A Toolkit on Recruitment and Selection - psc.gov.za

1 AToolkit on Recruitment and SelectionIssued in the Republic of South Africa by:Public Service Commission,National Office:Commission House,cnr Hamilton and Ziervogel Streets,ArcadiaPrivate Bag X121,PretoriaTel:(012) 328 7690 Fax:(012) 325 and Distribution by the Chief Directorate:Human Resource Management and DevelopmentDesign and Layout:Advertising Studio 136It gives me great pleasure to present these guidelines in theformat of a Toolkit on Recruitment and Selection for use inthe Public present Government is in the process of restructuring thePublic Service with the aim of improving on its service the same time several initiatives are being implement-ed in order to ensure that the process of restructuring is fair,transparent and efficient. In this regard the manner in whichrecruitment and Selection is conducted - often viewed as amirror of fairness and transparency within departments -becomes paramount.

2 The nature of Recruitment and selectionmakes it susceptible to corruption and malpractices. Thoroughprocedures are thus necessary to minimize , Recruitment and Selection within the government tends to be under sharp public scruti-ny,and any aspersions are likely to negate the thrust of clean administration professed by govern-ment. This also undermines the morale and effectiveness of staff. With this in mind,and that thePublic Service Commission has been regularly called upon to investigate Recruitment and relatedselection malpractices,guidelines contained in this Toolkit should provide a useful is important to emphasise that for service delivery to improve and for transformation to be takenforward,our appointments,at all levels,need to be above reproach. It is only when we select the mostcompetent persons available,within the parameters of legislation on AffirmativeAction andEmployment Equity,that we will be able to provide the leadership and skills required to advance is trusted that you will find this manual useful,as you play your important role in driving the col-lective action of government towards improving the overall quality of its public service and its Stan SangweniChairperson:Public Service Commission1 Foreword by Chairperson23 Chapter 1: importance of Recruitment and departments go shortcomings revealed by PSC of these needs to be done?

3 The purpose with this Toolkit is to assist with areas of Recruitment and selection9 Chapter 2: Objectives and framework underpinning this objectives with this underlying of policy guidelines may detract from goal to plan sets the scene for administration and decisions yield poor results13 Chapter 3: The Management of the Recruitment and Selection the of and Selection is a line management Recruitment and Selection phase should be finalised beforemoving on to the next time periods should be allocated to the execution of each and every that need to be (a) What you advertise for is what you get18(b)Principles applying to advertising19(c)How can discrimination be avoided? (a)Purpose of screening20(b)Principles applying to screening21(c)Important screening (a)Purpose of short-listing29(b)Principles applying to short-listing29(c)How can discrimination be avoided?

4 30(d)Important short-listing final Selection phase(a)Purpose of the final Selection phase37 Contents4(b)Principles applying to the final Selection phase38(c)How can discrimination be avoided?38(d) Selection techniques40(e)Important final Selection issues40(f) Selection committees44(g) Selection instruments46(h)Interviewing46(i) 4: The Development of a Departmental Recruitment and Selection of of of physical filling of :Screening of applicants74B:List of applicants76C:Short-listing of applicants77D:Final Selection of applicants81E:Short-listing and final Selection :Examples87F:Summary of screening,short-listing and final Selection criteria94G:Supportive documentation required for the filling of a post95H:Verification checklist on the filling of a post96 FIGURESF igure 1:The Recruitment and Selection Process16 Figure 2:Screening:A breakdown of activities21 Figure 3:Guidelines for a letter of regret after screening is completed28 Figure 4:Short-listing:A breakdown of activities29 Figure 5.

5 Guidelines for a letter of regret after short-listing and final Selection is completed37 Figure 6:The final Selection phase:A breakdown of activities38 Contents continuedThis Toolkit was compiled as a result of investigations undertaken by the Public Service Commissionon Recruitment and Selection . Following from these investigations it became clear that a need existsfor guidelines on Recruitment and Selection at departmental level. It is intended that the Toolkit willprovide departments with a practical application of guidelines on Recruitment and thanks to the following:nHR Specialist Te a m ,n a m e ly Commissioners Ke n ny Mat h ew s ,D avid Mashego andMzwandile MsokinOdette Ramsingh:Deputy-Director General:Human Resource Management and LabourRelationsnIndran Naidoo,Eugene du Pr and Theuns Kirsten from Chief Directorate:Human ResourceManagement 5 Acknowledgements61 Job evaluation and the subsequent development of job descriptions and duty sheets are not addressed Chapter deals with the importance of Recruitment and selectionThe Public Service is a labour-intensive employer and the quality of its services is directlydependent on the quality and performance of its employees.

