Strengthening your process of consultant selection

How confident are you that your process for appointing new Consultants is up to date, robust and likely to result in the best possible appointment for the post?

The right appointment brings valuable expertise to the Trust that is of benefit to colleagues and patients over many years. The wrong appointment is immensely costly. The total investment in a Consultant over the course of his or her employment is significant in both financial and human terms. Many of the behaviours that can cause difficulty post-appointment are possible to identify through an effective appointments process. The best process is capable of selecting out the wrong candidate, as well as selecting in the right one.

How Edgecumbe can help

Edgecumbe can help you develop a validated, robust, defensible and cost-effective process for appointing a Consultant that adheres to validated principles of best practice in selection and assessment. The process is fully tailored to the needs of the Trust, as well as the individual specialities choosing a new Consultant.

Why you can trust Edgecumbe

We have many years experience of working with doctors and their employers and extensive knowledge and expertise in selection and assessment methods. We have applied these in a variety of sectors (public and private) nationally and internationally. We keep up to date with the most recent developments and research in the field of assessment and selection. So you can be certain that any process we recommend will be validated and fit for purpose.

How the service works

Working in close partnership with the client team we can provide any or all of the following:

• Advice on the design of the person specification, to support the job description (involving the team into which the new Consultant will be appointed)
• Development of a competency framework tailored to the priorities of the Department and the Trust
• Expert assistance from Chartered Psychologists in the use of psychometric testing
• Design of a comprehensive structured interview
• Training of the interview panel members in best practice at selection interviewing
• Design and implementation of additional selection processes to corroborate self-reports
• Input, where required, to the "wash-up" and decision-making process to ensure the right applicant is chosen

Psychometric testing

We also offer a specialist psychometric test interpretation service, with a rapid turnaround where required, providing summaries and questions for the interview panel to follow up.

Additionally, we can also provide advice about the best combination of psychometric tests and how to go about becoming trained and licensed in their use if you wish to deliver this part of the process in-house.

Training workshops

Following the design phase we run one-day workshops for up to 8 interview panel members. Using real job and person specifications, and volunteer senior trainee doctors as interviewees, each participant will have hands-on skills practice, with feedback from an Edgecumbe tutor and other participants. Workshops also tackle practical issues and questions about the wider process and how it will work in the Trust.