Recruitment and selection within health

1 Understand the recruitment and selection processes in health and social care or children and young people’s settings

1.1 Explain the impact on selection and recruitment processes, in own setting, of: legislative requirements
regulatory requirements
professional codes
agreed ways of working

The charity I work for is committed to involving people who use the care and support services in recruitment. The level of active participation and involvement will be determined by the individuals themselves with support from their current support staff and manager. The right person for the job will be recruited, ensuring they best fit the necessary skills, knowledge, expertise and qualifications as set out in the person specification and demonstrate an ability to make a positive contribution to the values and aims of my charity. My charity is committed to equal opportunity for all candidates. This means that decisions made as part of any recruitment process will be based upon an individual’s ability to fulfil the requirements of the role as set out in the Job Description and Person Specification. Individual’s will be treated fairly throughout the process and in line with the Equality Act 2010, regardless of any protected characteristics including but not limited to gender, disability, age, race, religion and sexuality.

My charity actively promotes equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills and potential; applications are welcomed from a wide range of candidates, including those with criminal records. Having a criminal conviction does not necessarily preclude an individual from working within the charity although having certain criminal convictions may stop individuals from working in posts which involve regulated activity, for example within Care and Support services. As part of the application process all applicants are required to disclose any criminal convictions to the charity. In addition, certain positions within the organisation are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, 1974 and applicants are required to disclose all criminal convictions including those that are “spent”. For further information please visit the Criminal Records Disclosure policy. My charity is committed to objectivity in all recruitment processes. This requires interview panel members to declare if a family member, relative, friend or prior work colleague has been short-listed to attend an interview.

A decision should then be taken as to whether the panel member needs to be excluded from the recruitment and selection process. Managers are also advised that line management of immediate family members, partners or relatives is not permitted. A Job Description defines the purpose, key duties and responsibilities of a particular role. It provides a framework which outlines the expectations; both for the employee and the employer, and forms part of the working agreement, but are not in itself contractually binding and all job descriptions should be in line with the current Action on Hearing Loss template and Equality and Diversity Policy. Panel members should all take notes of the answers given by the candidate on the interview questions and notes template and bear in mind that the applicant has the right to access this information under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Candidates will be asked to bring evidence of their Right to Work in the UK and where relevant supporting evidence for a disclosure check to interview. A Right to Work Checklist sets out steps for the recruiting manager or administrator to take when checking these documents. All offers of employment are subject to receipt of two satisfactory written references, a health assessment and evidence that the candidate is legally allowed to work in the UK. In addition, certain posts are also subject to the satisfactory clearance of a disclosure check as set out in the Criminal Records Disclosure Policy, in circumstances where an individual is unable to prove their right to work in the UK the offer of employment will be withdrawn. Equal opportunities monitoring is carried out for all recruitment and is completed at the end of the process. Annual reports are produced from the data collected to review any trends from the recruitment process. Monitoring information is not be used for any other purpose.

1.2 Explain circumstances when it is necessary to seek specialist expertise in relation to recruitment and selection providing policies, paperwork and guidance on the Recruitment process; authorising recruiting salary range and VRF forms (Lead HR BP/ Director of People); guidance and support to managers in drafting adverts and Job Description/Person Specification; placing adverts (liaising with advertising agency & uploading to the Loop and website); responding to queries on the application and recruitment process from managers and candidates; drafting correspondence to candidates to confirm interview arrangements, confirming the outcome of interviews (regrets & offer letter), contract of employment; requesting references administering pre-employment checks as appropriate (references, health assessment, disclosure check, right to work in the UK) Recording equal opportunities monitoring information.

1.3 Analyse how serious case reviews and inquiries have contributed to the establishment of policies and procedures within recruitment which safeguard vulnerable adults, children and young people.

The death of a child or adult from abuse or neglect is of huge public and professional importance. In recognition of this, in England, every such death is subject to a multi-agency Serious Case Review. The purpose of these reviews, which may also be held in cases of serious but non-fatal maltreatment, is to establish whether there are lessons to be learned from the case about the way in which local professionals and organisations work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults. These Serious Case Reviews have generated a lot of understanding about interagency working to safeguard children and have been widely used in training and to support practice.

2 Be able to contribute to the recruitment process in health and social care or children’s and young people’s settings

2.1 Review job descriptions and person specifications to meet work setting objectives

When comparing job description vs. job specification, the job description defines the duties, tasks, and responsibilities of a job and the specifications list the required skills, qualification, and experience required to do the job. Both are essential in hiring candidates that will make a good fit. Job analysis ranks among the most critical tools to ensure I hire candidates with the required skills, competencies, attitudes, and the right temperament for the job. A job analysis helps me determine job descriptions vs. job specifications. When considering job descriptions as opposed to job specifications, both are relevant and both become especially important during recruitment. Job descriptions help us determine the nature of the position – full time, part time, or relief staff, and provide a guide to potential candidates.

