How to shortlist CVs quickly and effectively

By Nick Billingham, Manager at TPP Not for Profit

In today’s current job-heavy market, there are some charity jobs that will produce literally hundreds of applications, particularly the more generic administration roles.  It’s daunting facing such a mountain of paperwork, and it can be tricky to know where to start.  In this post, we look at ways to make it easy to shortlist applicants to find the people you want to interview.

Unlike recruiting for more specialist roles, where you may need to compare applicants with very different CVs, the goal here is to exclude as many unsuitable candidates in the shortest possible time.


Log all applications

Firstly, best practice is to log all applications with the candidate’s name, email and source of their application.  When you scan their CV you can also add in some brief notes on their skills and experience.  This may seem like a lot of work already, but it will help you keep track of who you’ve rejected, who you might be interested in and where your applications are coming from (useful for deciding where to place future advertising).


Define your criteria

Before you start going through CVs, it’s very important to define exactly what your ideal candidate will look like.  You should use your job description and person specification to pull together two lists; essential criteria and desirable criteria.  Be really strict about the criteria you term ‘essential’ – as a rule of thumb there should be twice as many desirables as essentials.

You can then go through your CVs and score each against your lists of criteria.  Any that don’t meet all of the essential criteria can be quickly discarded.  Working to lists of criteria also allows you to split up the CVs with other team members and ensures you are all shortlisting on the same terms.

It’s also a good idea to decide before you start to shortlist how many candidates you want to interview – this will help avoid the temptation to keep anyone in who ‘may’ be suitable.



Conduct your shortlist in stages

The quickest way to shortlist is to do it in stages.  The first stage is to run through all the CVs and simply exclude those who don’t meet your essential criteria list, and note this on your spreadsheet.  This should immediately make the pile of CVs much more manageable.

In stage 2 you should go through the remaining CVs and assign the candidates scores against each item in your list of essential criteria, recording the scores on your spreadsheet.  This will give you an easy way to rank candidates and give you a top ten to work with.  At this stage, you should also check for any inconsistencies in their CV and make sure that their presentation, spelling and grammar, and attention to detail are flawless on both their CV and covering letter (if applicable).

In the final stage, you should start with a list of candidates who would all be able to do the fundamentals of the role.  You can now go through and score them against your list of desirable criteria, which will help single out the candidates who will be able to pick things up more quickly and contribute that bit extra to your organisation.

Bear in mind that it is extremely unlikely that you’ll find a candidate who matches every single item on both your list of essentials and desirables.  Indeed, the very best candidate may sometimes require you to think outside the box.  But it’s important to try and stick to your original lists wherever possible in order to minimise unconscious bias as much as possible.


Give everyone a response

Everyone who takes the time to apply for a role should receive some form of response, even if it is just an automated email.  Keeping your spreadsheet of applicants up to date should make it easier to ensure everyone gets an update on their application.

This is particularly important for charities, whose audiences of employees, volunteers, supporters and advocates tend to widely overlap.  A simple email thanking candidates for their interest but expressing regret that not everyone can be asked to interview should be enough.  You can even remind them of all the other ways they could support your organisation.


Sounds like a lot of work?

The fact is, however you manage the process, shortlisting for most roles is always going to require a big investment of your time.  TPP regularly handle roles for our clients that generate high volumes of response; we recently had 116 applications for a Finance Assistant role and regularly deal with vacancies generating several hundred applications.

Some organisations prefer to recruit for lower level roles internally, but these are the ones that typically eat into your valuable time.  If you think your working hours could be better spent, talk to us about handling your vacancy.  We’ll deal with all the administration and candidate liaising, and will interview all candidates, prior to sending you a shortlist.  We also try to make sure all applicants have a positive recruitment experience, whether they are successful or not, and we will always present your organisation to candidates as an attractive opportunity.  And best of all, you only pay when you appoint a candidate.

For more information about our recruitment services, visit our website or contact us on 020 7198 6000 or info@tpp.co.uk.

Why you need to review your application form

Even though many job applicants dislike filling out application forms, lots of non-profit employers prefer to use them for their recruitment.  In this post, we look at the pros and cons of application forms and how to tailor them to get the best possible response for your vacancy.


