Media Release

30 June 2007

Government managers wanting ideas on how to be more flexible in their hunt for talent while remaining professional within a merit-based system now have a new resource that keeps them up-to-date with good practice information.

With content provided by best-selling author Dr Ann Villiers, selectioncriteria.com.au is devoted to providing the keys to recruiting for government jobs.

It offers free resources for managers and selection panels to relieve the burden for those daunted by the selection process. Articles and audio interviews with experts provide practical tips that help selection panels understand their role so they can confidently select quality staff.

"With skill shortages and large numbers of baby boomers facing retirement, the public service needs to become more flexible in how they recruit and select staff," says Dr Ann Villiers. "Managers need to challenge the assumptions they make about applicants and what they think they can and cannot do during a selection process. Too often selection decisions are made based on false beliefs and poor practices."

"Managers also need to pay far more attention to staff retention, and actively recruit retention-friendly managers. Recruiting staff needs to be seen as a core management role rather than an ad hoc add-on. The huge cost of finding and selecting staff is wasted if managers don’t make an effort to hang on to them. For many this will mean a significant shift in thinking and behaviour. "

Dr Villiers is already widely known for her book How to write and talk to selection criteria, considered by many to be the applicant’s ‘bible’ for government jobs. She trains selection panels, applying a sense-making approach which focuses on how information about applicants is interpreted and the impact this has.

Resource examples include:

• Ten tips to make selection processes quicker (article)
• Selection panels need to focus more on job outcomes (article)
• Using a scribe during a selection process (audio)

Contact: Dr Ann Villiers, phone 02 6254 5023 or use contact us.