What is an e-Recruitment system?
An e-Recruitment system is one where most of the activities associated with recruitment are initiated and managed in a single electronic system. In the NSW public sector many government agencies use the same cloud-based tool, Taleo, to manage recruitment.
While this page uses examples from the Taleo e-Recruitment tool, many of the issues relating to recordkeeping in e-Recruitment systems are the same regardless of the actual system used.
The e-Recruitment system used in NSW government offices supports the recruitment process with workflows, structures, and data collection about applicants and the process itself, making the process more efficient and organised. While e-Recruitment is helpful for managing short-term recruitment records, it is not designed for long-term recordkeeping.
Some records, especially those for successful applicants, need to be moved to your agency’s corporate recordkeeping system. This ensures that important information about appointments and employment history is retained and managed appropriately.
Functionality of e-Recruitment
The e-Recruitment system provides a range of key features to support the recruitment process, including:
- creating vacancy and position details
- generating advertisements
- uploading generic and customised position descriptions
- giving access to applications, interview schedules, shortlists, and panel assessments
- managing workflow approvals
- generating related correspondence
- tracking progress and results
- producing whole-of-government reports
At the end of a recruitment process, a selection report can be generated. If all the required information has been entered correctly, this report will summarise the process.
It can be saved electronically in e-Recruitment or kept as a hard copy, with or without handwritten signatures, based on the agency's needs. A similar report is also available for the shortlisting or culling phase of the selection process.
Recordkeeping requirements for recruitment processes
It's important for agencies to keep full, accurate, and reliable records of recruitment processes for several reasons, including:
- Dealing with appeals against recruitment decisions
- Assisting employees in confirming their rights and entitlements
- Managing the details of applicants held in 'reserve' through eligibility lists
Agencies need to make informed, risk-based decisions about how to manage different recruitment records. This includes deciding which records can be kept in e-Recruitment and which ones should be transferred to the agency's own recordkeeping system.
Storage of records 'in the cloud'
The e-Recruitment system is an online application, with the information it captures and manages not stored in ‘in-house’ servers within each agency but rather in the cloud (in the United States) by the software provider on behalf of the NSW Government.
The Public Service Commission has a negotiated whole-of-government contract with the e-Recruitment service providers Taleo.
This means that each agency does not need to negotiate a separate contract with the service provider.
The Public Service Commission has also considered the general risks associated with the e-Recruitment system in order to meet the requirements of the General authority for transferring records out of NSW for storage with or maintenance by service providers based outside the State.
Individual agencies may have additional risks associated with the use of cloud-based systems that should be assessed and mitigated.
In addition, the table below outlines some of the system risks and mitigation strategies adopted by the Public Service Commission.
| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data held in multiple jurisdictions | Low | Low | Data is stored in the United States only |
| Asset ownership is unclear | Low | Low | The government owns the data on behalf of the agencies. Taleo retains the intellectual property rights to the software |
| Audit management processes are not robust | Low | Low | All changes are logged and auditable |
| Backup management is not adequately defined and a robust backup process is not in place or not followed | Low | Medium | Transaction Logs are backed up every 4 hours, twice weekly block level incremental backups are taken and weekly full system backups are taken, encrypted using AES128 and vaulted offsite for 3 years |
| Data and hardware not secure | Low | High | 24/7 managed facility 24/7/365 security presence CCTV coverage ('Archived' for 60 days) No unescorted access Multiple layers of electronically controlled card access Multiple Biometric scanners control access Up-to-date master list of authorised employees Equipment in caged environment, individual locked cages, cabinets and suites An audit trail of changes to information is maintained in e-Recruitment |
| Data is not retained for the legislated time period | Low | Low | Taleo has adopted its Production Data Management Policy. This policy shows that Taleo will allow up to seven (7) years' worth of data in its Production environment for each customer and keeps backups for up to three (3) years. Data that must be retained beyond 7 years for successful candidates are to be exported on completion of recruitment action to the relevant agency’s recordkeeping system |
| Electronic data of a successful candidate is retained in e-Recruitment as well as being held in agency recordkeeping system, resulting in no single 'source of truth' | Low | Low | Duplication (of exported information about the successful candidate) would only occur for 7 years, prior to purge System security and audit trails in the agency’s recordkeeping system would prevent change to the exported records. Agencies should have business rules in place to use this version for future business action |
| Loss of visibility to an agency of the recruitment outcome and inability to reconstruct the original order of the recruitment process should data be deleted when a successful applicant's record is exported to the agency recordkeeping system | High | High | Retain information in e-Recruitment for 7 years and link with metadata to agency recordkeeping system |
| An agency will not have the ability to access a complete employee personnel file | Low | Low | Export successful candidate information to the agency's recordkeeping system |
What e-Recruitment can and cannot do
E-Recruitment does not fully meet the requirements of the State Records NSW’ Standard on records management. However, it includes some basic recordkeeping features, such as the ability to capture read-only records, provide security and track audit trails.
For most recruitment processes, these basic features are enough to manage short-term records. Generally, short-term records only need to be kept for 2 years after the recruitment is finalised and e-Recruitment can handle this. If your agency has concerns about the risks to these records, it should consider alternative methods for storing them, such as exporting them to the agency's own recordkeeping system.
