Recruiting principals – interviewing and decision making
Shortlisting stage
The first step of the interview process is shortlisting. Shortlisting is narrowing down the applicants received to a shortlist of candidates the board wishes to interview.
Most boards don’t want to miss an excellent applicant or spend extra time on someone who doesn’t meet the requirements.
It is common for shortlists to have three applicants, but typically no more than five.
Shortlisting allows the appointment committee to identify applicants most likely suited to an appointment while discounting those who are not.
As explained in the previous article, using your board’s appointment criteria is critical to shortlisting.
Shortlisting matrix
It is good practice to have every person on your board or appointment committee individually assess each applicant using a shortlisting matrix.
Once each person has completed their assessments using the matrices, they can all come together to compare their results.
Using the job description and person specification, list all the job requirements on a shortlisting matrix.
You can download and use our shortlisting matrixopen_in_new template.
Using a separate matrix for each applicant, go through the application forms and score against the requirements.
Once scoring is complete and the committee has discussed the results, we strongly recommend that the committee discard applicants who score a ‘0’ on one or more of the ‘essential’ criteria.
Then rank those remaining applicants in priority order, highest score first.
If you still have several applicants, you may want to reconsider the scoring of the board-developed appointment criteria.
Being fair
All applications must be considered on merit and assessed against the same criteria.
Boards must also ensure they give effect to the principles and legal obligations of Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO).
In New Zealand, the Human Rights Act 1993 and the Employment Relations Act 2000 outline the prohibited grounds of discrimination intended to protect employees in the workplace.
These provisions also apply to job applicants.
Remember, it is unlawful to directly or indirectly discriminate against someone because of their:
-
Sex, which includes pregnancy and childbirth
-
Marital status, single
-
Religious belief
-
Ethical belief, which means the lack of a religious belief, whether in respect of a particular religion or religions or all religions
-
Race or skin colour
-
Ethnic or national origins, including nationality or citizenship
-
Disability
-
Age
-
Political opinion
-
Employment status
-
Family status
-
Sexual orientation
Your board must ensure that no one is unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged through the shortlist process.
It can also be tempting for board members to add information regarding an applicant due to prior knowledge; however, judgement on an applicant’s suitability must be based on the information supplied.
What to advise applicants?
Once the shortlisted group is selected, those candidates should be notified of the interview date and time and any other requirements the school board may have for them as part of the recruitment process.
Provide details of the next steps and who will be on the interview panel.
Let any unsuccessful applicants who are not selected for the shortlist know they have not been shortlisted. Some unsuccessful applicants may wish to contact you to get feedback and identify what they need to do differently. Whilst there is no obligation to provide feedback, it is good practice to do so.
As well as a written letter, we recommend meeting and giving constructive feedback to internal applicants who were not shortlisted (including what steps they could take for the future as part of their career planning).
Interviewing stage
Before the interview, the appointment committee should:
-
Develop interview questions based on your board-developed appointment criteria,
-
Ensure the interview panel members are comfortable with the questions they may be assigned to ask,
-
Prepare and use an interview matrixopen_in_new to note the responses for each candidate,
-
Individually review the candidates’ CVs,
-
Inform candidates to bring their original identity documents, practising certificates and qualifications to the interview so they can be sighted and copied, and
-
Provide the ‘Police Vetting’ authority form, so the candidate can sign and return it promptly, for this to be submitted and reported back within the recruitment timeframe.
The interview panel should:
-
Ensure that adequate refreshments, water, and clean glasses are available,
-
Check whether candidates have any specific requirements for accessing the venue and room arrangements,
-
Check if a candidate is bringing a support person with them – seating will need to be considered, and
-
Ensure someone is available to welcome candidates and show them around after the interview.
The key purpose of the interview is to collect more information about the candidate, carry out the risk assessment elements, and find out how well they fit the requirements of the role.
The information you collect will help you assess the skills, experience, and general background of the shortlisted candidate to decide which one is most suitable.
We have a template for a sample interview technique and questionsopen_in_new your board could consider using.
Beginning of the interview
-
Greet the candidate.
-
Introduce the panel members.
-
Explain the overall process.
-
Ask some ‘ice breaker’ questions to relax the candidate.
Middle of the interview
-
Ask relationship-building questions.
-
Ask open-ended questions.
-
Pay attention to the answers provided and check for contrary evidence.
-
Retain control of the interview by tactfully asking the next question if it becomes necessary to refocus the candidate or move on to a new topic.
-
Follow with probing questions to get the candidate to describe the Situation, Task, Action they took and Result (STAR).
-
Also, ask if there were any lessons learnt or if they would have done anything differently.
-
Follow up on any issues in the CV that require clarification and verification.
-
Provide the candidate with the opportunity to ask the panel questions.
