Before you recruit, clarify the role
A vacancy creates an immediate question: who will do the work? Before preparing an advertisement, take time to agree on what the organisation needs from the role and what the successful person will be expected to deliver.
This is particularly useful when replacing a longstanding employee. Their work may have changed over time, with extra tasks, informal responsibilities and decisions that never appeared in the original position description.
Start with the work that needs doing
Review the current work, upcoming priorities and responsibilities held across the team. Identify any gaps or overlaps and decide which tasks belong in the vacancy. Business.gov.au recommends reviewing the staff structure before recruitment, including whether an existing role still meets the organisation’s needs.
Ask the hiring manager to identify three or four outcomes that would make the appointment successful. For a coordinator, these might include keeping a service schedule current, resolving routine enquiries and producing accurate monthly reports. Specific outcomes make it easier to explain the job.
Clarify responsibility and authority
Set out who the role reports to, who it supervises and which decisions it can make. A responsibility such as managing a budget needs an explanation of the available authority, approval limits and reporting expectations.
Check the working arrangements too. Hours, location, travel, work patterns and genuine flexibility should be understood before candidates ask. If two managers share responsibility for the role, agree how priorities will be set when their requests compete.
Before advertising, ask the hiring manager and selection panel to explain the role’s main outcomes. Resolve any differences in their answers.
Choose requirements you can explain
Identify which skills, qualifications and experience are essential at appointment and which can be developed with support. Be ready to explain why each essential requirement is needed for the work.
Replace broad terms with observable requirements. If the role needs sound judgement, describe the decisions involved. If communication is important, identify the audiences and situations. For example, explaining a service change to a concerned customer asks for different evidence from writing a technical board report.
Resolve the employment details early
Confirm the proposed employment type, remuneration range, approval to recruit and intended start date. Check applicable award or agreement coverage, classification and minimum conditions against the duties actually required. These are useful checks before a job advertisement is written.
Agree who can authorise an offer and any changes to the package. If funding or organisational approval is still pending, resolve what can be promised to candidates and how the uncertainty will be explained.
Plan how you will assess candidates
Use the agreed requirements to prepare interview questions and any proportionate work assessment. Decide what useful evidence would look like before reviewing applications. This gives the panel a common basis for discussing candidates and explaining its recommendation.
For example, a short scheduling exercise could show how a coordinator handles competing requests. Keep the task relevant and reasonable, and explain the process to candidates. Review the advertisement, position description and assessment plan together so they describe the same role.
How The BelRose Group can help
Our recruitment service starts with understanding the organisation and its requirements. We can support role definition, position descriptions, key result areas and remuneration advice, then assist with sourcing, assessment and selection. Contact The BelRose Group to discuss the role and the stages of recruitment where you need support.
Email: Support@BelRoseGroup.com.au
Phone: 1300 308 707