Every selection stage has its own selection board. This selection board is responsible for selecting candidates and preparing the final list of successful candidates.
Selection board members must understand their duties and responsibilities before they begin a selection process. You need to have systems in place that enable members to carry out their duties fairly and transparently.
The recruiter should always brief selection board members at the start of their engagement with a new campaign. In the briefing, explain the campaign and the documents they will use. Give members an opportunity to ask questions and check their responsibilities.
The recruiter should ensure members understand their responsibilities around relevant legislation and code of practice. Examples include:
- Freedom of information
- Data protection
- Employment equality legislation
- Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA) requirements
Check that all members:
- understand their role and have the necessary training and skills to carry out their responsibilities effectively
- know about disability awareness, equal opportunity requirements and unconscious bias
See CPSA Code of Practice for more details on training requirements.
The selection board includes:
- recruiter
- representative from the hiring service
- expert in the area or profession
- independent person (with no stake in filling the post, for example from another service area)
Nominations to a selection board can be made from across the HSE and include a range of grades and disciplines.
Include at least 2 people with a relevant level of seniority and expertise.
Send selection board participation requests to the profession manager, for example, physiotherapy to physiotherapy managers.
Using a number of decision makers across the selection stages helps demonstrate independence in decision-making. For example:
- OT manager Hospital 1 and OT manager Hospital 2 carry out the short listing stage
- OT manager Hospital 2 and OT manager Hospital 3 carry out the interview
No recruitment decision should be made with less than 2 selection board members.
Selection boards should include the right balance of expertise. If this is not possible, document the reasons why, and the efforts made to achieve it.
Your reasons for choosing a board member must be clear, and you need to document your reasons for their selection.
Ask members to fill in the confidentiality agreement.
When a selection board member knows a candidate, this does not stop them participating in the selection process.
Document each selection decision including the name, title and grade of who was involved in making the selection decision.
Complete a selection board participation record for each campaign to document the dates of selection events.
Recruiters
The recruiter is the main point-of-contact for board members throughout the recruitment process.
The recruiter role is to ensure:
- integrity of the recruitment and selection process
- selection board members have access to HSE recruitment and selection training
- selection board is appropriately balanced
- selection board has completed shortlisting, and any discrepancies are resolved and the final outcomes submitted
- selection board meets to discuss and devise agreed questions, key elements of responses and scoring
- selection board members have an agreed set of questions, expected responses, and the candidate assessment forms
The recruiter helps the selection and interview boards maintain recruitment standards, and oversee eligibility and shortlisting processes. They can review the quality of interview notes, marking sheets and summary comments to ensure the board complies with the CPSA Code of Practice.
The recruiter must hold a briefing meeting with interview board members to discuss the job specification and assessment criteria. This is to ensure board members understand:
- their individual roles
- differences between ‘competence’, ‘competencies’ and behavioural indicators
- how to provide specific and meaningful feedback
- how to address conflicts of interest and candidates' connections to board members
To maintain the integrity of the selection process, the recruiter must assess and document any connections candidates have with selection board members, and the management of conflicts of interest.
Supporting documentation for selection board members includes:
- interview guides including the approach to questioning (with samples of inappropriate questions)
- marking sheets and scoring guideline
- importance of good note taking and how to guard against unconscious bias in decision making
- behavioural indicators
Interview guides
You will need to develop an interview guide for your campaign.
To help you write an interview guide, use the interview guide template.
There is interview content available for many grades to assist you in writing a guide for your campaign.
They reflect the skills outlined in the sample job specifications hosted on the HR job specification repository and provide:
- behavioural indicators for each skill area that will be used for assessment and scoring during the interview process
- key indicators of what successful performance looks like
For more information on accessing the interview content, email QSA.recruitment@hse.ie
Depending on the role requirements, you can amend or add to these skill areas and behavioural indicators.
Service managers and relevant others must prepare professional and clinical interview questions and answers before the interview process begins.
Interview board members
The interview board usually comprises 3 people:
- 1 person is external to the hiring service and must be of the discipline that you are recruiting
- 1 represents the hiring service of the discipline
- 1 chairperson
It is important that 1 person on the interview board is independent of the hiring service. This can be any member of the board.
All members must have completed the HSeLanD interview skills training and associated workshops.
