Consultancy

In the APS a primary driver of staff selection is the procedural framework. However, experience shows that this can sometimes blur the overall intent of getting the best person for the job. The focus on procedure can sometimes result in a move away from identifying the right mix of skills, attributes and talent for vacancies. For example, the requirement may be for people who can

• think strategically in a policy context,
• rigorously apply due process and attend to high level detail in areas such as contract and program management, or
• show potential and adaptability for entry into junior level vacancies

Inter-View's experience shows that for some positions such as policy jobs there is a strong requirement to be able to perform persuasively at interview while others such as an IT technical role, a program compliance role or a financial processing role have a stronger requirement for technical expertise and less emphasis on the ability to 'sell'. 

Equally, in the ever tightening recruitment marketplace many agencies are experiencing difficulties in attracting a quality field or even a sufficient field, despite the use of  various advertising strategies. Inter-View's experience suggests that this can often be directly attributable to the burden placed on applicants through existing processes and unfriendly and unattractive documentation.

The use of bulk rounds for recruitment and promotion to specific levels can be a time- and cost-effective strategy but also carries the prospect of not always comparing 'apples with apples'.  Internally it sometimes leads to uncertainty about how different requirements for different roles and different work areas might be balanced across the process.

In the ever-evolving APS environment there is a high premium on the attributes of adaptability and responsiveness to change, particualry in agency or work area re-structuring and changes to administrative arrangements. This is reflected at both magement and individual levels where people are required to change and adapt to new structures and priorities. 

Inter-View offers consultancies in areas including:

• evaluation and streamlining of existing recruitment processes and selection documentation
• preparing staff for re-deployment or movement out of the APS
• review of existing selection reporting formats and methods of evaluation
• development of procedural guidelines
• improving marketing appeal