Why do employers use them?

There are some distinct advantages to asking a candidate to fill out an application form, rather than send in a CV.  They usually save an employer time and effort, especially if it’s an online form that feeds directly into an ATS (applicant tracking system).  They also make it easier to reduce bias when shortlisting candidates, as each candidate is forced to give exactly the same information.  Many of the questions on application forms are there for legal or institutional reasons, and ensure compliance when recruiting.

The fact that application forms are so very unpopular also encourages some employers to use them. Filling out an application form tests the candidate’s commitment to that role and discourages unsuitable candidates or those who simply send off untailored CVs to every role going.

However, one of the most common reasons for organisations to use application forms is simply because they always have done.  Each time they recruit, extra questions are added to the form, without reviewing it as a whole – resulting in forms that are extremely long and full of redundant questions.


What are the negatives?

The main problem with application forms is that they tend to be far too long and extremely tedious to complete.  Candidates have usually already spent a long time polishing up their CV prior to starting to look for roles, and having to start from scratch each time can be very repetitive and time consuming.  The questions asked are also not always obviously relevant to the job a candidate is applying for.

At TPP, we have a lot of anecdotal evidence that really good candidates simply don’t bother applying for roles if the process is too complicated.  Application forms may discourage unwelcome responses, but they can also deter some candidates who might be ideal for your role.  It takes most jobseekers at least half a day to complete an application form, which is time that’s hard to find if you’re already working full time.  Exceptional candidates can be greatly in demand, and if they can get a job easily elsewhere with less effort, they are not likely to apply for yours.

The more senior your vacancy, the more likely it is that your ideal candidates are ‘passive’ jobseekers, ie those who are not actively looking for a new role but might be tempted by the ideal job.  These candidates are even less likely to sacrifice the time it takes to complete a long and complicated application form.

Other problems with application forms are that they lack flexibility and make it difficult for good candidates to distinguish themselves in a creative way or to really demonstrate their personality.  Also, if a candidate makes a small mistake filling out the form, their application may be automatically rejected, even if they are perfect for your role.


So what should you do?

First of all, you need to find out if you are required to use application forms for every role in your organisation.  If not, it’s worth deciding on a case-by-case basis whether to use them.  The more senior, specialist or niche your role, the less likely you are to have high volumes of suitable applicants, so it’s worth making it as easy as possible to apply.

A compromise solution might be a two-tier process.  Ask candidates to send in their CV and do an initial quick shortlist of those with the right skills and experience.  You can then ask those applicants to complete an application forms to make the final shortlisting process easier and fairer.  These candidates will also be motivated to fill in the forms as they have already passed one hurdle.

The most important thing you can do to improve your recruitment process is to review your application form and make sure it is doing its job – allowing you to identify excellent candidates while filtering out unwanted applications.  The golden rule is, the shorter and easier your form is and the more relevant the questions, the more likely candidates are to make it to the end.


What should you include?

Always start off with basic information and questions that are easy to complete, such as name and contact details and the post applied for, as this encourages candidates to start filling out the form.

You should ask applicants to confirm their right to work in the UK, give details of previous employment, education and qualifications.

It is also very important to include a free text box to allow candidates to write a personal statement in order to sell themselves, along the lines of “why should we consider you for this role”.  It is also a good idea to give applicants room to comment on their answers, eg to explain gaps in their career or unusual career choices.  However, avoid asking too many open-ended questions, as this will lead to repetition, which makes application forms tedious to complete and to read.  Keep behavioural questions, asking candidates to demonstrate their experience, for an interview setting instead.


What should you take off?

Quite simply, take out anything that is unnecessary.  For example, do you really need details for every one of the candidate’s previous employers?  Or just the most recent or relevant?

It is also important to make sure that the questions elicit responses that are non-discriminatory.  For example, you should not ask for a candidate’s date of birth, native language or religion.  Some questions are borderline, eg asking for reference details is standard but may result in average candidates being shortlisted purely because they have impressive referees.  See our post on interview questions to avoid for more tips on avoiding discrimination.