6 Viewed from this perspective, Recruitment and Selection collectively represents one of the most important HR the link between good quality Recruitment and service delivery,its importance is para-mount. However,its importance is often made in respect of Recruitment and Selection require costly and extensive rescuemeasures at other levels,such as -na greater need for guidance by managers at higher levels to offset junior employees inability to function independently;nmentoring;ntraining; and na concomitant heavier burden on other members of staff to ensure goal effectiveness of Recruitment and Selection is in itself dependent on the quality of HR plan-ning,proper job descriptions1and staffing requirements dictated by transformation andservice delivery objectives. If these areas are neglected,this will inevitably spill over into thearea of Recruitment and Selection ,setting off an ever-increasing vicious circle.

7 The guidelinescontained in Chapter 3attempt to prevent such problems from departments go shortcomings revealed by PSC investigationsThe PSC has been involved in the investigation of numerous complaints regardingrecruitment and Selection over the last couple of years. While conducting these invest-igations,a definite trend emerged in terms of the problems and constraints experiencedwith Recruitment and Selection . importance of Recruitment and departments go needs to be done?1 Chapter8 Chapter 1 What needs to be done?The main findings constitute the following:Departments generally do not -nhave detailed policies and procedures in place to inform the objective, fair,equitable,con-sistent and responsible application of Recruitment and Selection practices;nhave standardized methods and procedures in place to ensure compliance with the consti-tutionally prescribed values and principles as well as national norms and standards regu-lating HR in the Public Service;nthoroughly consider what skills,competencies,training and traits they require from can-didates that vie for vacant posts before advertising these;nproperly determine valid Selection criteria and apply these consistently;nstructure their Selection processes in accordance with these criteria;nmotivate and record their findings and decisions properly.

8 Andnmonitor their own conduct with a view to of these shortcomingsThe above trends generally give rise to -nthe filling of poststaking exceptionally long (in many instances 9 months and longer);nscreeningand short-listingnot only being flawed and open to criticism,but also notproducing the desired results;nSelection Committee membersnot being sufficiently prepared for the task at hand sincethey -lare sometimes only involved at a very late stage;lare not always provided with sufficient information; lare not always familiar with the Selection instruments utilised; andlmore often than not lack the necessary interviewing skills;nthe final Selection phasenot only being flawed and open to criticism but again notproducing the desired results. This is mainly because -lselection criteria are poorly identified; andlselection interviews are poorly needs to be done?

9 The groundworkFrom the aforegoing it is clear that departments find themselves in a difficult situation as faras Recruitment and Selection is concerned. To be able to recruit and select in a fair,equitableand transparent manner,they need to apply fundamental principles as prescribed by legisla-tion. However,to be able to do this,they need departmental policy as an enabling tool to guidetheir strategies and actions. In the absence of departmental policy,the door is left wide openfor abuse and all kinds of malpractices. Dep a rtments re q u i re assistance to manage re c ru i t m e n tand Selection on a day to day basis. This will be used to also develop dep a rtmental policy. Th i sis exactly what the PSC wishes to achieve with this Toolkit . purpose of this Toolkit is to assist with the following areas of Recruitment andselection:(a)Principles underlying Recruitment and Selection practicesThere are a number of principles that have to be taken into consideration,not only inthe day to day management of Recruitment and Selection ,but also in terms of policydevelopment.

10 Some of these principles are prescribed by legislation,while others canbe seen as good practice approaches that have been developed over time. These havebecome part and parcel of Recruitment and Selection is equally important to take note of principles and practices underlying non-discri m-i n ation. Wo rkplace discri m i n ation is prohibited by the Constitution, 1996. Section 5 ofthe Employment Equity A c t ,55 of 1998 directs that eve ry employer must take steps top romote equal opportunity in the wo rkplace by eliminating unfair discri m i n ation in anye m p l oyment policy or pra c t i c e. Section 6 of the Act prohibits unfair discri m i n ation ina ny employment policy or pra c t i c e, on one or more gro u n d s :R a c e, ge n d e r,s ex ,p reg-n a n cy,m a rital stat u s ,fa m i ly re s p o n s i b i l i t y, ethnic or social ori gi n ,c o l o u r,s exual ori-e n t at i o n ,age,d i s ab i l i t y, re l i gi o n ,HIV stat u s ,c o n s c i e n c e,b e l i e f, political opinion,c u l-t u re,l a n g u age and birt is only one of a number of Constitutional values and principlesgoverning public administration that impact on Recruitment and Selection .