After Vetting - Giving feedback

You should promptly tell the potential candidates whether they have passed vetting and give constructive feedback if they were not successful. Feedback helps people identify what they excel at and also the gaps in their skills. This can enable them to understand how to develop and potentially be successful next time. Supportive and constructive feedback is a way of you building the next generation of potential candidates.

You should use the role description and competencies assessed in the interview to discuss which skills or attributes the interviewee did or did not demonstrate. It is important for unsuccessful interviewees to be able to act on the feedback. Feedback should be objective, specific and constructive. It can be helpful to give action plans or point people who completed an interview to training or development opportunities as part of feedback, and to provide a realistic timeframe for when they will be eligible to try again. It is not best practice for feedback to be overly personal or vague.

Be aware that if someone isn’t put forward for selection, this may be a difficult time for them. They may have been preparing and thinking about being a candidate for a long time. Feedback can be difficult to receive during this period. You might want to consider offering the option of feedback sessions at a future date, asking people if they prefer written feedback or having peer support that you can direct candidates who aren’t successful towards. Further information about support, training and mentorship can be found in the ‘Selecting Candidates’ chapter of the toolkit.

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