Many not for profit employers like to collect equal opportunities information to monitor the success of their policies designed to promote diversity.  TPP’s advice is that this is a separate, completely anonymous form and not simply tacked on to the application form.


Make the process easy

Even if you can’t improve your application form, there are steps you can take to make the application process as a whole better for candidates.  Your application form should be attached to job advertisements wherever possible; requiring candidates to contact you to request a form is simply creating more work for both you and them.

Online forms are usually the easiest to complete, but even these can be difficult.  Make it clear to applicants how many sections there are to the form and what stage they have reached, and make sure that they can save their progress mid-way and that the form won’t time out.  Adding validation to required fields means that candidates can only submit the form when they’ve given you all the mandatory information you require.

Finally, after making candidates jump through hoops to apply for your job, you should always acknowledge receipt of their application and let them know the outcome, whether successful or not.  After all, people interested in working for you may also be those most likely to donate, refer or volunteer, and you don’t want to damage your relationship with them or your organisation’s reputation.


Finally, test the process

The last stage in improving your application forms is to make sure that they are clear and unambiguous and as easy as possible to complete.  The best way to do this is to have several current employees pretend to be candidates and complete the form for you, giving you feedback on the overall process.

It’s also worth getting hold of the forms used by organisations similar to yours and comparing them to your own.  If it’s much harder to apply for your roles, candidates may choose to go elsewhere instead.


Useful Resources
Application form template for charity jobs from HRBird

CIPD – How to design application forms, including good tips on avoiding discrimination

How to sell your organisation to interviewees

An interview is a two-way process; it’s an opportunity for both the organisation and the candidate to find out whether they are suitable for each other.

It looks like the job market is starting to recover, meaning that there will be more roles out there and jobseekers can start to be more selective.  And as we mentioned before, the very best candidates are always in high demand, and there are some roles that will always prove difficult to recruit for.

Particularly for smaller charities, who may not be able to compete on salary, or those in less attractive locations, it is important to sell the benefits of working for your organisation, both functional (location, salary, benefits) and intangible (passion for our work, workplace culture), so that candidates will choose to work for you.  In this month’s blog, we look at some of the most effective ways to sell your organisation during the interview process; giving you the best chance of attracting and appointing the best candidates.

Start with what your candidate wants

‘Know your customer’ is a basic rule of successful sales – in this case your customer is your candidate.  To make your organisation as attractive as possible to them, it’s important to know exactly what they’re looking for and how you can meet their expectations.

Although it’s important to keep competency-based interview questions standard to all interviewees, the section where you talk about your organisation should ideally be tailored to each individual.  Bear this in mind when you are reading through their CV or doing online research prior to an interview.  For example, if they have children (and voluntarily mention this) they are much more likely to be interested in family-friendly policies and benefits.

It’s also a good idea to find out if your candidate is interviewing elsewhere, and if so, where and when.  This gives you an idea of the timescale in which you’ll have to act to get them on board, but also gives you an idea of what they are looking for.

Of course, the easiest way to find out what is important to a candidate is simply to ask them in the interview.  You can then immediately tell them how strong your organisation is in these areas.

Do your research

You can find out a lot about how attractive your organisation is as an employer by simply asking your candidates and existing employees a few questions.  For example, speak to employees who have recently joined and ask them how they found the interview process and what particularly attracted them to the organisation or role.

After a round of recruitment, it’s best practice to follow up with candidates (particularly those who went to other organisations instead of yours) about the interview process and their decisions.  This can help you find out what’s missing from your offering and either correct it or stress other areas in which you are strong.

There’s also a lot of information out there to help you benchmark your organisation.  Use salary surveys and monitor charity job  advertising to find out if the salaries and benefits you offer are competitive and to discover which areas you’ll need to compensate for.  A good recruitment consultancy like TPP will include this in their recruitment service.

Sell the mission

People who work for charities almost always do so because they are passionate about their cause and want to make a difference.  Your organisation’s mission is one of the most valuable recruitment sales tools you have and it’s important to be able to effectively communicate the values and vision of the organisation.

In the same way as you’d attract potential donors, you can use stories to illustrate exactly how important the services you offer are and the impact that they have on the community.  Make sure you cover both what your organisation is and does, and what you hope to achieve in the future.

