We are committed to making sure our recruitment process is fair, consistent, transparent and inclusive.
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We want to be an employer of choice, that attracts and retains talented staff that have the right skills and behaviours that together will make life more inclusive for deaf people and those with hearing loss or tinnitus.
We will do this by hiring people from the widest possible talent pool and offering development opportunities to our employees. We are committed to improving the representation of minority groups within RNID, particularly improving representation of deaf staff and those with hearing loss or tinnitus.
This information provides an overview of our hiring policy and sets out our principles to ensure our process is fair, consistent, transparent and inclusive.
We always welcome feedback
RNID wants all candidates, internal and external, to have a positive experience of applying for a job with us. If there is anything you would like to share about your experience, please contact us.
Our hiring principles
We choose the person we think will do the best job, based on their skills, knowledge, experience and our values and behaviours. We only ask relevant questions. And if we test people, we make sure the tests are relevant to the job.
RNID will always advertise a role internally. We encourage internal development wherever possible. We ask for people to reach out to hiring managers to talk about the advertised vacancies. We also encourage temporary staff to apply for our permanent roles.
As part of your development, RNID commits to offering a guaranteed interview to any internal applicant who has had a pre-conversation with the hiring manager before submitting their application.
Occasionally we will need to hire a consultant or contractor, for very specific work that we cannot complete within the organisation. We will only do this when it is absolutely necessary.
We make sure that our application process is as accessible and inclusive as possible.
Our approach supports applications from everyone regardless of their race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, marital status, religion, or beliefs.
We are a Disability Confident employer, and we encourage people to contact us.
Reasonable adjustments include offering communication support to people who need it.
We learn from others and promote best practice in all areas of hiring.
We will follow all UK laws relating to employment, recruitment, equality, and data protection. Any changes in the law will initiate a review of the hiring policy.
Disability Confident
Disability Confident is a government scheme designed to encourage employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with health conditions. It has replaced the previous Two Ticks Positive About Disabled People scheme that you may have heard of.
RNID is proud to be a member of Disability Confident and as Disability Confident Leader we recognise the value disabled people bring to RNID. We offer interviews to any candidate that tells us they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the role.
It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-peak times, the employer may need to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered. This will include the number of interviews offered to disabled people that meet the minimum criteria for the job.
Watch a BSL video about our Disability Confident Leader accreditation
Find out more about Disability Confident (GOV.UK)
Thriving at Work (Stevenson / Farmer) review of mental health
We are committed to adhering to both core and enhanced standards as set out in the Thriving at Work review of mental health (GOV.UK).
Core standards
We:
- produce, implement, and communicate mental health at work plans
- develop awareness
- encourage open conversations
- provide our colleagues with good working conditions
- promote effective people management
- monitor our employee’s mental health and wellbeing.
Enhanced standards
We:
- increase transparency and accountability through internal and external reporting
- demonstrate accountability
- continuously review and improve the disclosure process
- ensure the provision of tailored in-house mental health support and signposting.
Hiring ex-offenders
Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us. This will depend on the offence and the relevance of the offence in relation to the role you have applied for.
The factors considered will include:
- the responsibilities of the position
- the vulnerability of the customer group
- the nature of the offence(s)
- the number and pattern of the offences (if there is more than one)
- how long ago the offence(s) occurred
- the age of the offender when the offence(s) occurred.
We treat DBS/Access Ni/PVG applicants who have a criminal record fairly and make sure we do not discriminate because of a conviction or other information revealed. If you would like more information on how we comply with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, please ask us for a copy of our Hiring ex-offenders guidance.
Conflicts of interest
To ensure our hiring processes are fair we ask hiring managers to let us know if they have a personal relationship with an applicant. The personal relationship could mean they are a family member, a partner or a friend. We ask you to declare this as soon as you are aware of their application. If you aren’t sure about whether there is a conflict of interest, please speak to the People team who will work with you to agree if it is still appropriate for you to remain part of the selection process.
How we hire
1. Shortlisting
The Hiring Manager will be the lead when it comes to shortlisting candidates for the role. The shortlisting process will assess candidates on their merit against the criteria set out in the job description, person specification and application questions.
The hiring manager and shortlisting panel will complete the shortlisting process independently. Shortlisting will be completed on merit.
The hiring manager will confirm to the people team who is being invited to interview including candidates that are eligible for interview through the Disability Confident scheme.
External applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application as soon as possible. However, due to the number of applications we receive, feedback cannot be provided for unsuccessful applicants.
2. Interviews and assessments
RNID can use a range of assessment methods to best assess candidates for the role. This can include:
- interviews
- presentations
- exercises (for example, in-tray, excel)
- scenario or team-based exercises
- psychometric tests.
During an interview, RNID can ask competency, value, experience and situational based questions. Each question will be directly relevant to the role.
Candidates will be asked the same questions, although the interview panel may choose to ask follow-up questions or delve deeper into the experience and skills of candidates where appropriate.
The hiring manager is responsible for ensuring:
- Candidates receive the job description for the role they have applied for and be given adequate time to attend and prepare for the interview.
- The interview panel is made up of people the role will work with. Where possible, one panel member will have lived experience of being deaf, having hearing loss or tinnitus – this is because of the nature of our work and to promote deaf awareness in our candidates. Panels must consist of two members at a minimum.
- If there is an internal candidate, the panel will include at least one panel member from outside the capability or immediate team.
- Panel members make notes of the applicant’s answers and return them to AskHR who will keep them on file in line with our retention of records policy. Panel members must score each applicant based on their answers and on merit. The candidate with the top score will be offered the role if we can agree terms and conditions. Other candidates can be considered first for the role if there is a strong reason to do so – that is, they bring skills and experience that are missing in the existing team.
- All unsuccessful internal candidates are offered feedback as part of their development.
- Candidates who are deemed suitable for the role but are not the top candidate can be considered for similar vacancies within the organisation that are currently available or become available within the next six months without the need for a further interview process.
Successful candidates should be given a verbal offer by the hiring manager as soon as possible.
All job offers are dependent on pre-employment clearances that include:
- proof of right to work in the UK
- references covering three years (we won’t contact referees without permission)
- pre-employment checks
- vetting checks (dependent on role).
If you’d like more information
You can find out more about our principles and approach to recruitment in our hiring policy:
Download RNID’s hiring policy (PDF, 456 KB)
Download RNID’s hiring policy (accessible format) (PDF, 408 KB)
If you have any questions, please contact us