Government sector recruitment: 3 tips for process improvement

Content Team

Government departments are facing increasing pressure to perform effectively and efficiently.

Hiring quality talent is the key lever for these departments to be able to achieve the agility they need, and appropriate scrutiny should be applied when reviewing the selected resourcing model.

Over the past 25 years, we’ve served clients in both government recruitment and the private sector. We understand how to create efficiencies, leverage the latest HR technologies and innovations and create streamlined, scalable solutions for our client partners.

As an experienced talent acquisition specialist, these are the three key areas that I recommend you focus on.

Whether you’re in government or private sector, rigorous recruitment processes are key. Candidates, for their part, expect a high-touch experience.

Matt Saxty
Matt Saxty explores how to improve government recruitment processes.

To compete for talent, government leaders are increasingly embracing an agile government resourcing model underpinned by process efficiency and new technology.

Recruitment tip 1: streamline talent processes

When it comes to securing top talent, speed to market and speed to response are critical.

To add value and manage budget accountability, begin by reviewing your recruitment processes. Identify the bottlenecks that may be preventing your division from hitting key targets. Reporting can help you understand if the organisation is meeting critical performance requirements.

Two workers at laptop in lounge
Government departments enjoy a huge opportunity to improve recruitment.

Ensuring that the most relevant and streamlined processes are in place when it comes to recruitment mean that you have the best chance of securing the right talent at the right time for the right roles.

We recently partnered with one of our Government clients to review, streamline and manage their recruitment processes as part of a major transformation program

To enable efficiency, we replaced traditional face to face interviews with video interview technology. This helped reduced costs and time required and enabled our recruitment specialists to focus on key priorities for their stakeholders.

Here’s an example:

One of our government clients recently reviewed and streamlined their recruitment process.

In the first three stages, internal employees had to reapply for their own jobs and be reassessed for suitability. They could also apply for another job at their same level or similar. In the final stage, we looked externally for compatible talent.

Behind the scenes, we revised each stage while also delivering at the next stage, in accordance with government guidelines for compliance and risk management.

Recruitment tip 2: focus on candidate experience

As with private sector enterprises, candidate experience is a hot topic and one that can make a huge difference to the success or failure of a recruitment project or campaign.

With so many different career options available, having an effective and high-touch candidate experience that reflects a modern, forward-thinking and fast-responding business can prove essential.

Candidates seek a detailed and authentic insight into employers. This helps them determine whether the relationship could be a good fit.

Recently working with a large education Government client, our teams were able to not only review and streamline the recruitment process, but also rewrite job descriptions and ads. This helped ensure the content was targeted and engaged the right calibre of candidates required.

Providing a high-touch approach and experience for candidates meant that they felt positive about applying for roles and understood the next steps.

A fast and efficient candidate experience and process helps reduce the number of candidates abandoning the recruitment process. As a result, you’ll be hiring better-quality people.

Recruitment tip 3: select best-fit technology

Having recently placed more than 2,000 people (both internal and external) in nine months for a government client, we can vouch for the importance of using best-fit technology.

The right technology for government recruitment creates efficiency. It allows you to streamline the recruitment process and can also transform the perception of slow service encumbered by red tape.

We recently managed a volume recruitment project for a client that required us to assemble a delivery team of over 50 people in just six weeks.

The 9-month project timeline to fill over 2,000 positions was ambitious. The use of several online recruitment tools helped ensure successful and timely delivery.

For example, by using Xref, an online reference checking software solution, our team conducted more than 4,500 references efficiently with compliance requirements fully met.

Implementing tools like this helped ensure a highly efficient, positive candidate experience. It also meant that business leaders in HR, Operations and Procurement could trust us to manage their recruitment activity, freeing them to pursue other critical business initiatives.

We recently oversaw more than 15,000 applications by assembling more than 50 project team members in just six weeks. A number of online tools helped make this possible, ensuring successful and timely delivery.

Plus, by using video interviewing instead of traditional face-to face-interviews, the client saved considerable time and cost. By using Xref, an online reference checking software solution, our team conducted more than 4,500 references within challenging timelines.

Hudson RPO

Content Team

The Hudson RPO Content Team is made up of experts within the Talent Acquisition industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. They provide educational and critical business insights in the form of research reports, articles, news, videos, podcasts, and more. The team ensures high-quality content that helps all readers make talent decisions with confidence.

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