Wherever possible, relate what you do to the interviewee’s background and previous experience.  One of the easiest ways to do this is to ask interviewees why they want to work for you and use their reply to tell them why they should work for you.

Talk about the future

When you’re talking about your organisation, and the role in general, it’s important to cover any plans for the future, as these could have a dramatic effect on both the organisation and job.  Is the organisation planning to expand or take on new responsibilities?  Do you have an ambitious strategy or a 5-year plan?  How will this affect their department or team?

Exciting plans for the future are generally attractive to potential employees as they suggest that the organisation is ambitious and forward-thinking and that their role could develop as the organisation does.

Benefits

Benefits are one of the key ways for charities to distinguish themselves as employers without increasing salaries and jobseekers in the third sector generally expect better benefits.  Some things to consider mentioning include:

• Paid benefits like medical or dental cover or travel insurance
• Salary sacrifice schemes for computers or mobile purchases, travel loans, childcare vouchers or cycle to work schemes
• Do you offer more than 20 days annual leave?  Are there extended breaks around holidays?
• Extra payments to cover relocation or travel
• Parental leave cover
• Pension contributions
• ·         Flexible or home working options
   

TPP has done a great deal of research into charity employees’ motivations for moving roles and we have found that two areas score consistently highly: pension contributions and flexible working.  Make sure you are familiar with your organisation’s policy on flexible working and pension plan, as these are the areas that are most likely to affect a candidate’s decision to join you.

While some organisations have a fixed benefits package, others are willing to negotiate with key employees to get them on board.  Make sure you know if this is an option prior to interview, as offering them better benefits can head off rejections based on salary from the outset.

Employer Brand

While all good interviewees should have done their research into your organisation’s performance as a charity, they may not be aware of your track record as an employer.  Look for opportunities during the interview to talk about your organisation’s reputation as an employer and show them why you have this reputation.

If you have a particularly low turnover of staff, this is a good sign that they are happy working there.  You can also mention employee satisfaction surveys, if you conduct them, or any employer certifications or awards you have received.  You need to discover the things that make your organisation a good place to work and distinguishes you from other potential employers.

Office culture

We’ve talked before about the importance of recruiting to fit your organisation’s culture.  The day-to-day working atmosphere can have a big impact on how happy your employees are and it’s important to cover this in interviews so candidates know whether it will suit them.

Obviously, different candidates want different types of environment, so consider how your organisation could appeal to people at different stages of life.  Are you a ‘fun’ employer with lots of social activities, do you offer stability and family-friendly benefits, or are you a diverse organisation with a wide range of characters?

Don’t duck any issues

No organisation can be perfect for every employee and there are always going to be areas in which you score lower than others.  However, there might be some obvious things that could put candidates off.  In this case, they are best addressed in the interview, when you can put a positive spin on the problem, rather than it being swept under the carpet.

For example, if you are a smaller charity in an out-of-town location which might put some candidates off, you could stress the benefits of a rural location such as less noise and pollution, an easier commute with plenty of parking, support for the local community etc.

In this period, job stability is one of the most important motivators for jobseekers, so if your organisation has just had a reorganisation or round of redundancies, make sure you talk about the reasons why this occurred and the benefits it has brought to the organisation, as well as stressing that this period is now over.

Or get someone else to do it for you…

A significant advantage of using recruitment consultancies like TPP to fill your vacancies is that jobseekers will often trust third party endorsements more than those from the horse’s mouth.  We are experts in recruiting for the third sector, and we know exactly what best motivates our candidates.  We take the time, wherever possible, to get to know your organisation and its culture, so all the candidates we send to interview will already have a positive (but honest) impression of your organisation.

The perils of purple squirrels

On average, employers take 5 weeks and 6 days to recruit a new employee, and even longer for senior or specialist roles.  This is nearly twice as long as the average time taken to recruit in 2008.

High unemployment has led to a candidate-heavy job market.  With so many jobseekers out there eager for work, why are organisations taking such a long time to fill their vacancies?  

Even seeing lots of excellent candidates doesn't help employers to make a decision, as it encourages them to believe there’s someone even better out there.

