Glossary and further resources
Within this area of practice there are a number of definitions to explore.
Recruitment is the process of attracting a field of applicants.
An applicant is someone that applies to an organisation.
An applicant becomes a candidate once they have been selected to participate in a selection process, after shortlisting.
Shortlisting is the process of reviewing application forms, CVs, and other forms of submission to deselect applicants that do not readily meet the requirements or criteria of the role.
Criteria are the agreed factors upon which applicants or candidates are assessed. These criteria can be weighted so that more important criteria are prioritised over others.
Rating scales are the agreed methods of assessing a candidate against a criterion. Scales that are numeric or pointed in nature are more effective in supporting informed, granular assessments and can help to expose bias, discrimination and prejudice.
Selection is the process that differentiates and chooses between different candidates.
Model answers are helpful to ensure you are objectively assessing an individual’s performance. Having clarity about what you’re looking for enables you to clearly assess responses, inform decisions, and provide feedback to successful and unsuccessful candidates. They can be very useful in scenarios with multiple assessors, or where you are joined by assessors external to your organisation.
An assessment centre is a selection event during which a candidate is assessed by more than two assessors and participates in two or more selection exercises. Well-designed assessment centres offer a number of benefits:
- Greater predictive validity – this is the extent to which the performance assessed during the assessment centre predicts performance in the workplace. This only improves where the assessment centre has been designed to have good face validity and construct validity.
- Face validity – this is the extent to which the assessment centre exercises reflect the actual tasks that the successful candidate would undertake as part of their role. This is linked to the concept of a realistic job preview.
- Construct validity – this is the extent to which an exercise measures what it intends to measure.
A realistic job preview helps to highlight the most important aspects of a role to candidates. This supports self-selection based on the candidates’ own preferences, understanding and expectations of the role.
Job evaluation is the process by which organisations review the roles which comprise their structure, to identify the complexity, mandate and impact when compared with other roles within the organisation. This in turn affects decisions around pay grading or pay structures. Not all organisations have a detailed job evaluation process, but implementing one is a helpful way to ensure parity and consistency across different roles when considering grades and associated pay. Adopting a consistent approach across your organisation creates a greater likelihood of fairness.
The following types of discrimination are unlawful:
Direct discrimination – treating one applicant or candidate less favourably than another because of a protected characteristic that they have or are thought to have (perceptive discrimination), or because they associate with someone who has a protected characteristic (associative discrimination).
Indirect discrimination – applying an unjustifiable condition or requirement that excludes a particular group.
Positive discrimination – employing or promoting an individual solely because they are from an underrepresented group, even if they are less suitable than an alternative candidate.
There are also instances of lawful discrimination:
Genuine occupational qualifications enable an employer to stipulate that, because of the nature of the role in question, only individuals of a particular race, religion, age or other characteristic are eligible to apply. This is most often cited due to authenticity or health and safety.
Positive action is a scenario in which employers can select an individual from an underrepresented group for a role when they have the choice between two or more candidates who are equally suitable.