Staff Appointment

At an average of 101 days from approval to offer, appointing staff and prospective candidates both saw the WBS recruitment process as taking far too long. What was needed was a speedier process which would give candidates confidence and reduce the workload pressures on colleagues created by vacant posts.

Improvement Champion
David Wilson, Professor of Strategy, WBS

Project Manager
Julia Smith, Head of HR, WBS

Facilitators
Jane Miller, Jules Cross

This project is ongoing but we have already reduced the average period from interview to offer by more than half. The introduction of fully on-line application submission and direct WBS access to PSE, key process changes recommended by the Process Improvement Workshop, should reduce delays still further.

Below is a summary of why we needed to improve this process and progress to date. More details are available from the workshop output (PDF Document) and progress report

STAFF APPOINTMENT PROCESS IMPROVEMENT	DESCRIPTION
Process Issue(s)	WBS stakeholders in the staff recruitment process – the appointing managers and new appointees – perceive the staff appointment process as taking far too long. This was confirmed by base-line data which demonstrated that approval to appoint through to offer was taking, on average, 101 days. This caused frustration to all involved, and the organisation of a Process Improvement Workshop to develop an improved process was deemed a key priority by WBS.
Planned Improvement	To ensure WBS recruits the best staff by eliminating any wastage through customer dissatisfaction with the recruitment process, to reduce workload impact of vacant posts on existing staff by getting new staff in post as soon as possible and reduce workload and frustration of managers and HR staff.
Benefits	Release work capacity (and reduce associated workload stress) by getting new staff in post more quickly Simpler, widely-understood process for all involved Better customer service through quicker, more accurate process Cost-savings through reduced need to re-advertise posts
Key process changes	Application process – improved on-line application and changes to ensure consistency of advice/feedback to applicants about progress of applications; Local access to/ control of key stages in process including direct access to PSE (UoW personnel system); Rationalisation of process documents and clear documentation of the process itself; Appointment process – streamlining panel appointment, and offer letter sign-off.
Progress	Good progress with process changes in WBS HR and rationalisation of appointment process documentation. Some delays with: improved on-line application process, WBS access to PSE and offer letter sign-off. These are under discussion.
Successes	38% improvement in mean time from approval of post to approval of advertisement in WBS (from 19.7 to 12.1 days) 55% improvement in mean time from interview to dispatch of offer letter (from 26.93 to 14.9 days).
Improvement Team	Bo Chen, Martin Chandler, Jules Cross (Facilitator), Jane Hodge, Karen Kelleher, Jane Miller (Facilitator), Anthony Neuberger, Zoe Nichols, Simon Peatfield, Zoe Radnor, Samantha Riley, Julia Smith (Project Manager), Lin Sullivan, Katie Watts, David Wilson (Improvement Champion)