So why are there delays?

Recruiting can be an expensive business, and the costs of hiring the wrong person are extremely high.  Although the economy appears to be picking up, not for profit organisations still fear that there may be further turmoil ahead and remain cautious about hiring.

With the glut of candidates to choose from, employers feel they can wait to find their perfect candidate; one who has all of the ‘desired’ points on the job description, as well as those ‘required’.  Even interviewing lots of excellent candidates can encourage employers to wait, as they believe there must be someone even better out there.

Red tape and overly complicated processes can also delay an organisation’s hiring process and the saving on overheads made by not recruiting can feel like an incentive to keep a vacancy unfilled.

But keeping a job open for months on end or spending extra effort recruiting doesn't actually address the core reasons why it is so hard to find the perfect candidate.  One of those reasons is that perfect candidates are too rare to bank on – they are ‘purple squirrels’.

What is a purple squirrel?

A purple squirrel is a term recruiters and hiring managers use to define an ultra-rare candidate who is perfect for the role, down to the last detail.  A purple squirrel will have all the skills and experience required, fit perfectly into your organisation’s culture, live in the right area and, crucially, will work for the salary offered.

These candidates do come along occasionally, but too rarely to build a recruitment strategy on.  Purple squirrels are not a product of successful recruiting, but more often simply due to luck.

The impact of delays on recruitment

Maintaining the momentum of your recruitment process is important to keep candidates motivated about the role, and delaying could be a crucial factor if they are deciding between two jobs.  Even though the market is candidate-heavy, the best candidates are still in high demand, and they won’t hang around while you wait to see if someone even better turns up.  They will go to more decisive organisations, and their negative recruitment experience could reflect badly on your employer brand.

A recruitment campaign only lasts so long.  If your possible candidates have found jobs elsewhere, you may have to start the process again from scratch - using up your valuable time and wasting money.  As the economy starts to recover and hiring increases, the demand for good candidates is just going to increase even more.

Positions left unfilled for a long time also become less attractive to potential candidates, like houses that remain unsold – everyone thinks there must be something wrong with the role.  In fact, Britons believe that job vacancies that remain unfilled for more than 72 days are roles that nobody wants.  This means that the longer you wait, the less likely you are to find a really good employee to fill the role.

And the impact on your organisation

Obviously, organisations cannot function without employees.  Unless you reorganise to absorb duties elsewhere, you are eventually going to have to fill a vacancy.  While a job is not being done, productivity in that department drops, and the longer you leave it, the harder it is to build up momentum again.

Taking a long time to recruit also puts unfair amounts of pressure on your other employees, who will have to cover the essential duties of that role.  This may affect productivity and ultimately retention, as overworked and disgruntled employees are less likely to remain loyal and motivated.

Remember the perfect candidate may not be the best one

In the long term, it is more important to find a candidate who fits the culture of your organisation.  When recruiting, you should prioritise ‘hard to learn’ requirements like people skills over specific skills that can be learnt on the job.  Employees who are trained up to do a role have more incentive to succeed and tend to stay longer in a role.  Rather than waiting to find the perfect candidate, why not invest that time in training up a good one to become perfect in the role.

Another area to consider is the opportunities for flexible working.  Again, this can lead to a more loyal and motivated employee.  Being flexible in one area may also mean that you can negotiate with the salary offered.

The ‘perfect’ candidate that an organisation is looking for can often be one that is exactly like the hiring manager or the departed employee.  While they may be able to pick up the ropes quickly, a candidate like this will not bring in new ideas or fresh viewpoints to your organisation.  It is generally accepted that a more diverse workforce is a more effective and resilient workforce.

The view from TPP

At TPP, we’ve represented our share of purple squirrel candidates, and we know how very rare and in demand these employees are.  When we work with you to fill a vacancy, we use a combination of job advertising, social media, our own database of contacts and search and selection to find both active and passive candidates we might be suitable.  We then interview them, face-to-face wherever possible, before sending over their details, to go through their CV and to check how well their personality will mesh with your organisation’s culture.  We will only put a candidate forward for a role if we are confident that they can develop into your perfect employee.

If you're not sure...

