An Introduction to NHS Jobs Enhanced Shortlisting Tools 30
Contents NHS Jobs Enhanced Shortlisting Tools...3 Introduction...3 Overview...3 Changes to NHS Jobs user types...4 HR User Tools...5 HR User: Home page (logged in)...5 HR User: Applications screen...5 HR User: Shortlist...6 Request review...7 Interview schedule...8 Applicant contact and messages...9 Managing stored letters and e-mails...10 Setting up reference requests...10 Requesting & receiving references...10 HR User: Print options...11 Recruiting Manager Tools...12 Recruiting Manager: Applications screen...12 Recruiting Manager: Shortlisting...12 Shortlist matrix...13 Reviewer Tools...14 Reviewer: Applications screen...14 Applicant Tools...15 Applicant: Home page (logged in)...15 Further information and help...15-2 -
NHS Jobs Enhanced Shortlisting Tools Introduction Feedback from employers has identified a number of improvements needed to the NHS Jobs online shortlisting process, which have now been made. The changes aim to increase efficiency in managing applications by: Supporting the recruitment process up to sending invitations for interview before passing data to ESR Allow HR team to pre sift and long list application to improve candidate quality for recruiting managers Supporting a more active involvement of recruiting managers in the online process, relying less on the HR / recruitment team for data entry Creating a more user-friendly application manager system, making it easier to communicate with candidates, recruiting managers and referees. In summary, the new NHS Jobs shortlisting tools will: Provide more information for HR users throughout the shortlisting process Provide recruiting managers with online tools to review and shortlist applications Introduce a structured reference form and enable trusts to tailor the questions asked of referees Include interview scheduling tools and information for HR and candidates Enable more efficient communications between HR/recruitment teams and line managers This guide assumes familiarity with the existing features of NHS Jobs Overview The diagram below outlines the new NHS Jobs online shortlisting process Applicant Activities HR/Recruitment Team Activities Recruiting Manager Activities Application Submitted Long-list created Long-list submitted to Recruiting Manager Recruiting Manager Short-listing Accept/Reject Interview Interview Scheduling Short-list created Feedback sent to unsuccessful candidates Short-listing panel (Reviewer) Activities Candidate Interview schedule Reviewer short-listing Comments/matrix - 3 -
Changes to NHS Jobs user types The NHS Jobs online shortlisting tools introduce some new user types to the service. The Recruiting Manager is defined as the line manager responsible for the recruitment; this is likely to be the line manager of the post being recruited to or their nominated representative There will therefore now be three types of NHS Jobs user: - HR user: the recruitment team member responsible for vacancy and candidate management - Recruiting Manager: the person who initiates and is responsible for a recruitment project. This replaces the previously used Appointing Officer. - Reviewers: other members of the shortlisting panel. HR Users will need to assign Recruiting managers NHS Jobs accounts to Recruiting managers. You may wish to set up these accounts as new recruitment projects are started to avoid unnecessary administration, or you can set up and maintain accounts for all your recruiting managers now. Recruiting managers will only have access to those vacancies and the associated applications for which they have been identified as the recruiting manager when the vacancy was set-up. Members of shortlisting panels or Reviewers will not need an NHS Jobs account. They will be able to access application details via a link sent via email. The new NHS Jobs shortlisting features support trusts that recruit with a centralised recruitment team as well as those working with a devolved recruitment model. Typically, the account administrator will assign HR User rights to members of the central recruitment team. Trusts using a devolved model of recruitment will need to ensure that recruiting managers are set up as HR Users rather than Recruiting Managers in order to fully benefit from these new shortlisting features. - 4 -
HR User Tools HR User: Home page (logged in) The home page includes a list of options that help HR Users identify tasks which need to be completed. This now includes a link to a list of vacancies expiring that day, vacancies expiring in the next 5 days and a list of all vacancies which have unread messages associated with them. Unread messages may include: Recruiting Manager comments Reviewer comments Returned references Candidate correspondence HR User: Applications screen The new-look Applications screen makes the status of applications easier to view. Following consultation with employers the rating system, and related Magic Sort tool on the shortlisting screen, have been replaced with a new feature enabling HR Users to select a long-list option from a drop-down list. These options are: Reject Withdrawn OK OK, registration concern OK, work permit concern NB - A blank application status box will indicate that the application is unprocessed Only applications that have been processed and allocated one of the OK options will be visible on Shortlisting screens for all user types. - 5 -
