Independent Article

Finding the Right Staff for Your Team

- Expect a Star Recruitment Services

Finding the right staff is the best thing you can do for your Service/Organisation. It is staggering the amount of time spent organising, monitoring, training, counselling and last but not least-hiring staff.

Once you have advertised and received interest in the vacant position, you must move quickly in getting in contact with the candidates to get the ball rolling. Chances are that the applicant has also applied for 4 or 5 other positions, so it pays to move quickly.

The Interview Process

You will find an initial phone interview invaluable. It is a great gauge of what the candidate is looking for, their interpersonal skills, enthusiasm, previous experience and if they are actually interested in working in the childhood profession (you would be surprised!).

Encourage the applicants to come prepared for the interview. Suggest they bring previous programming, portfolios, observations etc., as well as any questions they may have about your centre and the position.

Ensure you, the employer, are also prepared by providing information on the centre and the position (including a job description).

During the interview process ensure you discuss the following areas in detail with the candidate:

• Previous/current experience in working with young children (0-5 years)
• Experience in working with children with additional needs.
• Behaviour based questions in the areas of time management, communication, leadership and team work.
• Knowledge and experience of the NCAC process and the QIAS areas and principles.
• Knowledge and experience of the regulatory government department regulations and licensing process.
• Mandatory reporting process in regards to child protection legislation.
• OH&S and manual handling techniques specific to early childhood.
• Programming and planning experiences.
• For trained/qualified candidates only – programming and planning experience in using appropriate philosophical and framework procedures and showing evidence of linking observations to follow up learning experiences.

Trained and qualified staff can also be asked to complete a programming document as evidence of their existing skills in the areas of observation writing, behaviour management and developmental interpretation.

Make sure you consider what your Service’s philosophy, values, team ethic and community is. Select staff who respect and represent this. Reference and clearance checks must also be completed.

Trialling Staff

When you feel you’ve found the right person for the position, it’s a great idea to ask the applicant to come in to trial for a few days. If you have a few potential staff members, you can trial them on different days.

Don’t underestimate the importance of trialling a potential staff member. It’s easy to see that hole in your staffing and want to fill it immediately, but nothing is worse than hiring someone prematurely, realising later that they are just not suitable for the position. A week’s trial is generally enough time to gauge if they are they right person to join your team.

Getting Help

Getting professional help when recruiting is always a prudent decision unless you really know what you're doing.

Expect A Star Education Services was established in 2004, and has experienced strong growth, with offices now in Sydney, Melbourne and the latest office opening in Brisbane in 2008.

"Establishing an office in Brisbane was a natural choice to make earlier this year. Recent studies have shown that Queensland has experienced the fastest population growth of all states and territories over the past years, including the highest positive net interstate migration for 2007 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Demographic Statistics, December 2007). This means an increase in families, children’s services and the need for valuable children’s services staff." Ryan Meldrum, Managing Director, Expect A Star

You can visit Expect A Star at:

www.expectastar.com.au