• Are selection criteria inseparable from merit?
• Can a selection process be transparent if selection criteria are not used?
• Is merit dependent on using selection criteria?
• Does using selection criteria guarantee an objective selection decision?

These are important questions given:

• Increasing skills shortages
• Over-complexity of selection criteria and capability frameworks
• Too rigid an interpretation and use of selection criteria
• Low levels of perceptions of fairness

Some agencies are tinkering at the edges of selection processes by trying to make the application process less onerous. However selection criteria remain firmly in place even at these agencies.

The ANAO Report on the management of recruitment in the APS suggested that one of the challenges for the APS is improving the quality of recruitment exercises (p. 43). The report identifies the minimum requirements for APS recruitment processes (Table 4.1) and using selection criteria is not on the list. The report also lists the ain guiding principles for APS recruitment processes (Table 4.2).

Using selection criteria is not on this list either. What is on the list, from the definition of merit, is that “an assessment based on the relationship bet ween the candidate’s work related-qualities and the work-related qualities genuinely required for the duties” and “the assessment to focus on the relative capacity of the candidates to achieve outcomes related to the duties”.

‘Work-related qualities’ covers skills, personal attributes, experience, qualifications, amongst other things. I have long argued that taking account of capacity to achieve outcomes is not given sufficient attention by selection panels.

So there is no rule, guideline or requirement that says selection criteria must be used. Only that the assessment is based on work-related qualities. How those qualities are expressed is open to interpretation. So why do people continue to use selection criteria, and ones that are poorly worded, repetitive, and overly complex? The answer may be habit, inflexible thinking, or it’s simply easier to continue doing what is familiar rather than try to grapple with alternatives.

An argument is that selection criteria form the benchmark for selection, the basis for deciding who gets considered. That is only partially true. What actually forms the basis for decision making is each panel member’s interpretation of the selection criteria. If the panel has not determined a shared understanding of the criteria, what they mean, and how they will be assessed, then there is no shared basis for decisions. Regardless of how the work-related qualities are expressed, this shared understanding must be established.

A narrative job description that makes clear what the work-related qualities and outcomes are can effectively guide decision-making and give applications a richer picture of the role. What would this look like? Compare these two examples:

Example 1: Current model

Department of Wellbeing for all Australians (DWFAA)

Research Branch, Wellbeing Futures Team

Project Officer, Level: APS 6

Supervisor: EL2

The Department Of Wellbeing For All Australians (DWFAA) has responsibility for ensuring that all government policies and programs contribute to achieving optimum wellbeing for all Australians.

DWFAA has strong research, policy and public education branches. The Research Branch has a Wellbeing Futures team which carries out targeted research projects. The unit’s goals are to:

Identify key aspects of wellbeing that impact Australians.
Conduct research projects that provide evidence-based approaches that support policy and program implementation. These projects investigate social, economic, environmental, technological factors that affect wellbeing.
Role description

As part of the Wellbeing Futures team, you will:

• support the Team Leader and contribute to the ongoing development and implementation of the Government’s policies and programs on wellbeing issues by delivering relevant results from contracted research projects.
• produce high quality written material, particularly policy advice based on evidence-based research.
• develop and maintain internal and external stakeholder relationships and demonstrate strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Selection Criteria

Within the context of this job profile:

• Thinks strategically: Ability to support the Unit’s purpose and direction, contribute to team strategies, and recognise relevant issues
• Cultivates productive working relationships: Demonstrated ability to liaise, consult and negotiate with team colleagues, clients and stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to project manage multiple interdisciplinary policy research projects.
• Demonstrated ability to analyse complex research results and prepare sound written policy advice.
• Desirable: Understanding of wellbeing issues and their impact on the community, and of interdisciplinary research practices.

Example 2: New model

Department of Wellbeing for all Australians (DWFAA)

Research Branch, Wellbeing Futures Team

Project Officer, Level: APS 6

The Department Of Wellbeing For All Australians (DWFAA) has responsibility for ensuring that all government policies and programs contribute to achieving optimum wellbeing for all Australians.

DWFAA has strong research, policy and public education branches. The Research Branch has a Wellbeing Futures team which carries out targeted research projects. These projects aim to identify key aspects of wellbeing that affect Australians and to provide evidence-based approaches that support policy and program implementation. These projects investigate social, economic, environmental, technological factors that affect wellbeing.

As an enthusiastic member of the Wellbeing Futures Team you will oversee contracted research projects that produce evidence to inform policies and programs on wellbeing issues. You will develop and maintain internal and external stakeholder relationships and demonstrate strong communication and interpersonal skills.

To be successful in this role you will be able to work closely with others in the branch to achieve common goals. You will also be able to work with colleagues in other branches as well as build relationships with clients and stakeholders.

We are ideally seeking candidates with a track record in managing multiple interdisciplinary policy research projects that are completed on time, on budget and produce usable results. You will be able to analyse complex research results and prepare sound written policy advice that makes a difference for Australians’ wellbeing.

Motivated and capable of thinking flexibly, you are a committed professional with a keen interest in wellbeing issues.

The work-related qualities are just as clear in this second model, they just look different. Expressing the role in this narrative form gives a more integrated picture of the relationship between duties and qualities. It is also easier to make clear what the outcomes are.

Selecting staff can still be merit-based, transparent and fair without using selection criteria. The question now is, who will be game to be the first to break away from selection criteria?