The Disability Two Ticks column and indicator will now be shown on the Applications screen. This symbol indicates that a candidate wishes to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme, should they meet the essential criteria for the post. For further information on this scheme, please see: http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/jcp/employers/ourservices/programmes/disabilityserviceshelp foremployers/disabilitysymbol/index.html The new Application Status/Review Status column shows whether applications have been sent to shortlisting panels displayed as Requested or Not requested; and the progress of those panel members displayed as number complete out of the total number of review requests seen (see image below). You can now easily select groups of applications according to their short or longlisting status including: select all select all non-eliminated select all shortlisted select all eliminated. HR User: Shortlist The HR User Shortlist screen now allows users to select a shortlist status for each application, whether rejected (selecting one of a range of reasons for rejection), shortlisted or placed on a reserve list - reserved. - 6 -
You will only see applications on the Shortlist screen that HR Users have labelled on the Applications screen as: - OK - OK, registration concern - OK, work permit concern The previously used Eliminate check-box has been replaced with a structured list of options to indicate each application s Shortlisting Status. These options are: - Shortlist - Reject, Work permit - Reject, Registration - Reject, P Spec (all) - Reject, P Spec (qualifications) - Reject, P Spec (skills) - Reject, P Spec (knowledge) - Reject, P Spec (experience) - Reject, P Spec (desirable criteria) - Withdraw - Reserve Selecting any of these options will change the application status on the Applications list screen. Request review This feature, the new name for the Request Comment menu item, enables the HR Users to invite members of the shortlisting panel to review an application and provide feedback. This screen will only show applications that have not already been eliminated, rejected or withdrawn. Groups of applications can now be easily selected according to their longlisting status including select all shortlisted select all non-eliminated un-select all Once you have selected the applications that need to be reviewed, you should enter the shortlisting panel members e-mail details (excluding the recruiting manager). Submitting this information will automatically send an invitation to these panel members to review the - 7 -
applications using the e-mail link provided. The recruiting manager and shortlisting panel members will only be able to view Part B of the application form. Interview schedule The new interview schedule tool, accessed via the left hand menu bar, enables HR Users to select interview times, locations and to display schedules in a format that can be easily viewed and printed. Only those applications previously selected for shortlist will be shown on the interview schedule page. Letters and/or e-mails can be sent using this feature to all shortlisted applicants providing details of interview dates, times and venues. For off-line applications, an email can only be generated where the email field has been completed. Letters can only be sent if the address line 1 and postcode have been entered. A full list of interviews can be generated from the Interview Schedule screen and may be printed or saved locally to be e-mailed to interview panel members. The schedule includes the job reference, interview time, date, location, panel members, chair and the applicant s name and reference number. It will also show whether the interview has been confirmed or not by the applicant. - 8 -
To generate the interview schedule, you will need to supply the details shown in the screen image below. When a candidate logs in they will see the interviews they have been invited to or have scheduled on their home page and will be able to submit their acceptance or rejection of the proposed date and time online. See Applicant: Home page (logged in) on page 15 of this document. This feature is not available for applicants who applied offline. Applicant contact and messages Some changes have been made to the way in which you can use NHS Jobs to contact candidates directly. Standard contact messages have been re-worded, in line with feedback from employers, and a new option enabling employers to upload and store their own standard invite to interview letter has been added. - 9 -
Managing stored letters and e-mails Stored letters and emails can now be managed on NHS Jobs. Stored letters are document templates for letters that can be printed and sent to candidates. Initially only one stored letter will be available for Invite to Interview correspondence. A default Invite to Interview letter is provided, although employers may submit their own stored letter to override the default. This will be managed centrally by the NHS Jobs team Further information on how to set up a personalised letter will be available soon. Setting up reference requests The on-line reference request now offers two options: Structured reference request with questions defined by your account administrator Unstructured reference request providing one free text box for referees to complete The reference request template can only be accessed and defined by Account Administrators via the Admin menu. Once created, the Reference Request details will automatically be saved as a template and will be used with each request form sent by the trust until the template is changed. Requesting & receiving references Reference requests are sent using the Request Reference option in the Application Manager screen. If an applicant has indicated that a referee may not be contacted prior to interview, a reference request cannot be sent using this NHS Jobs feature. References that have been completed online can be viewed by selecting the notes option for each applicant in any of the Application Manager screens. Each reference can be expanded (to view) or collapsed (to hide), as required. - 10 -
