Best practice for advertising jobs is varied, however they should be accessible, inclusive, and reviewed regularly in line with the equality diversity and inclusion (EDI) priorities and strategies of an organisation. NHS Employers has developed guidance on effective management of job descriptions and advertising. Effective interventions include:
- Ensuring there is a statement on reasonable adjustments and EDI priorities.
- Where there is a genuine need to describe physical requirements let disabled people themselves consider whether they can undertake the job.
- Input should be sought from employee networks for both inclusive recruitment policy and monitoring inclusive recruitment practice.
- Consider what 'desirable' criteria relates to and ensure you describe what the service needs and not what you want.
- Remember not to exclude people by asking for many years' experience. This can be discriminatory against protected characteristics such as age.
- Ensure that your flexible working policy is included in the description to encourage diverse candidates.
- Maintain good contact pre-interview to support under-represented groups.
- Routinely audit job descriptions and collect feedback from applicants about the job descriptions.
- Include organisational structure and reporting lines in the description and provide candidates with the opportunity to speak to recruiting managers before applying.
- All job descriptions should include a competency linked to compassion and inclusion.
- No panel member should be permitted to consider whether a candidate might 'fit in'. This may directly prevent choosing a more diverse and appropriate candidate.
- For senior posts, candidates should be able to demonstrate and evidence advancing equality and inclusion either through sponsorship, coaching, mentoring, and/or blogs and publicity about inclusion and equality, and/or collaborating closely with employee networks and/or developing specific board level papers on equality and inclusion.
- Employers can create a more diverse pool by insisting on a diverse long list for such posts and by insisting that those creating the long list, shortlist and appointing are clear about both the need for diverse candidates and how to ensure they apply and are shortlisted.
- Batch recruitment may result in more diverse outcomes. Board non-executive director (NED) appointments, for example, could easily be (and ​often are already where fixed terms apply) structured with a cycle of more than one vacancy for NEDs, for example. This already happens in some public sector bodies.