Job specifications on the other hand, help me to short-list appropriate candidates who would most likely fulfil the demands made in the job description. It also provides a basis of setting standards and asking questions for the selection process. Hiring without job descriptions could lead to the selection of a person not interested in the position, or selecting a skilled person but incompetent to do the required job. Hiring without job specifications could also lead to an incompetent person occupying the position. Once the hiring process is over, the job description becomes the basis to assign and evaluate the employee’s work, and the job specifications become irrelevant.

2.2 Work with others to establish the criteria that will be used in the recruitment and selection Process

When hiring for a position firstly my manager and myself will look at the position and if the role has recently be left vacant, has the role changed in anyway and is their nay changes to it we need to make, is there a reason this position is now vacant and what can or should be done to ensure this is more successful in future. When we have both agreed what the position is and that it fits within our budget we then must do a VRF form and send this to our HR department who will then post this advert with an agreed closing date.

After this date we will receive the candidate’s information and it is important that both me and my manager look at these separately and short list to see which staff we both agree should receive an interview. It takes many people to ensure the correct candidates are sourced and employed and that this is done in conjunction with the policies and procedures set out within the charity and that candidates are checked correctly, interview in a non-bias way and the process it done quickly and professionally.

2.3 Work with others to establish the methods that will be used in the recruitment and selection process

I work closely with my manager to ensure we clearly state what methods we will be using when approaching the recruitment and selection process. Recently my manager and I both worked on the advertisement for the position we required and my manager ensured this was agreed and signed off. After this both my manager and I shortlisted and then worked together to agree who we would then interview. We also agreed a venue, times and who would ask which questions, and what staff would do after the interview in regards to working with a client, and when as well as who would contact which staff member regarding confirmation etc. these methods were put in place and agreed ahead of time to ensure a professional interview process and also this gives the candidates the best chance of succeeding as well as an even ground to compete for the position on.

2.4 Involve individuals in the recruitment process

When approaching the interview process I also ensure that the client is key to the process. When possible it can be possible for the client to be a part of the interviewing, asking questions and picking their own staff, however with the clients I work with this is not possible. To ensure that the clients are still represented questions have been made that the clients have been a part of making and we then ask these on their behalf. These questions if answered well can ensure a good matching tool is in place for the new staff member and the client.

3 Be able to participate in the selection process in health and social care or children’s and young people’s settings

3.1 Use agreed methods to assess candidates

Reference 2.3

3.2 Use agreed criteria to select candidates

when assessing candidates we look for the specifications that we stated when we advertised for the position originally, however as present the law states that a specific amount of staff within a care home must hold a recognised qualification, which means that we can look at those candidates that do not have the specific criteria but do however show that they hold the ability or interests that would benefit the provision. When both my manager and I are separately looking at candidates paperwork we both agree to keep in mind that the perfect candidate may not at present hold the relevant qualifications but they will be able to meet the criteria if given the training within out provision.

3.3 Communicate the outcome of the selection process according to the policies and procedures of own setting

Once candidates have been selected by me and my manager, we then notify our HR department who will then notify the applicants that they have been chosen to attend the interview process. We then choose a day and times that are suitable and relay this to the HR department also. From this the interview process will be completed. After this applicants will be notified if they have been successful and again HR will be notified of which applicants have been successful and they will have the job role confirmed by post and they will begin the process of the background checks, and references. Once these have returned the and are satisfactory the applicant will begin work.

4 Be able to evaluate the recruitment and selection processes in health and social care or children’s and young people’s settings

4.1 Evaluate the recruitment and selection methods and criteria used in own setting

I believe that the selection and recruitment process within my setting are the best that I have been a part of. Previously the applications were dealt with by managers and the applicants were also chosen by them without my input. I would then interview them with a manager, and at this point this would be the first I would know about the applicant, and at times the applicant would be employed but not within the setting in which I work, meaning I would end up employing candidates for other settings which was not always the best action to take. Within my setting now we are able to put out the adverts, shortlist the applicants, interview and enrol them meaning we can start from the beginning and see the process through. This makes for a better process and helps the applicant be more successful and also enables us to use correct matching tools for the clients.

4.2 Recommend changes for improvement to recruitment and selection processes in own setting

When we interview candidates we also include a half hour period when the candidate will work with a client on an activity so they can get an idea of what may be expected and also gives us an idea on how they may work. The issues with this come down to the fact that due to behaviours and anxieties we are not able to do this process with the clients that they will be eventually working with, meaning we have to interview in a different setting and the candidates work with clients that they will not be working with eventually. This is in the best interest of the client and the candidate, however when the candidate starts their role what they step into is not always what they were expecting. This can be hit and miss and although the candidate is made aware of this at times they may not feel they are able to do this role after all and may leave. I would like to eventually work with our clients to allow candidates to better understand or even work with them during the interview process.