HR User: Print options The shortlisting or long-list status for each applicant will now be displayed on this screen You can now easily select groups of applications to print according to their short or longlisting status including select all, select all non-eliminated, select all shortlisted or select all eliminated. - 11 -
Recruiting Manager Tools Recruiting Manager: Applications screen Recruiting managers can access a full list of completed applications for their own vacancies from this screen. They will only be able to view Part B of the application form. Recruiting managers will be able to filter, review and view the application status in the same way as HR users. They will not be able to: add off-line applications see messages regarding withdrawn applications see the applicants names and email addresses create or send invite to interview letters or emails Recruiting Manager: Shortlisting The shortlist screen for recruiting managers will be similar to that seen by the HR User. The recruiting manager can select the appropriate option for each application, whether the candidate should be shortlisted, rejected (with a reason) or reserved. - 12 -
Recruiting managers need to select review complete once feedback has been logged by all the members of the shortlisting panel. Once the review complete status has been submitted, no further feedback from panel members can be entered and an email will automatically be sent to the HR User to inform them that shortlisting is complete and interviews can be scheduled. Shortlist matrix Recruiting Managers can choose to use to use a scoring matrix to when assessing applications against standard criteria. The scoring matrix opens in a new window and enables recruiting managers and other members of the shortlisting panel to score each application against essential and desirable criteria. The total score is displayed on the Recruiting Manager shortlist page this is not available to other members of the shortlisting panel. Although recruiting managers will be able to see the scores provided by each reviewer, this is not tied into the total score which is presented on the shortlist page for Recruiting Managers. - 13 -
Reviewer Tools The shortlisting process is often carried out by a shortlisting panel rather than by one recruiting manager. To facilitate this, a range of tools have been developed for members of shortlisting panels, referred to as Reviewers. These tools enable reviewers to view applications online, record their comments and feedback about each application and enter scores in the shortlisting matrix, if this feature is being used. Reviewer: Applications screen Reviewers access the applications via a link sent by the email generated by NHS Jobs when a review request is submitted by the HR User. This screen provides reviewers with access to Part B of application forms they have been asked to review and the option for them to add comments for each application. Reviewers also have access to the scoring matrix to record scores in a structured format for essential and desirable criteria. Use of the scoring matrix is not mandatory. Reviewers should seek advice from the recruiting manager or HR / recruitment team as to whether and how this feature should be used. This page can be accessed any number of times, provided the comments are saved rather than submitted and comments can be added against each application at any time until the review is marked as complete by the HR User or Recruiting Manager. Comments should be entered in the three boxes provided: Education and Qualification Skills and Experience Desirable Criteria Decisions and comments can be Saved and amended at any time up to the point the Submit button is clicked or the review is marked as complete by the HR User or Recruiting Manager. Once submitted the review status will change to complete for that application. Comments and decisions will not be visible to HR and Recruiting Managers until the submit option has been selected. - 14 -
Applicant Tools Applicant: Home page (logged in) Applicants can now accept or decline interview invitations online. Invitations and scheduled interviews are displayed on their home page once they have logged into their NHS Jobs account. When a candidate responds to an invite to interview, their application status will be updated on the employer s Interview Schedule page. This will be flagged to the HR user when they log into NHS Jobs as an unread message and on the Interview Schedule page within Application Manager. Further information and help Should you require any further information or clarification on these changes please contact the helpdesk via the Support Form on the NHS Jobs website or call us on 0870 7748888-15 -