Selection and Appointment Guide (Academic)

Selection and Appointment Guide for Chairs of Selection Committees for an Academic Staff Vacancy

Human Resources
June 2004

INTRODUCTION

Please read these guidelines prior to convening the selection committee and commencing short listing as they outline the entire process and will assist you and your selection committee understand your responsibilities. These guidelines will also assist you to work within both an efficient and ethical framework.

It is a requirement for the Chair to have attended recruitment and selection training and it is expected all members will have attended. If your training did not occur in recent years please consider receiving an update.

The selection and recruitment process is a critical factor in ensuring the University has the right staff. How well we manage this process also enhances the University's credibility and underlines our commitment to integrity, accountability and transparency in our decision making processes. Based on the assessment and recommendations made by you and your selection committee, the University will make an offer of employment. This is a significant commitment of the University's financial, management, training, and other resources to an individual. Sound business practice requires the selection process to provide a clear basis for entering into such a commitment and is documented such that recruitment decisions are capable of review.

Key Principles

• The recruitment, development and retention of high quality staff is the University's prime objective. It has chosen a merit based selection system to optimise the potential for selecting the best person. This method uses a combination of written application, behaviourally based interview questions, testing/presentations and referee reports to determine relative merit against defined selection criteria. This process has been established to ensure the best possible choice and that there is no discrimination on grounds unrelated to the requirements of the position.
• The prerequisites and selection criteria for each position supply the means by which a selection committee can assess the relative merit of applicants to ensure their assessment is made on the same basis for all applicants. If the prerequisites and selection criteria have not been reviewed and updated, you could recruit the wrong person for the position based on outdated requirements and duties.

For further information on, or assistance with, the selection process please contact the Human Resource Adviser on ext 4671. For further information on or assistance with appointment matters please contact the appropriate Human Resource Officer (Contact Guide).

Details of the University's policies and procedures regarding recruitment and selection can be found at Staff Selection.

The following documents are appended to these guidelines to assist you in the selection process:

Appendix 1 – Short listing and Interview Rating Scale
Appendix 2 – Sample Questions
Appendix 3 – Suggestions for Conducting Selection Interviews
Appendix 4 – Seminar Presentation Sample Evaluation Criteria
Appendix 5 – Selection Reporting Checklist

Enclosed are three forms which require completion as part of the selection and appointment process documentation.

• Statement of Confidentiality
• Standing Selection Committee
• Recommendation to Offer New Employment Contract

THE SELECTION PROCESS

FLOWCHART OF SELECTION PROCESS

Setting up a Selection Committee

As the Chair you are required to set up a Selection Committee comprising:

• Dean of the Faculty as chair for Levels C & D (may be delegated to Head of School or nominee for Levels A & B and Research Academic positions)
• two other members of the School
• the Head of School or nominee
• one member from outside the School (a member of academic staff at equivalent or higher level from another School)

At least one female and one male must be on the committee to provide gender balance.

The issue of diversity should also be considered in establishing the committee.

If the appointment is to a clinical or para-clinical department in a teaching hospital it is usual to co-opt the chairperson of the Hospital’s appointments committee or nominee.

The selection committee should not include any person who has a close personal relationship with an applicant. If that member of the committee is the most appropriate, they are required at the outset to declare their relationship to the applicant.

Search and Screen committees are required for Professor Level E appointments. You may choose to establish a Search and Screen committee and to assist you with this process please refer The Search And Screen Committee

Responsibilities of the Chair and Selection Committee

• To read and sign the 'Statement of Confidentiality' form.
• To maintain confidentiality at all times. All proceedings related to the selection and appointment of staff are strictly confidential. Access to all papers, including applications, is to be limited to members of the selection committee and the committee's secretary.
• Deliberations and decisions of the committee must not be discussed outside the committee without the specific authority of the Chair. If applicants make queries as to the progress of the selection process, or the deliberations of the panel, their queries should be referred to the Chair for response.
• To agree on selection techniques, weighting of criteria, interview questions or other evaluation tools prior to interviews to ensure all applicants are treated in an equitable manner.
• To structure interviews and other exercises consistently.
• To provide feedback to applicants. All applicants are entitled to receive feedback from the selection committee once they have been formally notified of the outcome. Either the Chair or previously agreed upon committee member must respond to such requests in a timely manner.
• To ensure the process is completed within a reasonable timeframe.

