| Our Services |
| We offer and have vast experience and skill in the whole gamut of HR services (and this list is not exhaustive): Why choose us?
We offer: Our approach to Competency Based Recruitment and Selection As a general rule, we recommend the use of a totally inclusive integrated approach, whereby candidates are examined through a variety of exercises, each of which is specifically chosen in consultation with the client, to test how well the candidates perform against the competencies or skills required for the particular job. External advice has urged that organisations in the public sector use a variety of selection techniques to choose the successful candidate for a job:- No selection test on its own is good enough as a predictor of future performance. We wholeheartedly support that view. Some assessment centres rely heavily on personality and ability (psychometric) tests. Ours are different. We design an assessment centre where exercises vary because they are designed around the requirements of the post, so each exercise will be relevant to the post being filled. The exercises will all require candidates to display the behaviours which will evidence a range of competencies necessary to undertake the role effectively. We are convinced that our exercises are a much better way of testing candidates against the competencies required for the post than just static psychometric tests or instruments (although these do have their place and can be used as part of our overall assessment process). Our materials are up-to-date, closely job related, realistic and reflect the way in which people now work in this modern climate. Topics and problems which we provide for candidates to work on are current and many of the issues which they might be asked to deal with encourage them to look ahead and show how they might use their experience, skills and knowledge in the post for which they are applying. We aim to reflect local conditions and current local trends, issues and problems relevant to the organisation and geography. We will therefore design materials for post which, for instance, reflect the Northern Ireland dimension, the Assemblies and legislation which are particular to Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. We are also conscious of the effect of the Government’s agenda on the work of local authorities and this too is reflected in the exercises and topics which we provide. Many candidates have told us that participating in one of our assessment centres was “like real life” or “just like being at work”. Some have also added that they actually enjoyed the experience which in turn showed the client in a favourable light. Our assessment centres are designed to enable candidates to show their skills in a number of ways. By the end of the process, we aim to have a very full picture of each candidates’ strengths and weaknesses in the areas of competency under consideration. A well designed assessment centre not only enables candidates to give of their best, but also reflects well on the Authority. We also provide feedback to candidates after the process. Typically a full assessment centre will comprise four or five discreet exercises. We will probably include a written element (preparation of a briefing note or a report), an oral briefing, a group discussion, a presentation and a structured interview. Such an assessment centre will allow us to test twelve or more competencies. We can provide an abbreviated assessment centre with just three exercises but this only allows us to test candidates against a maximum nine competencies. This shorter process will usually involve a written exercise, a briefing and one other exercise (for instance a presentation, a financial exercise or an interview). Of course, if you do not want to run a full assessment centre we can support your recruitment exercise in other ways. Thus for instance we could devise a written exercise to run alongside your panel interview so that these two elements form the selection process. We will be happy to discuss any appropriate solution with you. These decisions may well depend upon the number of candidates you want to see and the budget you have available. We offer a menu of activities for you to choose from as follows: Job definition/design
The first step in any appointment process should be to think carefully about what the organisation wants the holder of the post to do and what skills, experience and aptitudes are required. The design of any post should not be static but should shift according to the dictates of the organisation itself and a wide range of external influences. Existing job descriptions and person specifications should be revisited to ensure that they are still relevant. New posts need to be described with accuracy. Time spent on this preliminary work is never wasted. We can help you put together materials which will ensure you are aiming at the right target group of potential candidates.
Preparation of the information packs for candidates
Development of a first class information pack with you so that we can convey the most important information about the post to potential candidates so as to maximise the appeal of the job. We can also critically examine any other documentation that you may wish to offer applicants. Top quality here does not mean top price! Lavishly printed booklets are not really useful in today’s market. The influence of the internet requires that potential candidates have instant access to materials. We can use our own website, your website and micro-sites and any combination of these. We can design and print information pack materials – to high standard in terms of the quality of the content. We need to work with you to ensure that the materials that form the pack anticipate and answer likely questions and sell the post and your organisation effectively. Most of our emphasis goes on getting things right for the electronic down-loading of materials. You do need paper versions however we can work with your own print professionals or use our own printers to ensure good value for money. Additional information may be useful to candidates and we can arrange for this to be available to them on the internet, via a CD-ROM or more traditionally through paper copies. We will provide electronic versions of application forms.
Advertising
Designing and placing advertisements is key. We can work with you to ensure that we produce an advertisement which is going to reach the righ target audience and encourage them to find out more. Executive Search
Advertisements only reach a small proportion of people who may be potential candidates – so what if the right people for your posts don’t happen to read the advertisements? In many cases you need to actively go out and seek candidates to encourage them to apply for a job they might not automatically think is for them. This is especially the case where experience suggests there is a limited number of potential candidates of quality. We adopt two approaches. The first is quite low-key and ensures that we contact persons whom we consider suitable and encourage them to apply. We believe that in the interests of equal opportunities it is important that all applications, however they are generated, are considered according to the same criteria based upon compliance with the person specification. Furthermore, whilst we can encourage people that we consider suitable to apply, we never lose sight of the fact that this is your appointment, not ours. It is therefore essential that we do not select the short-list of candidates for interview but that you do so with the benefit of our advice. The second approach is applicable to those cases where experience has shown that recruitment is especially difficult – perhaps you have already advertised unsuccessfully. Here we can thoroughly research the potential field for you and try to find a small number of suitable candidates. Here we are not just looking for expressions of interest but rather we are trying to secure some applications from people who we feel sure could undertake the role successfully. We often undertake this work on the basis of only charging an agreed fee if we are successful in producing candidates for you to consider.
Enquiry and application processing
We will deal with all enquiries arising from the advertisement of the post, send out information packs and keep track of who has responded to us. We provide a 24 hour service through the telephone as well as via the internet and e-mails. We will receive, schedule and acknowledge all applications (acknowledging applications is important!).
