Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Accepted
Poor recruitment data quality prevents departments from benchmarking their performance effectively.
Recommendation
Most departments do not know how their recruitment performance compares to that of other organisations, either within the civil service or externally. In part this is due to the poor quality of recruitment data, as described above in relation to recruitment times and costs. The Cabinet Office explained this was why it was developing common metrics to enable departments to understand, compare and benchmark their performance internally and externally.24
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and will set benchmarks and identify best practices by Autumn 2024 through analysis of recruitment metrics data and external research. It will define a set of recruitment standards and has initiated discovery pilots to test new approaches.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
3.6 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Autumn 2024 3.7 Six months from the date of the report is insufficient to ensure that full quality research is provided to drive the required improvements. An additional three months (maximum) is needed to complete the recommendation. 3.8 The Cabinet Office will set benchmarks and identify areas of best practice across the recruitment process through the analysis of the recruitment metrics data and researching recruitment practice with external organisations. This will support and encourage departments to identify and make improvements in their own recruitment practice. 3.9 As the metrics are reported on and best practice is identified, the Cabinet Office will define a set of recruitment standards to set expectations of how recruitment should be enacted in the Civil Service, to encourage improvements and ensure recruitment is carried out to the highest standard. 3.10 The Cabinet Office has initiated several ‘discovery pilots’ to test different approaches to Civil Service recruitment. Having different departments, functions and professions testing new approaches will support the development of a more effective recruitment system, with an ambition to reduce time to hire and improve recruitment outcomes.