Recruiting a worker

You can use this exercise to help a group work out the logical stages it needs to go through if it is going to recruit a worker. It prompts people to think about how long it might take. There's a second part to this exercise that looks at common mistakes and possible problems.

 

Preparation

Print off the set of 17 stages cards.

Cut them out along the dotted lines.

Print off the set of 15 mistakes cards.

Cut them out along the dotted lines.

 

With the group...

Introduce the idea of the exercise - have a look at the supporting information (.PPT, 15.5KB) for more details.

Find the "start here" card and the "end here" card - they are in with the stages cards - and put them at each end of a table.

Shuffle the rest of the stages cards, and hand them out to group members. You can choose whether to get people working alone, in pairs or in small groups.

Ask the whole group to put the stages cards in the right order - in between the "start here" and "end here" cards.

Check the order, guiding the group to get it right if necessary (if you're not sure yourself, have a look at the answer sheet).

Ask the group to decide how long each stage in the process will take. Write these times on the cards, encouraging the group to take the longest time suggested. This will give more time if things go wrong or timescales slip.

Once all the stages and times are agreed, add up the overall time it will take the group to recruit a new worker.

Get people working in pairs. Shuffle and hand out the mistakes cards.

Ask the pairs to match the potential mistakes to the relevant stage in the recruitment process.

Once all the mistakes are matched to the stages, discuss ways of avoiding them with the whole group. Don't forget to explain the support you can offer, and signpost on to other support.

Don't forget to look at hints and tips (.DOC, 29 KB).