Advertised Selection - Case Studies
Case Study 1 - Large Scottish Police Force - A complex new role in the top management team
A successful outcome required considerable project management skills, close attention to the Client's needs, a collaborative approach, many hours committed over a two month period, attention to detail and professional recruitment and assessment skills.
A new role at Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) level was created to direct non-operational functions including Finance, Administration, Transport, Laboratories etc with budgets of £millions and hundreds of staff. In this first civilian post at ACC level in Scotland, it was crucial to identify and select a top candidate, who would be capable of managing change in diverse functions, while fitting into and gaining respect in a high profile disciplined public sector organisation.
We designed a process within a severely limited timescale imposed by our client:
- developed a comprehensive application package with details of the role and background to the force, candidate specification, terms and conditions, the process, timescales and a customised application form;
- drafted wording of an advertisement, identified media and advertised in both specialist and national media to cover the market broadly;
- screened a wide range of high calibre applicants with varied backgrounds from across UK; and
- conducted initial interviews and reported our findings to the selection panel with recommendations.
Working closely with the Deputy CC we designed a full assessment day for long list candidates:
- a short tour of headquarters and of an operational station with freedom to question anyone;
- comprehensive psychometric assessment;
- in-tray exercises; and round table discussions monitored by the Assistant CCs, the appointee's future colleagues.
The best candidates stood out clearly and all selected candidates chose to proceed. We reported results back to the panel. On the final interview day the five candidates made a formal presentation on a given relevant topic and were further interviewed in depth by a panel. The Chief Constable was able to appoint confidently from among several excellent candidates. The candidates were also able to make an informed choice. The appointee has been in post successfully for several years.
Many recruitment assignments on behalf of private and public sector clients are less demanding but we recognise that the Universe generally tends to chaos(!) so we bring the same skills, commitment and professionalism to every project to ensure a successful outcome.
Case Study 2 - University - Recruitment of (2) Commercialisation Managers - Public sector: Higher Education - New Roles.
Our client was the company set up by a leading Scottish university to manage commercial matters on their behalf. These new appointments were to maximise the University's benefit from its original research and from its capabilities to undertake commercial research contracts. The need was to identify how to attract people with an understanding of relevant technology (but not technical 'boffins'); a trackrecord of commercial experience in a largish multinational company environment, credibility with funders, and the ability to create a company start-up.
We designed the process with viable timescales and diarised the dates for interview, to ensure that all five senior internal and external people on each interview panel were available. And to ensure candidates were dealt with quickly and efficiently . We ensured that we understood the varied viewpoints of members of each panel and that all were aligned on the specification, the anticipated outcomes and the important aspects of the process. In our experience this is by no means straightforward; we have witnessed others' recruitment projects founder on the politics or unreconciled difference of opinions among strong-willed and powerful panel members.
The advertisement generated much interest. We discussed the strong candidates with the panels and agreed a longlist of five candidates for each role to each of the panel. Each interview session included a prepared presentation. This met four requirements:
- enabling candidates to demonstrate how they approached researching a brief;
- allowing them to display their relevant knowledge, approach to the job and thought processes;
- enabling direct comparison of five varied presentations; and
- taking the job-related brief beyond the panels' initial thoughts and helping them develop the potential scope of the roles.
We recommend against interviewing more than four middle/senior level people in one day so held two half day sessions which is fairer. No candidate wants to be the fifth of five in a long day's intense interview process. Also, panel members report that they switch off by then.
The Managing Director declared himself completely satisfied with the very high calibre of candidates selected for short-list interview, the panel agreed on their choices, made offers to their first choice candidates, and were accepted. Both Managers developed as excellent appointments.