Getting On Board: “Recruitment and Selection of Senior Roles”

Below is a write-up of the key points delivered by Ann Young during her Getting on Board webinar with Falkirk’s third sector, on Monday 21^st November, along with her presentation to view or download.

Ann is the Lead HR Consultant at Roots HR CIC; her bio states:

“Ann is an accomplished and fully qualified senior HR professional, experienced at operating in the not for profit sector where the business is driven by its social purpose. A strong HR generalist (with a solid reputation for adding value and delivering a high quality HR service with integrity and professionalism), Ann has a proactive approach, drive and energy with strong organisation and planning skills. She is experienced at building strong stakeholder relationships across all levels.”

On behalf of all our attendees, we would like to thank Ann again for her time, and her extremely comprehensive overview of recruiting senior roles within the third sector, and trustees’ role within that process.

“Recruitment and Selection of Senior Roles”

Ann’s presentation is available to view or download as a pdf.

Key points:

• The current recruitment climate has seen a decrease in unemployment, with more jobs available than pre-pandemic (according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS)).
  • A higher number of vacancies, plus fewer job hunters, results in a “candidates’ market”, where they have more choice.
  • Senior roles like CEO recruitment are more likely to need a few rounds of recruitment in this climate.
  • As a result, and to make their roles more appealing, organisations have to work harder, and make applying easier.
• 53% of the sector reported having “hard to fill” vacancies.
• Ann advised attendees to think about pay, total reward (including financial and non-financial benefits), flexibility, upskilling existing staff, and diversifying attraction (eg. apprentices, workforce returners, older workforce members).
  • Many people now consider wellbeing and work/life balances to be the most important non-financial benefits.
• When recruiting at a senior level, organisations and trustees should think about the impact on the whole organisation, and be very careful to get it right – especially in the current climate, as the time to fill all roles extends.

• Documentation: prepare the documentation you need in advance, and be as clear and transparent as possible  about the role in recruitment documentation (role description, person specification, etc), “so they know what they’re coming into, and what your expectations are”.
  • Ann advised groups to be realistic, especially with regards to the person specification; while there is nothing wrong with including “perfect” qualities as desirables, the essentials should be realistic, reflecting what needs to be done, not what organisations would like done.  This is especially true in the current candidates’ market.
• Advertise all roles internally, and make this standard policy and procedure within the organisation.
• Application: think about whether using an application form is best for the organisation; recruiter as reporting that most people prefer to attach their CV and covering letter, because they mainly apply for jobs via their phone. An application form could be restricting the applicant pool.

• Candidate selection: organisations must use documented, criteria-based scoring, and keep this information in line with their data retention and GDPR policies.
• Inclusivity: people notice if vacancies aren’t using inclusive and up to date language; organisations should be vocal on their inclusivity and equal opportunity approaches.
  • Ann advised using “problem-solving” instead of “innovative”, and “forward-thinking” instead of “ambitious”.

For further information on recruitment within your organisation and how CVS Falkirk can support you to get the best people for your third sector organisation, please contact our team by email: info@cvsfalkirk.org.uk