Published: Wednesday 17 May 2023
A group of residents have been working with the Council on a project which will ensure they are influencing who the Council is appointing.
As part of the Customer Access Programme, which is making sure we continue on our journey to becoming a caring and competent Council, we have been co-designing a set of interview questions with residents to guarantee they have a voice on all Council recruitment interviews.
The Council already has a pool of residents that are trained to sit on recruitment panels to ensure the needs of the community are considered. However, with the volume of recruitment across the Council, it is not always possible to have a resident on every interview panel.
Residents, together with the Council, have developed interview questions and model answers that hiring managers can choose from when planning an interview.
Lifelong Kensington and Chelsea resident, Vinh Nguyen who has been part of the co-design process said: “It is very important that residents get involved in the hiring process in which the Council resides over, as it builds trust and that is one of the most important things people can have.
“I think the best outcome in these sessions would be a closer relationship between the Council and its residents.”
Local resident, Anna Subramanian, who has also been part of the sessions added: “I think it is very interesting that residents are actually involved in designing what questions are asked of people who will be working for the Council because it feels like it is reflecting the voice of the residents.
“We need to make sure that people with certain kind of values, integrity and a respectful approach are recruited. I think we will get some good results.”
The new recruitment approach is now being rolled out across the Council and is ensuring residents are involved in the decision-making process.