End of the interview
-
Explain how they will be informed of the outcome.
-
Describe the expected timeframe for decision-making.
-
Check content and availability of referees.
-
Ask the candidate if they have any questions for the panel.
-
Thank them for their time and attendance
How is reference checking conducted?
The same person from the recruitment panel should be allocated to carry out all the reference checks for consistency.
Let the candidates know when you are going to contact their referees.
When obtaining employment references, you can only contact the people who the candidate has permitted you to speak to. Generally, this will only be the referees that the candidate provided as part of the application process.
You cannot contact unlisted referees unless you have sought explicit permission in advance. This allows them to provide additional information to you or opt out of the application process if they so wish.
At all times, your board should be seeking the information you need to know – not only what the candidate’s referees wish to tell you.
Check for what is missing, as much as what is included. At the same time, make sure not to ask questions that are, directly or indirectly, in breach of the Human Rights Act by being discriminatory.
Document the questions and answers for reference checks. You can use our reference checking matrixopen_in_new to do this.
Final reference checks take place before the final decision as to who to appoint.
Why is reference checking important?
It allows the board to ensure they find the best-qualified and most suitable person for the position.
It also provides greater insight from someone who has previously observed the candidate’s practice and experience.
Safety checking and police vetting stage
Safety checking is the process that gathers information from a job candidate, their former employers, the New Zealand Police, professional organisations, and your interviews to undertake a risk assessment as part of a robust recruitment process.
This risk assessment ensures that the school is satisfied that the candidate would not pose a risk to the safety and wellbeing of children if employed or engaged.
All the required steps must be completed before any offer of employment is made.
Safety checking must be completed for all people employed or engaged in work that may involve regular or overnight contact with children (without the supervision of a parent), on appointment and every three years following.
Refer to our safety checking and police vetting article for further information.
Appointment decision stage
Boards seek to appoint the best-suited person for the role.
In making this decision, the law requires that this is undertaken in a fair and balanced manner.
Deciding on the best candidate
The appointment panel should meet and discuss their responses to the interviewed candidates.
Using the sample interview technique and questionsopen_in_new and the selection criteria is key
-
Consider using consensus decision-making rather than voting - whatever decision process is used; the school board owns it.
-
Review the feedback information from those involved in the interview process.
-
Assess the information provided by the reference checks.
-
Assess the candidate’s relevant experience and how it would fit your school’s culture.
-
Be prepared to stick to these criteria even if it generates surprise rankings.
-
The appointment panel then presents to the school board for a final decision.
Again, be mindful of the Human Rights Act 1993 (as discussed at the start of this article). It is illegal for the board, as an employer, to refuse, decide not to employ, or appoint on less favourable terms because of any of the prohibited grounds of discrimination.
Appointment panel report for the board’s final decision
A written report with sufficient information to support the proposed candidate should be prepared for the recommended appointment.
The appointment recommendation should document
-
The selection process (position specification, advertising process, number of applicants, shortlisting criteria and documentation, broad areas that were interviewed for, referee checks, results of any test, if any),
-
The basis for the decision – a summary detailing on what basis the recommended candidate was considered best suited,
-
Any issues and dissenting views, and
-
Recommendation for appointment.
Confidentiality
Ensure that this employment discussion is held “in committee” without any public person present.
Once the decision has been made
-
Contact the preferred candidate,
-
Make an offer by sending a letter of offer for employmentopen_in_new (confirm start date, and entitlements as per the relevant Principal Collective Agreement),
-
Receive written acceptance,
-
Discard safely any evaluative material and interview notes,
-
Place relevant information (e.g., application form, photos ID and details) on the appointee’s personnel file, and
-
Inform school staff and the wider community.
Informing unsuccessful candidates
Contact the unsuccessful candidates once your board has received an accepted offer from the successful candidate.
Determine who will give feedback to unsuccessful candidates who may ask for it and what they will say.
Ensure feedback is linked to the shortlisting criteria and any document that has assisted the board in identifying the most suitable candidate.
Return all application material with a covering letter to express appreciation for putting themselves forward for the position.
What do you do if there are no suitable candidates?
Sometimes the appointment process may not identify a suitable candidate.
Boards should avoid appointing someone for the sake of having someone fill this role.
If there are any doubts about making an offer, resolve these before making an appointment.
Your board should consider re-advertising the position and appointing an acting principal in the short term, either internally or externally.
Questions your board could ask
-
What are the stages of a robust and fair recruitment process?
-
What does our appointment policy state?
-
Do we want an external consultant to assist us with the process?
-
What resources do we need for the process?
Templates, resources, and references
Click on the link(s) below to access the templates, resources, and references related to this topic.
These may download or open in a separate browser depending on your device.
Links from us
Community Law
Human Rights Act 1993
Ministry of Education