If you are undecided about whether to hire a candidate you've interviewed right now, or to wait and see if there is a better candidate out there, why not consider offering the position as a temporary or contract assignment?  This allows you to save on overheads, gives you some coverage for the role until you hire permanently, and lets you try out candidates in a real working environment.  Based on their performance, you can then offer them the role on a permanent basis, or keep recruiting.  But bear in mind that your temporary employee may also continue to look elsewhere!

Ultimately, if you are adamant you need a candidate that fulfils every requirement, you are going to have to wait for them to appear and it is highly likely that you will have to increase your offered salary to secure them.  We believe that it is more cost-effective to concentrate on the best person you find for the job, rather than the best person out there.

How many candidates should you interview?

Have you ever spent days interviewing jobseekers for a role, only to find you don’t have anyone who really fits the job description or that you can’t agree on a favourite candidate? In this blog post, TPP looks at the pitfalls of interviewing too many (or too few) candidates and how you can get to the perfect ratio.

Why not interview everyone who’s suitable for the role?

Some organisations take the view that you should interview everyone who may be suitable for the role, so that you can compare different skill sets to find the best possible candidate. While this is a good idea in theory, in practice it creates a lot of problems for the interviewers.

First and foremost, interviewing a lot of candidates takes a huge amount of time, both in the interviews and in pre- and post-interview discussions. Having many different possibilities also means that everyone involved in the process could have a different favourite candidate, who supports their own aims or ideals, making it difficult to come to a consensus.

Lots of interviewees also create more administration. It’s important to keep in touch with your candidates and give them feedback, to manage their expectations and ensure they have a good recruitment experience that doesn’t damage your employer brand. This adds even more to your workload and eats up time.

All this prolongs the decision-making period when recruiting for a new role. Even though there are lots of jobseekers in the market at the moment, top-notch candidates still tend to get snapped up swiftly. Delay the recruitment process and you risk losing your best candidates to another organisation.

Interviewing too few candidates is also a problem, as you many not be able to fill the role, and if you do you may feel you have had to settle for a less than ideal candidate.

So what is the right number of candidates to interview?

Obviously, there is no magic formula to find the right number of interviewees. Some roles attract a wider pool of applicants, giving you a huge pool of candidates to choose from, while others may only have a couple of potential interviewees.

In TPP’s experience, admin or communications roles tend to attract huge numbers of applicants, while harder to fill roles in fundraising or at the senior end usually only result in a few candidates. But huge responses do not mean you have to interview hundreds of candidates.

As a general guideline, we suggest you meet with 3-5 candidates in the first round of interviews, and 2-3 in the second. If you are interviewing more than these, it may mean that you are not qualifying your candidates sufficiently prior to the interview. Spending some extra time in putting together a job description and person specification can save you hours spent debating the merits of different candidates later on.

How do I narrow down the list?

First of all, you shouldn’t be interviewing people with different skill sets. When putting together a job description, you should create lists of essential and desirable competencies. Also decide on the level of training you are willing to provide. Anyone who does not have all of the essential competencies can be discarded and the remainders ranked by the number of desirable skills they possess. The interview can then be used to judge cultural fit and personality instead of skills.

You can further narrow down your list of potential candidates using pre-screening techniques, such as aptitude tests and personality profiles. You can also check references and qualifications and make CRB checks if required to rule out candidates before you invest time in interviewing them.

A common reason for organisations to interview too many candidates is that they are trying to duplicate their existing star performers. This can waste far too much time and rule out candidates who many perform just as well, but in a different way. A mixture of personalities tends to work best in most organisations, as it aids idea generation and innovation.

Any potential deal breakers, like salary expectations, should be brought up in advance, not at the end of the interview; a very common interview mistake.

If you are using a recruitment agency to preselect candidates for you, make sure you give them all the available information and that they truly understand your needs. TPP always take the time to make sure we fully recognise your requirements, however urgent the role, and present you with only those candidates we are confident fully meet the brief. At TPP, the offer management process starts as soon as we meet with a potential candidate, so there will never be any nasty surprises when you’re ready to make them an offer.