The Assessment Process

Only One Application is Received For an Advertised Vacancy

It is a requirement that a Selection Panel is convened to assess the application against the criteria outlined in the position description and a decision made as a panel as to the suitability of the applicant.

If all panel members are unanimous that the applicant meets all the requirements of the role, recourse to interview is not required.

The process must be clearly outlined in the selection report provided to Human Resources.

Short Listing

Assessing the written applications is the first step in identifying competitive applicants for further assessment. All committee members are to be involved in the short listing process.

As Chair, you need to ascertain, for internally advertised positions, the applicant’s employment status at UWA before sending the applications, together with the Statement of Confidentiality, to all members of the Selection Committee for independent short listing.

Set up a full committee meeting to jointly rank the applicants against the criteria to determine an initial short list according to an agreed rating scale (see Appendix 1) and document the results.

When you and the Selection Committee are reading the applications:

• think about the environment in which the position functions
• translate the claims made by applicants into this context
• consider whether the experience described demonstrate the applicant's understanding of the requirements of the position
• assess the level of their formal skill and understanding

It is helpful to assess the written applications against a matrix (refer attached). Only applicants considered competitive for the position need to be interviewed.

Ensure short listed applicants have signed the Privacy Authorisation and if not contact them to get authorisation.

Seek referees’ reports for all short-listed candidates including from members of the Committee who have been approached to act as a referee for one or more of the short listed applicants. Providing a report before the applicant’s performance at interview is considered a way of minimising bias and maintaining transparency of decision making.

Advise non-short listed INTERNAL applicants of their performance relative to the criteria and the reasons for not granting an interview.

Document the short listing process and outcomes.

Return all non-shortlisted applications to HR Services, Human Resources by hand so they can prepare and send ‘regret to advise’ letters.

You and the selection committee through a further meeting or via email must:

• discuss the content, structure and evaluation of the interview/seminar/research presentation and order it in a logical way (a seminar or Research presentation is not compulsory for research vacancies or Teaching and Research vacancies of less than three years)
• consider referees’ reports
• decide on a final short list for interview
• finalise the interview questions and/or other assessment method(s) related to the criteria

Return the final non-shortlisted applications to HR Services, Human Resources by hand so they can prepare and send ‘regret to advise’ letters.

Referee Reports

This process is to obtain information about the applicant’s workplace behaviour from persons nominated as referees. The aim is to collect further evidence about the applicant’s suitability with respect to each criterion.

If you or a committee member identifies a person not nominated by the applicant as referee, you must get the applicant’s permission to contact this person and give them an opportunity to comment on any possible referee bias. Whenever possible the applicant’s current supervisor should be contacted (with the consent of the applicant).

You should seek other views where there are differences of opinion between referees. If the person is working or recently worked at the University their supervisor should be contacted.

Where an applicant's referee is also a member of the selection committee, his/her comments should be considered no differently to any other referee.

You should only ask referees questions directly related to selection criteria.

All responses should be recorded in writing.

The Interview and Other Job-Related Exercises

The purpose of the interview is to complete the picture about the applicant you have formed from the short listing process. The interview should seek to explore more fully claims made in the written application and to assess verbal communication and interpersonal skills (remembering that some applicants will handle the interview better than others). Helpful suggestions for conducting the interview are at Appendix 3.

For some positions it is important to test a specific skill or knowledge.

In reaching an assessment the committee should consider all the data available about the application — the written application, interview, seminar/research presentation and referee reports. The more sources of information used, the greater the chances of forming an accurate and well rounded assessment of the applicant's suitability for the position.

Arrange for each short listed applicant to be contacted, with as much notice as possible, and advise:

• interview time, date and venue
• that a seminar or research presentation (if applicable) is part of the assessment process including where it will be held and the time
• the approximate time the process will take

Ensure they are asked if they have any special requirements when making these arrangements.

Ensure all members of the selection committee attend and assess the seminar/research presentation in accordance with the suggested evaluation criteria attached (refer Appendix 4).

Organise a comfortable waiting area for applicants and inform reception.

Take a lead role in the formal interviews (see Appendix 3).

Sight originals and copy evidence of qualifications and eligibility to work in Australia if not an Australian or New Zealand citizen. If these are not available, you should advise the applicant any offer of appointment may be subject to the production of evidence within a reasonable period of time.

