The overall goal of recruitment and selection for a position is to cost-effectively attract, detect and select those people who are most likely to optimally contribute to the organization within that position at a particular point in time (and into the future). Recruitment and selection is an opportunity to either reward a very high performing employee in order to unleash their potential in a new position or to bring in the fresh perspective and new skills of an external recruit.

Organizations who attempt to undertake their own recruitment and selection efforts often make a number of common errors:

1. Poor Cost-Benefit Ratio. Organizations may spend an exorbitant amount of staff time and money recruiting and selecting for positions where the variations in future performance between any potential applicant is relatively small. This cannot be justified on a cost-benefit basis.

2. Job Fit. Even if an applicant is a world class professional within a particular area of expertise it does not mean that same individual will be an excellent, good or even average performer in the particular role. Also, an applicant who is overqualified for a position may not repay the investment of the recruitment and selection exercise and initial training before leaving the job.

3. Recruitment. Utilizing the best techniques available and spending lots of money on advertising is pointless if you do not attract any good applicants.

4. Predictive Power. Having the best applicant pool available is pointless if your selection techniques will not reliably or validly predict future job performance and success in the position.

5. Timeliness. A recruitment and selection process that takes too long may cause your organization to miss the opportunity window which generated the requirement for the position in the first place and/or cause you to lose the best applicants.

Effective Recruitment and Selection is Not:

1. The blind following of procedures as set out by departmental policy (The process requires a great deal of thought and planning and a high level of commitment to the goal of recruitment and selection.),

2. Purely the detection of talented and/or experienced people (Instead, you need to maximize the job fit.),

3. A necessary evil (Recruitment and selection is an opportunity to expand the range of skills and potential in your organization.), or

4. Something anyone can do well (Recruitment and selection is a very difficult task requiring extensive knowledge of the position, the organization, the labor market, recruitment strategies, and selection techniques.).

Stages of Recruitment and Selection:
There are four stages to all recruitment and selection:

1. Assess the job and determine its requirements

2. Attract well targeted applicants

3. Assess the applicants objectively and validly

4. Select the applicant with the closest fit to the job's requirements.

Recruitment and Selection -- A Strategic Function

Recruitment and selection is the most crucial internal activity of every service organization. Poor recruitment and selection makes every part of the organization less effective. Excellent recruitment and selection can transform an organization in a short period of time. An organization with 20% turnover per year and recruitment and selection practices that hire mediocre employees, can theoretically become fully mediocre within 5 years.

Of all the assets of an organization, people are the most important, because they provide not only the labor, but also determine how equipment and financial resources will be used. The concept of human capital management is that innovation and quality arise from your human resources and not from your machines, processes, or financial instruments. In order to maximize the performance of your human resources and, therefore, your organization, you must attract, select, develop, motivate and retain the best people possible. Recruitment and selection is the cornerstone of sound management.

The Cost of Recruitment and Selection

There are three kinds of costs associated with recruitment and selection:

1. The costs of undertaking the exercise itself,

2. The cost of making a bad call, and

3. The cost of taking too long to come to a decision.

LGI Executive Search are extremely cost-effective, not only because the basic costs of the search are extremely competitive, but also because LGI is very timely in its work and rarely, if ever, makes a bad call.

An executive search conducted by LGI offers you:

- Individual Attention and Accessibility

- Proven Methodologies

- Vision and Insight

- Excellence in Exeutive Search Service

- A Comprehensive, Thorough and Impartial Search

LGI's knowledge, ability and skill in the area of executive search can help local government managers and elected council and boards make better employment decisions. As a non-profit organization, LGI offers a variety of search options geared to every budget and need. LGI has a team of capable and experienced professionals able to assist in any type of recruitment or selection process. For more information, or to request a specific cost proposal for a given scope of work, contact LGI at 4009 Bridgeport Way West, Suite E, Tacoma, WA 98466. Phone: 253/565-6253, fax: 253/565-2575, or email us at [email protected]. General information and principal service options are described below:

GENERAL SCOPE OF WORK FOR COMPREHENSIVE FULL SERVICE SEARCH
FEE: Call or write for a specific cost proposal.

Position Specification Development:

Review position description, interview 15-20 key individuals regarding the knowledges, skills and abilities that the ideal candidate should have. Develop the position description and ideal candidate profile. Develop a community profile and recruitment brochure highlighting the community, the organization, the position, and the issues to be faced by the new executive.

Advertising and Intake:

Develop and place advertisements:
Regional Newspapers
Trade journals
Professional association newsletters
Jobs Available
Public Sector Job Bulletin
Local Government Job Net
Agency mailings
Targeted individual recruitment
(LGI has a data base of more than 10,000 qualified local government managers)
Targeted minority recruitment
Calls to respected leaders in the field regarding potentially outstanding candidates in their region

Respond to all inquiries from potential applicants

Examination:

Screen applications to 15-20 semi-finalists

Administer structured resume to semi-finalists, including one or more personality assessment instruments

Conduct telephonic or personal screening interviews with semi-finalists Written summary report on each semi-finalist

Confer with appointing authority choose finalists

Arrange for oral interviews and other examination activities, coordinate process, prepare materials

Assist in interviews and other examination activities, coordinate selection process

Administer and evaluate 2 personality and supervisory effectiveness instruments.

Conduct detailed reference checks with 15-20 references on top 2 candidates chosen

Verify employment

Verify education

Driving Record check

Credit and civil litigation check

Write detailed report on top 2 candidates.