Things to remember

You only actually NEED to interview one person and if the first person you see is perfect for the role, you can offer it to them straight away. Recruiters often simply don't believe their luck, and continue to interview more candidates just to compare or see who else is out there. This risks losing the original interviewee, as a candidate who is that good for you is likely to be highly viable for other roles and greatly in demand. If the candidate truly meets all your requirements, and is a good personality fit, strike while the iron is hot or you risk losing them.

If your first round of interviews fails to come up with any suitable candidates, there may be a problem with your job description. Limiting the number of applicants you see gives you a chance to fix the problems before launching on a second round, and means there are still potential candidates out there to interview.

If you are in any doubt about the ideal number of candidates to interview, your TPP consultant will be able to advise you. Plus, all of the candidates we suggest to you are pre-screened in face-to-face meetings, so we can be confident they will be a good fit for your organisation both in terms of competencies and personality.

Further resources

8 ways to effectively shortlist candidates
How many people should you call in for a first in person interview
The guerilla guide to interviewing
How many candidates should I interview

Achieving diversity from the bottom up

Almost all not for profit organisations now recognise the value of having a diverse workforce and that achieving this is something they need to work towards. Organisations often begin by seeking to increase diversity among their senior, high visibility staff. But it is equally important to make sure that you have a diversity strategy in place for entry and lower level staff, ensuring that you are creating a pool of employees to become future leaders.

Why embrace diversity?

Employing people from a wide range of ages, backgrounds and lifestyles can add a great deal of value to organisations. Diverse workforces have a broader mix of skills, knowledge and experience, giving an organisation more creativity and flexibility to overcome challenges.  It has also been proven that increasing diversity leads to better staff retention.

For not for profit organisations, it is particularly important that their staff empathises with the beneficiaries of their services, and a diverse workforce can help to achieve this. Charities also have a public duty to promote equality, as per the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003.

Top down or bottom up?

Bringing in top level staff from a non-typical background is a great way for not for profit organisations to publicly demonstrate their commitment to diversity. However, it is also important to diversify the composition of staff at lower levels, to ensure there is a ‘talent pipeline’ that will supply the next generation of management.

Improving diversity at all levels of the company is also important in encouraging staff to believe in and support equal opportunities policies and mission statements.

So where do you start?

Obviously, to ensure you have a diverse workforce, you have to be able to measure both your existing workforce and progress against targets. When setting these targets, you need to consider the populations you want to reflect – the public in general, your specific service users and your volunteers and donors.

Following are some specific ways in which you can introduce equal opportunities at the lower levels of your organisation.

Explore different advertising options

To improve diversity in your workforce, it is important not to rely on word of mouth, referrals and traditional routes to market to advertise your roles. These generally only bring in candidates who are similar to your existing employees.

Instead, explore different networking channels such as special interest groups or training organisations. Make sure your vacancies are advertised among your organisation’s beneficiaries, by putting them on your website and in any newsletters, magazines or other publications you produce.

Start at the interview stage

If you are serious about improving equal opportunities, you need to make sure your interviews take place in accessible locations and at flexible times.

Assess each person you consider against a predetermined person specification, and not against the other candidates. Take care when writing this specification to avoid your own beliefs and attitudes don’t skew the selection criteria, and be sure that the qualifications specified are really needed to do the job and not ones based on assumptions.

Consider positive action

Reverse or positive discrimination is illegal in the UK.  However, there are measures you can take to target particular groups that are under-represented in your company.

For example, including statements such as “we welcome applications from disabled people” in your job advertising or offering guaranteed interviews to disabled candidates can encourage more of these people to apply for your roles.  You could also consider allowing certain groups more time to submit their applications.

Other positive action steps that you can consider include offering on the job training or flexible working options targeted to attract a specific group.

Recycle unsuccessful candidates

If you’ve seen a candidate who you feel would work well within your organisation, but might not be suitable for that particular role, don’t automatically dismiss them but take a while to consider how they could fit into the organisation in other ways.

Are there other vacancies coming up which they could apply for? Or is it possible to place them in a role in which they could be trained up to do the job they originally applied for?

