered from our online Bookstore.

Go to Advanced Search Go to our online journals collection Go to People Management online Go to our online Bookstore

Books and reports

ACAS. (2006) Recruitment and induction. Advisory booklet. London: Acas. Available at: http://www.acas.org.uk GALLAGHER, N. and O`LEARY, D. (2007) Recruitment 2020: how recruitment is changing and why it matters. [London]: Demos. Available at: http://www.demos.co.uk TAYLOR, S. (2008) People resourcing. 4th ed. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Journal articles
MURPHY, N. (2007) Making recruiting more cost-effective. IRS Employment Review. No 865, 16 February. pp26-32. MURPHY, N. (2008) Trends in recruitment methods in 2006 and 2007 (1): Attraction. IRS Employment Review. No 893, 20 March, 13pp. MURPHY, N. (2008) Trends in recruitment methods in 2006 and 2007 (2): Applications. IRS Employment Review. No 893, 20 March. 5pp.

SUFF, R. (2006) Avoiding age discrimination in recruitment and selection. IRS Employment Review. No 848, 2 June. pp42-48.

This factsheet gives introductory guidance. It:

outlines best practice in recruiting and managing people with criminal records explains relevant elements of the Police Act 1997 considers the issue of 'spent' convictions and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 describes employers' duty of care and corporate responsibility includes the CIPD viewpoint.

Criminal records in context

Dealing with the employment of people with a criminal record has become a real issue for employers now that criminal records can be accessed through the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), Disclosure Scotland or Access Northern Ireland. It has been estimated that a fifth of the working population has a criminal record. Employment is the single most important factor in reducing re-offending and failure to get paid employment is a major reason for re-offending. But estimates suggest it is at least eight times harder for a person with a criminal record to obtain employment. Evidence shows that of all things to put an employer off, a criminal offence is the worst. People with a criminal record are unsure about disclosing information when seeking employment. They know from experience that this will jeopardise their chances. They also know that not declaring records about unspent convictions will break the trust of an employer if it is found out at a later date. This is a dilemma that can only be addressed by encouraging disclosure and by fair employment practice. The Prison and Probation Services both have targets for getting offenders into employment for the year ended December 2007, these targets were all exceeded.

What is a criminal record?

A criminal record arises from a conviction. There are also police records but these are not criminal convictions. They include cautions, reprimands and final warnings. Cautions (for adults) are based on the seriousness of offences. A caution is a warning about future conduct given by a senior police officer, usually in a police station, after a person has admitted an offence. It is used as an alternative to a charge and possible prosecution. Reprimands and final warnings (for offenders under 18 years old) are issued by the police as an alternative to putting a young person before the courts. Again, the person has to have admitted the offence. All such offences would be revealed by a CRB check.

Criminal records and the law

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) any conviction for a criminal offence can be regarded as spent provided:

the conviction did not carry a sentence excluded from the Act, such as a custodial sentence of over two and a half years no further convictions occurred within the rehabilitation period.

A conviction is not 'spent' until the rehabilitation period is complete. Once it is 'spent', the rehabilitated person does not have to reveal its existence in most circumstances and can answer 'no' to the question 'do you have a criminal record?' Certain occupations are excepted - these are listed in Rehabilitation of Offenders (Exceptions) Orders. Custodial sentences of over two and a half years are never considered spent. It is an offence under this law for anyone who has access to criminal records to disclose information about spent convictions unless officially authorised. It is also a serious offence to obtain information about spent convictions by means of fraud, dishonesty or bribe.

The Police Act 1997

Part 5 of the Act:

enables access to criminal record checks now applies across England, Wales, Scotland and Nothern Ireland introduces three conviction disclosure categories (described below) supports protection of individuals afforded by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) requires employers to register with the CRB/Disclosure Scotland/Access Northern Ireland in order to be able to ask individuals to apply for a standard disclosure or an enhanced disclosure.

