Employee Handbook
Recruiting for Excellence - Policy Statement
We attach great importance to the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and our commitments form a central part of our working culture - embedded in our values about treating everyone with respect and dignity. We know that having a shared values base provides commonality, direction and ownership. That is why we use a values based recruitment approach to attract and select talented, high calibre people who share our values.
We want every contact candidates have with us to be a positive one – from the moment they read a well written and engaging job advert, to visiting Holyrood for a welcoming and robust interview; from timely assessment feedback to an effective induction. Above all, we want our new colleagues to feel excited about joining us!
WHO is this policy for?
This policy covers all activities that form part of the recruitment and selection process and applies to all internal and external candidates who are applying for jobs with us. It is supported by a Manager’s Toolkit and Guidance for Candidates containing procedural and best practice guidelines.
WHY is this policy important?
We aim to provide Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) with high quality support to allow them to excel in their roles as parliamentarians and representatives. We want to constantly improve our performance, invest in our staff and plan for the future and deliver excellent resource management in line with our organisational values. Recruitment decisions, if made properly, can have a significant impact upon organisational capability and capacity. Having a strategic, professional approach to recruitment is essential in order to achieve this.
HOW will this be achieved?
We will source candidates from a wide selection pool in a way which is fair, cost-effective and supports the aims of our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. All appointments will be based on merit using fair and robust selection criteria. Our values of Stewardship, Inclusiveness, Excellence and Respect will be used throughout. This will ensure that we recruit people not only with the right skills, knowledge and experience but also with the right values to support effective team working in meeting our strategic priorities. To do this, we will provide training and support to colleagues involved in the recruitment process to ensure all decisions are based on objective criteria and to remove any bias.