Recruitment Administration
We will handle monitoring of applications for you, including an analysis of where responses originate from. We will provide copies of application to you as required, take up references on your behalf and whatever else may be needed.
Longlisting and Shortlisting
We like to work with you on this – not tell you what to do. We will analyse all applications carefully to find the best matches to your requirements and tell you of our findings. If there are a large number of candidates who appear on paper to meet your requirements, we have a rigorous longlisting process which will enable you to concentrate on the stronger candidates at the next stage. You remain in charge at all stages but with the benefit of our advice and support.
Designing and administering individually tailored assessment centres
We will design and administer a comprehensive assessment process based on the competencies which we have agreed with you are required to undertake the post successfully. The scope of the assessment process is flexible and you can learn more about our assessment centres by clicking here
Feedback to candidates
Candidates invest a great deal of time in making an application for a senior appointment and yet many will be unsuccessful. We think that it is important to allow candidates to learn from the process and give some thought to their development needs.
Assistance with final appointment process
Most senior public service appointments conclude with a panel interview of some sort. We can advise on the options, design materials and guide and support you through the process. Once the decision has been made we can deal with all the administrative arrangements in relation to the successful candidate as well as unsuccessful ones. Advertisements only reach a small proportion of people who may be potential candidates – so what if the right people for your posts don’t happen to read the advertisements? In many cases you need to actively go out and seek candidates, to encourage them to apply for a job they might not automatically think is for them. This is especially the case where experience suggests there is a limited number of potential candidates of quality. We adopt two approaches. The first is quite low-key and ensures that we contact persons whom we consider suitable and encourage them to apply. We believe that in the interests of equal opportunities it is important that all applications, however they are generated, are considered according to the same criteria based upon compliance with the person specification. Furthermore, whilst we can encourage people that we consider suitable to apply, we never lose sight of the fact that this is your appointment, not ours. It is therefore essential that we do not select the short-list of candidates for interview but that you do so with the benefit of our advice. The second approach is applicable to those cases where experience has shown that recruitment is especially difficult – perhaps you have already advertised unsuccessfully. Here we can thoroughly research the potential field for you and try to find a small number of suitable candidates. Here we are not just looking for expressions of interest but rather we are trying to secure some applications from people who we feel sure could undertake the role successfully. We often undertake this work on the basis of only charging an agreed fee if we are successful in producing candidates for you to consider. In our view “management” does not require the same set to be demonstrated whatever the structure, job, function or culture of the organisation. We have developed competency frameworks for a number of organisations reflecting their ethos and their requirements in terms of managerial competencies. These frameworks can then be used in the context of organisational development, in recruitment and selection processes and in the way reward systems are devised. We can design and administer development centres to assess individual development needs, provide detailed individual feedback to participants and provide help with personal development plans. For Chief Executives and Senior Staff we design and help administer performance appraisal systems. This can include the provision of training for your Appraisers and Appraisees and we can act as Facilitators for your process. We undertake training needs analysis and deliver a wide range of specialist training such as:
...and so on. We design and develop training materials such as videos/DVDs and supporting documentation and conduct training through role play or using actors. Councillors are often elected and thrown into an arena which can be confusing and frustratingly bureaucratic. We can help develop a comprehensive member development programme or provide development opportunities through various mechanisms. This is a particular strength of ours! We can help provide a comprehensive approach across the organisation designing and helping to implement programmes. We also can provide component parts of a programme such as team building, action learning, working with personal development plans and coaching or mentoring. We have undertaken a number of organisational reviews ranging from the management structure of an organisation to the review of departments, sections or even individual posts. We can provide impartial advice on issues such as the categorisation of posts and in terms of Local Government “Single Status”. Through Organisational Development we can help you make improvements happen by providing a system for managing change. Successful organisational development identifies existing and future projects that help achieve the organisation’s vision and key objectives. It will establish clear outcomes and measure to track and evaluate progress. We can design organisational development frameworks, such as performance management systems, to help deliver changes. We can assist you with the development of corporate and strategic plans. This may be through the facilitation of effective processes to develop plans, consultations, surveys, and the like or maybe you want someone to critique what you have done. We can write plans for clients ensuring that the plan captures everything that the organisation values and aspires to. We can work on the development of specific policies so that they are defined accurately and we can help you develop an implementation plan to ensure that policies are acted on. Teamworking does not just happen – it needs to be worked on. We can help ensure that teams are more effective and capture the synergy that will allow them to exceed expectation. Methods will obviously vary depending on the team – white water rafting is clearly not for all!! We can provide a mentoring and coaching service from our highly experienced and qualified Consultants who have “walked the walk” to bring out the best in your managers. The life of a Chief Executive can be a lonely one! We can provide a mentoring and coaching service programmed to meet the specific requirements and demands of Chief Executives. A large number of our Consultants are former Chief Executives so understand only too well the pressures involved. We have a whole range of psychometric tools available to us as well as fully qualified Psychometric Assessors who can assess anything from one individual personality or ability profile to all applicants in a recruitment process or indeed can profile an entire organisation for developmental purposes. We also have access to on-line psychometric tests to try to keep your costs down! An increasingly popular tool, we can organise, facilitate and deliver 360° appraisals using a variety of methods, including on-line 360° assessments to reduce time, effort and cost. In our team of consultants we have a number of HR policy experts who can advise and assist on the formulation of strong and robust HR policies that will protect and develop your organisation. Performance Management is key to the success of every organisation and we are Performance Management experts in the UK. We will work closely with your management team to identify the best methods of measuring your organisations performance, design a specific programme and then assist you in all facets of the implementation including training, consultation etc. |
Public sector specialists