Recruitment done right
To engage with community members meaningfully, you first need community members to want to work with you. Recruiting consumers is about way more than just getting bums on seats. When little thought is given to the recruitment and selection process, it can end up excluding people who could be amazing partners on a project, or worse, it could cause people harm. When done well, it can help to build trust and ongoing relationships that benefit everyone, well into the future.
Health Consumers Centre’s recruitment services
Connecting with and recruiting consumers and community members is something the Health Consumers Centre does a lot. We provide recruitment support to researchers, government agencies, private and public health services, community services, industry… just about anyone who wants to connect and work with community members.
Sometimes this is a service we are paid to provide. Fee-for-service recruitment means we develop a tailored recruitment plan, create the forms, the promotional materials and then share this through many different channels. One of those channels is our monthly Health Consumers Connect newsletter, but it also includes other community networks, targeted social media campaigns, and even putting posters up in local libraries depending on the people we are trying to reach!
We also provide a pro bono services to organisations, where we promote engagement opportunities on their behalf in our newsletter free of charge. We are not funded to do this, but we see it as a valuable service we can provide to the sector as a connector or conduit between the different players.
Learning from our community
We strive to continuously improve our recruitment practices to ensure that they are inclusive, flexible, and supportive. We also have a role to play in encouraging and supporting other organisations or researchers, to improve the way that they plan their recruitment processes and communication with people they are hoping to work with.
Earlier this year, we wanted to refresh our thinking on recruitment. The main things we wanted to find out were:
- What are the biggest challenges that people face when it comes to recruitment?
- What can be done to improve the recruitment process?
- Should we continue to promote opportunities on behalf of other organisations?
We had some ideas, but we needed to hear from the people we seek to work with too. Through three different ways, we gathered insights from 40 people including:
- Feedback from people in our LinkedIn network
- A survey of community members or people who bring their lived and/or living expertise to improve the health system, promoted through our newsletter
- A second survey that we sent to 30 people who had promoted opportunities for engagement through Health Consumers Connect in the past year.
75% of the feedback we received was from people speaking from a consumer or lived experience perspective.
What we heard
Barriers to connecting community members with opportunities
Community members shared that the following are the biggest factors that prevented them from applying for opportunities:
- Not meeting the criteria
- The timing of the engagement e.g. time of day or day of the week
- Not having clarity about what was expected of them or not enough information to make a decision
- The application process being too hard
“You can be very interested in an area or issue but for circumstances out of your control you are not deemed a fit.”
“I have found it frustrating that there is minimal information available conveniently about the opportunities. Often, I have to email organisations for answers to basic questions, like if the opportunity is remunerated and at what rate, if it is online or in person.”
People working in health organisations and research institutions said their biggest barriers were:
- Lack of budget to put towards recruitment
- Difficulty reaching the ‘right’ consumers (e.g. people with specific lived/living experience)
- Lack of time to recruit
“As a community engagement program, we have no budget and so would not be able to pay. We have been advocating for budget internally, and applying for funding and raising money externally but times are tough, and it is just not appealing to sink money into us.”
“There are definitely challenges in getting a mix of people with intersectional experience, skills and strengths when recruiting for a new topic or in a new area”.
Advice about recruitment
We heard many suggestions for how researchers and organisations could improve how they engage people with lived and living experience of the health system into projects or activities.
The following pieces of advice came through most strongly from consumers:
1. Be transparent
Transparency and clarity are crucial in making sure people know exactly what they are signing up for, what is expected of them, and what the outcome is.
- “Be clear about your purpose of engaging.”
- “Please put lots of details in the job ad so that I know what I’m signing up for, and if it’s accessible/practical for me without me having to dig through documents or ask for this information”
- “Make sure you get back to consumers who apply or express interest (in a timely way). Just like with paid employment, don’t ghost them!”
2. Respect and value experience and expertise beyond education
People’s lived experiences should be recognised as valuable expertise, on par with formal education.
- “Not all expertise comes from university education.”
- “Treat consumers as you would employees, with respect, fair pay and kindness.”
- “It takes a lot to engage as a consumer, don’t underestimate the skill and courage.”
3. Make processes easier and more accessible
Simplifying an expression of interest process can make it more approachable and less intimidating.