After a review, Home Office Ministers decided to implement Part V and set up the CRB in March 2002 to administer criminal record checks. In Scotland, Disclosure Scotland performs the same function,as does Access Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland. The Act makes provision for three different levels of criminal record checks. These are:

Basic Disclosure (BD) - issued only to individuals who will be able to choose to show it to employers (or anyone else). A BD will show all convictions held at national level which are not 'spent' under the ROA. A date for introducing BD in England and Wales has yet to be anounnced. Standard Disclosure (SD) - available for posts or purposes which are exceptions to the ROA, groups include those involved regularly with; children, young people, the elderly, sick or handicapped, administration of the law and other sensitive areas. An

SD will include details of convictions, including 'spent' convictions, and nationally held cautions - an application must be countersigned by a registered person. Enhanced Disclosure (ED) - available for those applying for positions involving regular care for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of young people, for certain statutory licensing purposes and judicial appointments. An ED will contain similar information to the SD and will include local police records, such as relevant non-conviction information - an application for an ED must be countersigned by a registered person.

Part V of the Police act stated that individuals are responsible for the cost of certificates but CIPD recommends that employers offer reimbursement if they can. It is stressed that organisations in receipt of CRB/Disclosure Scotland/Access Northern Ireland information will be liable for the consequences its misuse.

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006

This Act introduces a new centralised vetting and barring scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to improve the protection of children and vulnerable adults. The scheme will be run by the newly created Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) and will be implemented from July 2010 (delayed from October 2009). A separate but aligned scheme is being set up in Scotland. From January 2009 the ISA took over responsibility from the Department for Children, Schools and Families for making barring decisions on new referrals about people who are legally banned from working with children or vulnerable adults. For more information see our factsheet on this topic and the ISA website (see the Useful contacts section below).

Go to our factsheet on Recruitment of people working with children and vulnerable adults

The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008

This Act amends the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 bringing warnings, reprimands and cautions within its scope: reprimands and warning are spent at the time they are given and conditional cautions are spent after three months. They are however still recorded on the Police National Computer and will continue to be disclosed when required.

Latest government initiatives and consultations

In December 2005, the government published a green paper1 for consultation which announced plans to help reduce re-offending by improving training and education to help offenders into jobs when they leave prison. The proposals included:

a stronger focus on jobs with more relevant skills training, designed from and responding to employers needs motivating and engaging offenders, with incentives for those who participate in the scheme closer working together of prison and probation services to ensure greater continuity.

This consultation led to the launch in January 2007 of the 'next steps' document2, announcing three priorities for change:

engaging employers through the Reducing Re-offending Corporate Alliance developing a Campus Model to build on the Government's Offender Learning and Skills Service reinforcing the emphasis on skills and jobs in prisons and probation.

The Reducing Re-offending Corporate Alliance is an umbrella for all cross-government activities which increase the numbers of offenders obtaining and keeping employment. It aims to involve as many employers as possible in activities that can improve the employment prospects of offenders and increase their skills and employability at a national, regional and local level, Membership of the Alliance has grown substantially - now over ninety organisations have signed up.

Recommendations
Organisations should develop policies on employing people with criminal records and make appropriate changes to their recruitment and employment practices. This includes assessing and managing risk and implementing safeguards. For further information, see our factsheet on assessing risks when employing ex-offenders.

Go to our factsheet on Employing people with criminal records: risk assessment

Management should be involved in the design of policies and committed to making them work, and there should be general awareness training to educate and inform the workforce. Objective assessments will:

focus on a person's abilities, skills, experience and qualifications consider the nature of the conviction and its relevance to the job in question identify the risks to the organisation's business, customers, clients and employees recognise that having a criminal record does not always mean a lack of skills, qualifications and experience note that high-quality training, leading to qualifications, is available in many prisons.

Assessing criminal records will:

always be based on confidentiality and discretion when requesting and handling criminal records

encourage applicant honesty by stating that applicants will be considered on merit and ability not include requests for spent conviction records unless the job is exempt under the terms of the ROA advise applicants to submit confidential records separately from the usual application form and to a named employee comply with the data protection law ensure access to criminal record information is only on a need-to-know basis.

Adequate supervision is important. Employers should:

agree policies on access to criminal records inform successful applicants of this policy explain to employees the various reasons to give a fair chance of employment to people with criminal records review insurance arrangements and consider fidelity guarantee schemes (the Apex Trust can help - see Useful contacts section below).

See our factsheet on recruitment for more information on general recruitment issues.