Ensure the key elements of the interviews and subsequent deliberations are recorded through notes taken by the Selection Committee.

After the Interview – Chair and Selection Committee

Rank the applicants based on all available data according to an agreed rating scale (see Appendix 1):

• written application
• interview
• seminar/research presentation (if applicable)
• referees’ reports

Make the final decision.

Making the Final Decision and Reporting the Outcomes of the Selection Process – Selection Report
(See Appendix 5 for a detailed checklist)

Sound business practice requires that the selection criteria provide a clear basis for entering into an employment arrangement with an applicant and enables the decision making process to be transparent and capable of review.

You and the selection committee should discuss the referee reports and confirm rankings, with all interviewed applicants assessed against all criteria for the position.

As Chair you should ensure all documentation that summarises the selection process and makes a recommendation on appointment is adequate, ie, ensure the decision is transparent and capable of review.

The report must contain sufficient information to provide feedback to individual applicants and must demonstrate with some rigour how the selection committee arrived at its conclusions and should include:

• the name of the recommended applicant
• a clear statement why this applicant was considered more appropriate than other short listed applicants
• direct evidence that the recommended applicant meets the selection criteria, including results of interview, seminar/presentation and referees report
• verification of essential academic qualifications
• a comment on the selected applicant’s research record (where applicable)
• brief statement on all short listed applicants referring explicitly to their competitiveness in relation to the selection criteria and the selected applicant

There may be occasions where a selection committee is unable to reach a consensus decision. If this occurs they may choose to employ additional assessment techniques (eg further interview, extra referees), or make a majority decision with the dissenting committee member(s) submitting a minority report. A minority report must clearly set out the reasons for disagreement in regards to the selection process and/or recommendation.

A helpful checklist for ensuring the completeness of selection reports is at Appendix 5.

There is no obligation to appoint if it is believed there are not any suitable high quality applicants. The position should be re-advertised and a search process commenced.

Finalising the Outcome

The selection report should be endorsed by the Dean or equivalent.

A Recommendation to Offer New Employment Contract is not a formal offer of employment. An offer of employment can be made only through Human Resources after the appropriate level of approval has been obtained.

You may advise an applicant that they are the ‘recommended applicant’ but in no circumstances should you offer them employment as the University could be at risk if a verbal contract is offered prior to appropriate authorisation and then withdrawn.

Appointments will generally be to the minimum of the salary range. If the selection committee believes that circumstances warrant consideration of a higher salary this must be approved by the Dean or equivalent.

If an external applicant is to be recommended for appointment and you become aware that they are currently in receipt of a workers' compensation payment, please contact the University's Occupational Therapist on ext 2784 as your work area may be entitled to some special benefits.

Retain a copy of the selection report so you can provide feedback.

Hand deliver the following completed documentation (except for Research Academic appointments) to the Deputy Vice Chancellor for endorsement on the Standing Selection Committee form:

• selection report
• completed and signed Recommendation to Offer New Employment Contract form
• Statement of Confidentiality
• all short listed applications
• all other papers related to short listing and interview

Hand deliver the above documentation to the Director, Human Resources for final endorsement on the Standing Selection Committee form. All documents will then be given to HR Services to prepare a letter of offer for the successful applicant and letters to all short listed applicants advising the outcome of their interview.

Research Academic interview and appointment papers should be submitted to the Dean of Faculty for approval before being delivered to Human Resources.

Ensure you advise HR Services if unsuccessful letters are to be withheld from the 2nd and 3rd ranked candidates pending acceptance of the offer.

If an internal applicant has been recommended, confidentially liaise with the relinquishing work area regarding a commencement date. See policy statement at Internal Transfers for more details.

Feedback for Interviewed Applicants

All applicants should be offered the opportunity of post interview counselling as feedback promotes confidence in the selection process and can be helpful to applicants in future applications.

Feedback should be positive but realistic and specific. It should address the selection criteria, identifying the applicant’s strengths and areas requiring further development if future applications are to be successful.

As Chair of the Selection Committee (or your nominee) you should contact all unsuccessful internal applicants to offer feedback and be responsible for responding to similar requests from external applicants in a timely manner.