Mentoring and work placements
A great way to bring candidates from different backgrounds into your organisation is to offer mentoring or work experience schemes. This way, you can give disadvantaged candidates some valuable work experience and career training and advice. If you come across any who might fit particularly well within your organisation, you can then choose to move them to temporary or permanent paid employment.

See the DTI Work Experience Guidelines via the Skillset website for practical advice on offering work experience.

How can TPP help?

Many employers, particularly small organisations, simply may not have the resources available to devote to diversifying their workforces. This is where a recruitment consultancy like TPP Not for Profit can offer real value.

We have arrangements with a wide variety of associations, networks and job boards, meaning that your vacancy can either receive as wide a coverage as possible or be targeted at a particular population group, depending on your requirements.

Useful Resources

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission
Diversity works for London
Chartered Institute of Professional Development
REC factsheet on the access to work scheme (provides funding to employers to improve access for those with disabilities)
REC factsheet on the recruitment of ex-offenders 

Writing effective job descriptions and person specifications

What is a job or person specification?

Before you place a vacancy with a recruitment consultancy, it is a good idea to spend some time evaluating exactly what you require from a candidate. While a job description and person specification are not legal requirements, they will save you time in the long run.

A job specification is a detailed description of the role, including all responsibilities, objectives and requirements. A person specification is a profile of your ideal new employee, including skills, experience and personality type.

Why should you bother?

Writing a detailed specification forces you to think about exactly what skills and experience is required for your role and the type of person you want for the team. Giving your recruitment consultant a comprehensive brief will allow them to work more effectively and quickly in finding you the perfect candidate.

Specifications also give candidates a better idea of exactly what you are looking for. This can help to weed out inappropriate applications from people who might be suitable on paper, but not actually that interested in the role. They also help to manage the expectations of successful new employees and to avoid situations where they feel they have been misled about the exact nature of the role.

You can use the specifications as a checklist for evaluating CVs and in interviews, which will save you preparation time and make sure you don’t miss anything.

Writing specification can make you think about how your department works and provide you with an opportunity to shift responsibilities around to maximise efficiency.

Specifications are also useful after the vacancy has been filled, as they can help to assess a new recruit's performance and to determine their future training needs.

Things to bear in mind before you start

Be as specific as possible about the responsibilities of the job, including any deadlines for delivery and measurements of success.

Leave room for flexibility within the job specification, and make it obvious if the role is likely to change or grow in the near future. This helps to avoid employees resenting taking on responsibilities not in their original job description.

Be careful with your wording, eg is a qualification really required or would someone who is Qualified by Experience (QBE) still be suitable?

It is essential not to discriminate on grounds of gender, age, ethnicity, sexuality or health, so avoid any inappropriate requirements, eg “must have x years’ experience” or words such as “dynamic” or “mature”. Read more information about avoiding discrimination here.

If the role is involved with service delivery, you may want to ask a selection of your clients their opinions on the type of person they would prefer to work with.

What should you include?

A job specification should include:

• the job title the position in the company, including their line manager and any other members of staff reporting to them
• the location of the job
• a summary of the general nature, main purpose and objectives of the job
• a list of the main duties or tasks of the employee
• which skills/qualifications are essential and which are desirable
• any equipment or software requirements, eg “knowledge of Raiser’s Edge”
• salary and benefits
• examples of typical projects help to illustrate the requirements

A person specification should include:

• the technical, organisational, communicative and creative skills and abilities you expect from an ideal candidate
• any specific qualifications or education required for the role
• the level of experience needed in either similar organisations or equivalent roles
• the kind of personality that would fit in with your team, and with your organisation’s ethos
• character traits that are likely to help them to do the job effectively
• any preferred achievements, eg volunteering

Some examples of job and person specifications for typical roles in non-profit organisations are available from the NCVO website.

Finally, please remember to use your recruitment consultancy as much as possible. TPP Not for Profit are experts in the not for profit sector and are able to give you advice about how best to construct job and person specifications to fill a role, and on the salary and benefits you will need to offer to attract the best possible candidates.


TPP Not for Profit are specialists in the charity, arts and public sectors and help our clients both recruit and retain their staff. For more information, visit ww.tpp.co.uk or contact us on 020 7198 600 or info@tpp.co.uk.