Recruiting and Retaining Staff

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Principles of Recruitment and Retention

Aimed at ensuring that the organisation has competent, high performing employees who can sustain performance over the long termConsists of: planning, orientation, training,

support

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Principles of Recruitment and Retention

Planning--recruitment, selection, Orientation and training-ensures all are skilled

for the jobSupport-performance appraisal, career

development, good industrial relations, creating the workplace culture

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Elements of a good planning process?

Assessment of current human resourcesAssessment of future needsDevelopment of a program to meet future

needs

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Assessment of future needsImportant to do a job analysisNot to assume that a specific type of

person is neededTo assess the type of job which needs to

be done and the competencies required

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Elements of a good recruitment process?

Establish where to source peopleEnsure you have the right job descriptionDevelop appropriate selection criteria and a

weighting systemDetermine how you will shortlistDetermine who will interviewEnsure the panel is skilled

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Elements of a good recruiting processEnsure that there is a clear process for

credentialing and scope of practiceHow are credentials assessed?What documentation is provided?What scope of practice is required by the

organisation?

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Elements of a good recruitment process

Go through the questions to be askedEnsure all interviewees are asked the same

questionsEstablish appropriate referees and questions

to be askedDetermine what other information you

requireUse the behavioural interviewing technique

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What is behavioural interviewing? Behavioural Interviewing is asking a

question about a candidates experience to ascertain if the way they behaved in a situation is what you want for your organisation or for the job.

Behaviour in the candidate's past experience is a good guide for future performance

Takes the guesswork out of interviewing

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Hints for behavioural interviewingDesign questions beforehandAsk questions about technical skill as well as

behaviourKnow what behaviours you want to testUse examples of behaviour that are recentAsk questions about both failure and successProbe where necessary

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Examples of behavioural questionsAbility to delegate:

Can you describe a situation where you were organising something and had others helping you. How did you distribute the tasks? What was the outcome?

Knowing limitations:Tell me about a time when you had to turn to

someone else for help. Who did you turn to? What happened?

Being a team player:Were you ever involved with a group of people and

a problem arose? What caused the problem? How did you approach it? How was it solved?

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Elements of a good recruitment process

Have a template for questions to refereesHave a template for a letter to notify

applicants of the processHave a template to offer the position to the

applicant to include their responsibilities, scope of practice and process of review of credentials

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Elements of a good orientation process

What outcomes are you seeking?Need to consider what the employee needs

to know about the organisation and about the job itself

Do they need any new knowledge or skills quickly?

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Elements of a good orientation process

Need to be oriented to the organisation and to the unit

Need to clearly understand their responsibilities and the responsibilities of the organisation to them

Need to meet all of the key peopleNeed to meet other members of the unitShould be done by the head of the unit

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Education and trainingShould aim towards the principle of life long

learningThis is a responsibility of staffEncourage staff to constantly update skills

required in the work environmentIncludes--technical, analytical, interpersonal

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Performance appraisalWhat are the objectives of performance

appraisal?In the past was often to determine if a pay

increase would be awardedNow is really for two-way feedback,

professional development, understanding of what is needed by staff to do a competent job

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Performance appraisalShould be a positive experienceEasier if there are competencies against

which the staff member is being assessedNeeds to include a self-appraisalNeeds to include positive as well as negative

feedback (communication techniques)Is an important aspect of review of credentials

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Career DevelopmentPerformance appraisal can help with thisManager should be alert to career issues of

staffWho shows potential?Who cannot move outside their comfort zone?Who is poor at taking responsibility?Who can mentor other staff?

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Be alert to:Changing expectations of staffChanging expectations of patientsChanging environmental influencesChanging social influencesCulture in the workplace

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Developing the right cultureA good work environment is critical to retaining staffNeed a balance of systems (control, conformity) and

unpredictability (creativity, initiative, risk taking)You can develop this in your area even if the culture

of the organisation as a whole is systems basedNeed to use the untapped ability of your staffUse systems as the framework and bolster this with a

personal approachRedefine policies and procedures to support the staff

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Developing the right cultureDelegate appropriately and support staff in

their decisionsUse mistakes as learning experiencesUnderstand motivating factorsUnderstand differences in personality and

communication styles

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Developing the right cultureProvide copious amounts of informationFoster and promote good ideasEncourage links with other departmentsEstablish internal celebration mechanismsEnsure that every staff member feels part of

the team

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The changing employment contractOld paradigm

organisations expected loyalty and sacrifice of autonomy

emphasis on control of the employeedoctrine of strategy-structure-systems

employees received pay and job security

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The changing employment contract

New paradigm--knowledge is a scarce resourceorganisations must provide training and

development opportunities for personal and professional growth

change of contract from guarantee of employment to commitment to employability

emphasis on purpose-process-people

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Motivating staffThe key to retaining good staff is keeping

them motivatedWhich factors demotivate people? What motivates people to:

Remain in an organisationContinue to be productive Be positive about their work

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Demotivators Inequity while doing the same job:

Different conditionsDifferent treatmentDifferent pay

Lack or perceived lack of job securityIf these things are fixed they will not

necessarily lead to improved retention

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Motivators Providing an environment where all can

contribute and have influence on their jobReward and recognitionParticipation in decision makingMeaningful workTrust the leadership of the organisation

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Improving employee motivationCreate a positive environment where staff feel

valuedInvolve staff in the vision so that they can

contributeUnderstand their goals and assist so that they

can achieve themAssist to improve their skillsAcknowledge contributionsHonour your promisesMatch tasks to talentsProvide incentivesHave fun!

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