Early clarity helps avoid delays later in the recruitment process, for example preventing wasting resources on assessing unsuitable applicants or having to refine the position later if the recruitment process does not result in an appointment. Attracting better-fit applicants faster and reducing time to hire are critical in a fast moving labour market.
Here are some ideas to help you review the vacancy:
- Use your agency and team workforce plans and organisation charts to see where this position fits in the agency overall as well as in your particular team. Are there any changes on the horizon that need to be considered? Can this vacancy help to meet your agency’s diversity goals and other workforce objectives?
- Analyse the job either through a formal job analysis or other informal means. Collect, examine and document specific information about the job such as the level of accountability, decision making power and supervision required; as well as the specific human requirements such as knowledge, skills, abilities and credentials. A job analysis looks at the job itself and not the performance of a person doing the job. It is an internal document for the agency. It is a great basis for describing the job in public facing documents such as the position description and job advertisement. Check with your human resources team about analysing the job.
- Discuss with your human resources team about how to change or repurpose the role if the analysis of the job points to this. Changes could include different responsibilities, reporting structures or number of direct reports which may require the classification of the position to be reassessed. Any changes in classification could have budget impacts so your finance team needs to be involved. The relevant union may also need to be notified in line with industrial obligations.
- Become familiar with your agency’s recruitment policies and procedures. Various forms are likely to be required at each step and these all take time to go through systems, people and approvals. A classification process, for example, usually involves a business case progressing to a classification review committee which may only sit once a month.
- Determine the recruitment method (see the decision trees) to achieve efficient and compliant recruitment. For example, there may be surplus staff, suitable applicants in recruitment pools that you need to consider or staff who are eligible for conversion to permanency.
Links
- Permanent Vacancies: Decision Tree (Public Sector Commission)
- Fixed Term Vacancies: Decision Tree (Public Sector Commission)
- Backfilling Temporary Vacancies: Decision Tree (Public Sector Commission)
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