- “Try not to ask for full CVs every time, it is off putting.”
- “Some do request answers to specific questions pertaining to the role. That is helpful.”
- “Have an audio file and video to sit alongside.”
People working in health organisations also had tips on the things that have worked for them in widening their reach, and recruiting community members from more diverse backgrounds.
- Build networks directly with the consumer communities you work with, including tapping into patient groups on social media
- Start projects or research with a consumer focus, rather than an after thought
- Engage respected or trusted sources to help promote opportunities including peak bodies or well-known community members
- Ensure any relevant opportunities state they will book Auslan interpreters and be willing to learn how to include deaf and hard of hearing consumers.
Should we keep providing a pro bono promotional service?
The simple answer is yes. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this was seen as a valuable resource for nearly everyone we received a response from, community members and practitioners alike.
“If we want to change the culture around community engagement (moving away from tokenistic to authentic) then we need to make it common place and accessible to the up-and-coming researchers. By pay walling these avenues, it becomes an exclusive avenue for the researchers who already have plenty of funding, and we leave the new researchers and ideas behind.”
What responsibility does the Centre have in screening the opportunities that we promote?
We asked community members what they expect of the Health Consumers Centre in terms of what opportunities we share and which ones we don’t.
There was a group of respondents who did not feel that the Health Consumers Centre had a role in vetting roles that were promoted in the newsletter. Some suggested the use of disclaimers, while others believed applicants should do their own checks.
- “I’ve kept sharing jobs within my networks but added a disclaimer – I have not vetted this role or the organisation’s culture.”
- “I think it’s impossible and unfair to be expected to keep a list of ‘cancelled’ or blacklisted organisations.”
- “None. The applicant needs to do their own checks.”
What we heard most commonly from those who do think the Centre has a screening role to play was:
1. Participation needs to be meaningful
Some consumers expected the Health Consumers Centre to ensure that engagement is meaningful and not just a tokenistic exercise.
- “Opportunities are genuine and that they are serious about engaging with consumers.”
- “Organisations should have values and policies to promote inclusion of diversity.”
2. Ensure support and safety in engagements
Some consumers expected the Health Consumers Centre to ensure engagements prioritise safety, support, and trauma-informed approaches, especially for those with lived experience of mental health challenges. Organisations should be required to demonstrate appropriate protocols and policies.
- “They have adequate supporting system/framework for consumers in their partnerships.”
- “If support (like debriefs, counselling services) aren’t offered, why not?”
- “That they will give consumers a full orientation.”
3. Appropriate and fair remuneration
Some people expected the Health Consumers Centre to review opportunities to ensure fair payment for consumers that reflect the value of contributions beyond just attending meetings including work that might happen outside of meetings.
- “Remunerate consumers fairly.”
- “Payment for services outside meetings – lots of tasks may get delegated to consumers but they are not paid, supported or valued.”
4. Reputation and credibility
Some people felt the Health Consumers Centre should check the reputation of the organisation and the legitimacy of the project. Consumers should feel confident that their involvement is part of a credible initiative.
- “Track record of organisation.”
- “Commitment to public involvement.”
What next?
Having gathered insights from this consultation, we are now in a good position to plan for some improvement work. Below are some steps we are taking to help improve recruitment experiences for both community members and practitioners:
1. Feedback form
We now include a feedback form in our newsletter for consumers and community members to let us know if they have run into any problems when applying for opportunities we promote on behalf of other services. We can pass on feedback to organisations with the aim of helping them improve the way they do things.
2. Recruitment request form
We are in the process of developing a form to streamline the process for people wanting to recruit consumers. It provides prompts for the information they need to include so this is standardised. This doubles as a checklist for services to ensure they have information readily available in their recruitment materials so that consumers can make informed decisions about putting themselves forward. We’ll provide advice and feedback if someone asks us to promote an opportunity that doesn’t meet the expectations set by community members.
3. Best practice guidelines
We are also putting together some best practice recruitment guidelines based on our expertise and the expertise of our community. In the meantime, there was lots of advice you can draw on in this article and we have this LinkedIn post as a starting point.
If you need help reaching community members for a project, group or initiative, please reach out to us at healthconsumers@deakin.edu.au.