Chairperson
Chairpersons support the smooth running of the selection process and in line with the HSE recruitment standards and quality.
The recruiter will source a chairperson for the interview board. The chairperson must hold an introductory meeting with other interview board members.
Chairperson responsibilities include:
- ensuring the interview board runs smoothly and keeping the interview on time
- ensuring assessment decisions are made in a fair and objective manner, a consistent approach is followed with all candidates
- ensuring the board comply with HSE guidelines for interviewing and the CPSA Code of Practice. For example, recording any identified conflicts of interest and taking appropriate action
- providing assistance and advice to other board members if required. For example, offering feedback on their approach to questioning
- ensuring good quality summary comments are created for all candidates
- supporting the recruiter in completing documentation, ensuring the interview board signs relevant documents, promotes confidentiality, data protection and GDPR
- raising any issues that they cannot resolve with the recruiter as soon as possible
Sourcing chairpersons
The chairperson can be:
- a current HSE staff member including a HR professional or recruiter
- a retiree
- an independent person from a Section 38 service or other public body
Send information on the role and requirements to those interested in the chairperson role.
Request a CV and a screening meeting to:
- talk through their CV
- assess their suitability
- determine their interest and motivation for the role
- find out their availability
Assess the CV for experience, for example:
- working with different professions
- experience of HR and interviewing
- ability to use ICT such as online video calls
The HSE chairperson applicant screener can help the recruiter to make decisions on a potential chairperson's suitability.
The chairperson will:
- be competent at facilitating the interview and managing the interview process
- complete the chairing interviews effectively elearning programme on HSeLanD
- complete the 1-day chairing interviews effectively practical skills workshop
Chairperson payment
Chairs who are HSE employees can be paid for travel and subsistence only, where appropriate.
Chairs who are not HSE employees are paid the national agreed rate. They can only appear on 1 payroll. HSE HR Circular 016/2022 provides the current daily fixed fee, with expenses if relevant.
Former HSE employees who retired under an early retirement or voluntary redundancy scheme need to check with Pensions to ensure they can work in the HSE after retirement.
Revenue Commission instruction means non-HSE employee chairpersons must:
- be set up on SAP
- be paid through payroll
- provide a certificate of tax credits and standard rate cut-off point
- be considered self-employed (payment of a professional fee and expenses is not considered a salary)
Travel and subsistence claims
HSE employees must have a Travel Privileges Record to claim travel expenses.
Non-HSE employee chairpersons must submit a copy of their:
- vehicle licence certificate
- letter of indemnity from their insurer
- insurance certificate
Interview members must:
- use public transport wherever possible
- provide receipts for all expenses claimed, for example, train tickets, Luas tickets, parking charges, motorway tolls, postage
Check travel and subsistence guidelines for the rules and policies on travel and subsistence.
Conflict of interest
To avoid potential conflicts of interest, recruiters should identify and manage any connections between service managers, selection board members and candidates.
There is opportunity at each stage of the selection process for board members to indicate if they know a candidate.
The recruiter will send a list of candidates to the selection board at the eligibility sift and shortlisting stage; and to the interview board in advance of the interview stage.
Board members must complete a conflict of interest form for each candidate they know. They must return the forms to the recruiter for assessment. If necessary, the recruiter can replace a member (for example, one service manager with another who is equally qualified and experienced).
The candidate information document published at advertisement stage must include the process for managing conflicts of interest.
Board members knowing a candidate at interview stage
If an interview board member knows a candidate they must tell the other board members, and the chairperson must record the disclosure.
The board member should only assess the candidate after all other board members have given their assessment of the candidate’s performance.
The chairperson and board members must ensure outside information about the candidate is not included in the process. If this happens the chairperson, or other board members, must interrupt to remind everyone that each element of the selection process is discrete and confidential, and no outside information is to be included.
Selection board members named as referees
Board members must be aware of the discrete and separate responsibilities they hold as selectors and as named referees.
Each element of the recruitment process is independent, discrete and confidential. This is to protect the integrity of each distinct part of the selection process. The recruiter will remove the references from the copy application forms given to selection and interview board members.
The recruiter will contact referees when they offer a post to the candidate. At that stage of the recruitment process, the referee can give their assessment of how the candidate performs in their role and their suitability for the new job.