Appointment/Negotiation:

Extend conditional offer on behalf of appointing authority

Negotiate terms and conditions of employment

Prepare draft employment agreement or memorandum of employment


GENERAL SCOPE OF WORK FOR COOPERATIVE SEARCH
Fee: $3,900 plus out-of-pocket expenses
(You advertise (with our input), send us the applications, and show up for the interview and related activities. We do all the rest!). Services include:

Conduct telephone interview with appointing authority to determine desired knowledge, skills, abilities and other desirable traits

Develop ideal candidate profile and recruiting brochure

Development and place job announcements; plus targeted dire recruitment from LGI's extensive data base

Screen applications and/or resumes

Administer structured resume or questionnaire to selected group of "semi-finalists" -
recommend group of finalists for interview

Provide sample interview panel questions and provide guidance on interview/examination process (does not include writing special examinations or
attending the interview sessions)

Conduct detailed telephone reference checks with 9 -12 references of top two (2)
candidates chosen.

Administer and score two pencil and paper management and personality assessments.

Verify employment and education

Driving and criminal record check

Credit and civil lawsuit check

Write detailed report on each of the top two (2) candidates

All along the way, notify all applicants of the status of their application.


COMPREHENSIVE RECRUITMENT AND SCREENING: Fee: $1,990 plus reimbursement
for advertising, printing and postage expenses.

We review the position description, and then conduct telephone interviews with 5-10 key
individuals regarding the knowledge, skills, abilities and other traits that the ideal candidate
should have. We then develop an ideal candidate profile for your approval. After approval, we
prepare a recruitment flyer highlighting the community, organization, position, and the issues to
be faced.

We consult with you in the development and placement of advertisements in selected print or
electronic mediums such as newspapers, trade journals, professional association newsletters,
agency mailings, Job Net, etc. We write and place the ads. We also target qualified candidates
from our own extensive data base and network of contacts, and mail out direct invitations to
apply. We phone selected persons who closely match the ideal candidate profile, and invite their
application. We respond to all inquiries from potential applicants.

We screen applications down to 12-20 semi-finalists, administer a structured resume
(questionnaire) to semi-finalists, including one or more personality or management assessment
instruments. We conduct behavior descriptive screening interviews with semi-finalists, check 3-4
references and prepare a summary report on each semi-finalist. You then select your finalists and
carry out the remainder of the selection process.


LOCAL GOVERNMENT INSTITUTE'S RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PERSONNEL RESOURCES

LGI can put together a team of experienced human resource professionals to meet any type of recruitment and selection requirement. Listed below are the profiles of some of those able to assist with your recruitment and selection needs. All work will be coordinated by Don Morrison, LGI's Executive Director and Principal Search Consultant.

DON MORRISON -Executive Director

Don Morrison has completed numerous successful searches for public sector executives, and specializes in general management, human resources, public works, planning, and public safety positions.

He is the author of a number of handbooks, manuals, reports and studies on human resource administration, including Employee Recruitment and Selection in a Post-ADA Environment (1995 HRD Press, 300 pp.), and Morrison's Essential Recruitment and Selection Manual (1993 LGI, 283 pp.).

He began his career as an intern with a tri-county council of governments. After completing graduate school, he was appointed as a State House Fellow in the Utah Governor's Office and Intergovernmental Personnel Agency, where he assisted in the recruitment and selection of state agency executives. He then served as the Person
nel Officer for the City of Logan UT. Since then, Mr. Morrison has served the local government management profession in Utah, Montana and Washington as both Personnel Manager and City Manager. He has served as Executive Director of the Local Government Institute since 1992.

Mr. Morrison has a Bachelors Degree in Public Law and Government, with minors in language and education. He holds a Masters Degree (MPA) in Public Administration, with a specialization in public personnel administration. Morrison has held professional memberships in the Society for Human Resource Management, the International Personnel Managers Association, the Washington Council of Public Personnel Administrators, the International City/County Management Association, the National Public Labor Relations Association, the Washington City/County Management Association, and the National Institute of Business Management. He has served as President of the Great Open Spaces City/County Management Association which included the states of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota, and South Dakota. He is a Board Member and Treasurer of the King County (Seattle) Economic Enterprise Corporation, and has been a Vice-President of the UT Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, Vice-Chairman of the Sea-Tac Forum (Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Inter-Agency Coordinating Council), and representative to the National League of Cities Advisory Committee on Finance, Administration and Inter-Governmental Relations.

RICHARD SOKOLOWSKI -Senior Associate

Mr. Sokolowski has over twenty-six years experience in personnel management and employee recruitment and selection in both the public and private sectors. He spent five years working for the City of Glendale AZ, spending a year as an administrative intern before moving into the personnel department. In 1974 he accepted the position of Personnel Director and spent three additional years directing department operations and personally conducting executive searches for city department managers.

In 1977, Mr. Sokolowski became the personnel amd Labor Relations Director for the City of Tacoma WA where, among his other responsibilities, he conducted in-house searches for city management personnel. In 1989 Richard accepted a position as the Human Resources Director for the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (METRO), which he held until 1991.
Richard graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with an emphasis in Public Administration and a certificate in Public Sector Labor and Management. He received a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California, with a specialty in human resources administration.

Mr. Sokolowski has held professional memberships and offices in a number of associations. He was President of the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association and the Washington Council of Public Administrators, Chairman of the Southwest Public Labor Relations Council, and the Vice-President of the Southern California Personnel Management Association. the International Personnel Management Association, and the Tacoma Urban League.

MICHELLE HANSEN -Office Assistant

Michelle Hansen has bachelor degrees in human development and education. Michelle serves as the office manager, provides data processing and data base management support, coordinates printing and mailing operations, and generally provides office support.

Last modified on Friday, January 29, 1999