Selection Services - Merit Solutions

Executive Recruitment

Do you want an executive recruitment package that is tailored to your needs?

Merit Solutions understands public sector process and can ensure that probity and ethical standards are met while advising on and delivering high quality advertising, search and recruitment strategies.

Our Service

We use a range of strategies to build interest in the role and source an applicant pool of executives in your industry. Applicants appreciate our dedication to candidate care and emphasis on respect and relationship building. Our expertise in the assessment of candidates will ensure a flexible and efficient process with the best possible outcome. We help you select the most suitable candidate while ensuring a good fit with your organisation's culture and strategic direction.

Merit Solutions can also offer psychometric and ability assessment for executive applicants and can assist you to apply this to develop your leadership team.

Our approach offers the flexibility for clients to select a combination of services that best suits their needs and a particular vacancy. Individual components are outlined below. Alternatively, a total recruitment package could be negotiated. As a result, we can deliver significant cost savings when compared with the fees based on a percentage of salary that are common in the recruitment industry.

STAGE 1: ADVERTISING PACKAGE

Develop advertisements, information pack & recommend placement strategy

· Develop recommended placement strategy including costs

· Develop advertisements which provide an individualised design and layout for clients

· Develop information pack for applicants

· Finalise in consultation with client

Place advertisements

· Graphic designer to create copy as per parameters imposed by media outlets

· Book and place advertisement

Handle enquiries, receive applications and candidate care

· Respond promptly and professionally to candidate enquiries*

· Provide confidential and independent enquiry service*

· Receive and acknowledge applications

· Follow up promising candidates to encourage lodgement of application*

· Resolve issues with applicants lodging applications via email, fax or job board

· Prepare schedule of applications received

· Prepare packs for panel members

· Maintain communication with applicants through the application process*

STAGE 2: Search Services

· Preparation of search strategy as agreed with client*

· Search on-line databases and resources (eg SEEK, LINKED IN or agency)

· Seek referrals from relevant contacts (from the agency, Merit or others)

· Identify potential candidates and contact them to assess interest in the position

· Encourage applications

Merit Solutions is not an employment agency that accepts unsolicited applications and seeks placement on behalf of potential employees and we do not have a current database of potential applicants. We are however skilled in the use of external databases (eg SEEK) and other on-line resources and apply a personalised approach to identify potential candidates.

* Our pricing for this service is based upon the negotiation of an agreed strategy. Should search processes beyond the scope of this agreement be required we would renegotiate fees for this additional work.

STAGE 3: Pre-screening/preliminary shortlist

· Review and assess applications received

· Telephone follow up as required

· Pre-screening interviews by phone for initial shortlist

· Face to face interviews for long shortlist

· Prepare candidate reports for review by the panel

· Written report to the panel with shortlist recommendations

· Attend the panel shortlist meeting and document decisions

This critical part of the selection process is frequently undervalued. We offer professional assessment of candidates, reducing the time commitment for senior panels and improving outcomes.

Verify Qualifications and Employment History

· Verify key university or other qualifications claimed

· Verify recent relevant employment including reason for leaving

This important step is frequently omitted in the quest to finalise a selection process.

STAGE 4: INDEPENDENT PANEL MEMBER AND SELECTION SUPPORT

This is our traditional service delivered successfully over 12 years to public sector clients in local, state and commonwealth government agencies.

· Arrange interviews and any associated travel

· Develop assessment strategy, questions and/or work tests

· Attend interviews, record applicant claims and panel decisions

· Prepare selection report for Executive approval

· Conduct referee checks

· Notify applicants of outcomes as appropriate

· Handle requests for feedback

It is also an option for our consultant to be engaged as an independent panel member while also delivering these services. Our consulting team have held senior HR or management roles. Their independent perspective and professional advice is valued by our clients and provides reassurance to job applicants.

ADDITIONAL SERVICES AVAILABLE

DEVELOP OR Refine role descriptions

· Interview managers and staff

· Review current role descriptions

· Benchmark with other roles

· Develop new role descriptions or revise and recommend changes

· Finalise in consultation with client

Role descriptions are an important tool in attracting potential candidates. Sometimes public sector role descriptions are not written with external applicants in mind. Our role is to streamline role descriptions to ensure that they are attractive, contain clear accountabilities without excessive detail, and that assessment criteria are properly framed to maximise the selection outcome.

Psychometric assessment

In an environment where the pool of highly qualified and experienced applicants with directly relevant backgrounds is limited, psychometric testing provides additional information including indications of candidate capacity for continued growth and development.

We are licensed to administer the PAPI (Personality and Preference Inventory) which is an internationally recognised profiling tool which can provide good insights into an applicant’s typical behaviours at work and how they are likely to fit into a role, the team and the organization as a whole. We can also supplement this with Ability Testing in relation to Verbal, Numeric and Diagrammatic Reasoning. These assessments can be completed online and provide very individualised reporting and feedback for both selection panels and applicants.

Track Record

Our track record below demonstrates the results we are able to achieve for our clients. Some recent assignments include:

State Government Executive Director

In 2008 Merit Solutions provided a full recruitment service to source and recruit an SES Executive Director role. This included advertising, limited search, receipt of applications and candidate care, initial assessment of candidates, design of selection processes, use of PAPI profiles, interview arrangements and scribing, preparation of selection reports, referee checks, verification of qualifications and feedback to applicants. Client feedback was very positive about our role in this complex and challenging assignment.

SEQ Water Reform
Merit Solutions has recently facilitated the advertising of some 20 positions ranging from Project Directors to an Executive Assistant for a new organisation established to facilitate SEQ water reform. In a rolling campaign to resource the newly formed organisation, we have successfully designed role statements, designed and placed advertisements, received applications, shortlisted fields and supported the selection processes.

State Government Commission
The implementation of a new State Government Commission was supported by Merit Solutions. The Director-General chaired the panel for the Commissioner and the process was supported with candidate care, detailed assessments of the field of applicants and a selection reporting process developed by Merit Solutions that allowed the panel to sign off on the report an hour after the interviews were finalized. We also supported selection panels involved in recruiting the remaining staff in the Commission so that they could meet the short time frames required to be operational in line with the requirements of the new Act, and have subsequently assisted the Cairns based Commission with ongoing recruitment needs.