APPENDIX 1

SHORT LISTING AND INTERVIEW RATING SCALE

SUGGESTED RATING SCALE

APPENDIX 2

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

• What do you bring to this position that could convince this committee that you are the right person for the job?
• This position requires teaching across a number of undergraduate courses associated with …………………, including an introductory course so please briefly describe your capability to teach in each of these various areas.
• How would you approach teaching in the area of ………………
• What is your philosophy of teaching and how has that philosophy been exemplified in practice?
• What strategies do you think work best in promoting effective learning?
• This position requires some collaborative teaching. What do you think is most important for sustaining successful collaboration in such circumstances?
• This position requires the successful applicant to be willing to direct and supervise postgraduate students and major honours or postgraduate research projects. Outline your experience with postgraduate supervision and describe the approach you typically like to take.
• How would you get a PhD student back on track if her/his work was at a stand-still mid way through her/his candidature?
• How do you envisage striking a balance between your research and teaching roles?
• In its approach to academic work, UWA foregrounds the nexus between research and teaching. Please explain to us what you see as the relationship between your own research and the teaching you would be doing in this position.
• Are there research projects you would like to pursue if you were offered this position?
• Briefly outline what you see as your main research directions over the next …… years. How would you translate your current research programme to UWA?
• What are your main strengths as a researcher?
• Have you applied for any external research funding, and if so, how successful have you been?
• Describe what you regard as your most significant achievements in research and/or practice in ……………
• Have you had much to do with administrative matters within your current department, and if, describe them for us?

This university has a strong commitment to promoting equity and diversity, both in employment and in its treatment of students. Please tell us something that might indicate your own willingness to tackle such issues in an educational context such as this.

APPENDIX 3

SUGGESTIONS FOR CONDUCTING SELECTION INTERVIEWS

• Introduce the members of the committee
• Outline the interview format, mention note taking and the opportunity for questions at the conclusion of the interview
• Confirm the applicant has read the position description/selection criteria
• Provide some brief scene setting about the organisational structure and how the position fits
• Ask the interview questions as pre-determined by the committee. Record responses. Make individual assessments prior to discussion with committee members
• Document the discussion
• Advise on special conditions (leave, transfers, locations). Ask if the applicant can meet these commitments. Ask if the applicant has leave commitments already made. Reassure them that this is not to disadvantage them as the selection is based on merit but to factor in leave requirements
• Invite questions
• Advise on the next step in the selection process and timing for decision making
• Thank the applicant and escort out

APPENDIX 4

SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS

SAMPLE EVALUATION CRITERIA

The following factors could be taken into account in determining the effectiveness of seminar presentations.

These factors are presented as suggestions only, and should be modified according to the particular situation.

1. Presentation

• clarity of speech
• pacing (too fast? too slow? too static? varied?)
• use of aids (effective use of handouts, overheads and other aids)
• use of teaching strategies (questioning, signposting, eye contact)
• enthusiasm
• suitability of overall presentation for the size of the group and the topic

2. Content

• appropriateness of the level of material
• familiarity with the topic, including current research findings
• use of relevant examples and illustrations (where appropriate)
• appropriateness of the content of aids (handouts, overheads etc)

3. Organisation and Integration

• logic and coherence of material
• balance between different parts of the presentation
• links to other areas (if appropriate)
• relevance of all the parts to the whole

APPENDIX 5

SELECTION REPORTING CHECK LIST

Ensure the following documentation is included with all the applications

• the Standing Selection Committee form
• the names and titles of all committee members and Chair
• signed Statement of Confidentiality (to be signed by all selection committee members)
• the search plan including advertising details — when advertised, where and closing date
• the position description including selection criteria
• a completed Recommendation to Offer New Employment Contract form approved by the Dean (or equivalent)
• the selection report (see below) to be signed by all selection committee members where practicable

Ensure the following information is included in the Selection Report

• position details
  • the title
  • position number
  • organisational location
  • status of the position (full time or part time; ongoing or fixed term)
• the number of applicants with a list of those both short listed and not short listed for interview
• a summary of the process used in selection
• individual assessment of each short listed applicant against the selection criteria
• a comparative assessment of all short listed applicants
• a statement of recommendation
• signatures of Selection Committee members

Ensure the following information is attached to the selection report

• the search plan (where applicable)
• the short list report with brief reasons why non-short listed applicants were excluded
• the list of questions asked in the interview
• summary of contact with referees
• results of any other assessment processes