E-Recruitment is not suitable for maintaining records with long-term retention requirements. Records of successful candidates, which are needed for ongoing management of their appointment and service, must be exported from the system and stored in the agency's own records management system. This export should take place once the candidate is notified and marked as 'Hired.'
Disposal of records
Many records created during recruitment actions only need to be kept for a short time. This includes records such as advertisements, selection committee notes, and applications from unsuccessful candidates.
However, certain records, such as applications and background checks for successful applicants, must be kept for at least 7 years after employment ends. These records are typically stored as part of the individual's personal file or employment history. Therefore, these records should be exported from e-Recruitment and managed in the agency’s own records management system.
The rules for retaining and disposing of personnel records, including recruitment records, are outlined in the General Retention and Disposal Authority for Administrative Records (GA28). A summary of these requirements for recruitment records in e-Recruitment is provided below.
Purge of e-recruitment data
The Public Service Commission has advised State Records NSW that, at this stage, it plans to purge data of completed recruitment action from the e-Recruitment system every 7 years.
As a result, any records required to be retained beyond this period must be exported post successful recruitment action.
Duplication of records
As purges only occur every 7 years, for this period there may be duplication between the content in e-Recruitment and the recruitment records held in your agency’s recordkeeping system.
Once the successful applicant’s records are transferred into your recordkeeping system, they should be considered to be the authoritative record for any future business.
The version contained in the e-Recruitment system should be considered as a copy and not used for any further reference or future business action.
Examples of recruitment records and advice on their management
The examples provided below are based on consultation with a sample of agencies using the e-Recruitment system. The recruitment records generated by your agency may differ in content or names. Please refer to the General retention and disposal authority: administrative records (GA28) to determine disposal classes for your records, or contact State Records NSW.
Note: The recordkeeping advice provided in these tables is general only and does not take into account specific requirements and risks that some agencies may be subject to. If additional risks exist, owing to the nature of the business, these should be assessed by the agencies when determining recordkeeping practice.
| Examples of recruitment records | Disposal class and retention in the General retention and disposal authority: administrative records (GA28) | Recordkeeping advice |
|---|---|---|
| Some agencies keep records documenting the internal approval to commence a recruitment action | 15.10.1 – Retain for a minimum of 2 years after recruitment has been finalised, then destroy | Details of who approved the recruitment and when are recorded and can be locked down in the e-Recruitment system. This information is managed using User IDs. The full record of internal approval can be attached to the appropriate requisition in the e-Recruitment system or kept in the agency’s recordkeeping system for the required retention period. |
| Copy of the job advertisement | 15.10.1 – Retain for a minimum of 2 years after recruitment has been finalised, then destroy | A locked down version of the job advertisement is not able to be captured by the system. Agencies should print to PDF the job advertisement as it appeared on jobs.nsw and capture this along with the requisition. |
| Record of the selection panel members | 15.10.1 – Retain for a minimum of 2 years after recruitment has been finalised, then destroy | The Convenor and other members of the selection panel are recorded in the e-Recruitment system. The details are time and date stamped and notes showing panel members decisions on candidates are read-only. |
| Culling report | 15.10.1 – Retain for a minimum of 2 years after recruitment has been finalised, then destroy | If the e-Recruitment system is used correctly, all steps and comments regarding shortlisting, including reasons, will be recorded. |
| Records of any reference checks carried out | 15.10.1 – Retain for a minimum of 2 years after recruitment has been finalised, then destroy | Information regarding the completion of reference checks is included in the selection report for the successful candidate (see below). |
| Selection report | 15.10.1 – Retain for a minimum of 2 years after recruitment has been finalised, then destroy | If the e-Recruitment system has been used correctly, all steps and comments regarding the interviews, referee checks and recommendations, including reasons, will be recorded. |
| Declaration on conflict of interest | 15.10.1 – Retain for a minimum of 2 years after recruitment has been finalised, then destroy | This is recorded in e-Recruitment via communications between panel members and the panel chair/'Owner'. |
| Eligibility list (also known as the e-List) | 15.10.1– Retain for a minimum of 2 years after recruitment has been finalised, then destroy | The Selection Report shows all the necessary recruitment details for both successful and eligibility listed candidates. The Eligibility List report shows requisition (job) titles with the eligible candidates' names against them. |
| Applications that were received and copies of the letters that were written to the successful and unsuccessful applicants. | Successful applicants – 15.4.3 - Retain for a minimum of 75 years from date of birth or 7 years after employment ceases, then destroy Unsuccessful applicants – 15.10.1 Retain for a minimum of 2 years after recruitment finalised, then destroy | Unsuccessful candidate records can be retained as ‘read only’ within each Candidate file. Successful candidate records should be exported to an agency recordkeeping system where they can be managed long term. This should happen at the e-Recruitment step of 'Notification' and a Status of 'Hired'. |
Records of background checks
| Examples of recruitment records | Disposal class and retention period in the General retention and disposal authority: administrative records (GA28) | Recordkeeping advice |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal record checks | 15.10.2 – Records detailing a person’s criminal record provided in response to a criminal record check (that is, Police reports) - Retain until check completed, then destroy | The selection report contains a checklist that the check has occurred, and that the candidate has been successful at a particular date/time. The selection report will be retained for the required 2 years after recruitment has been finalised. Agencies need to assess for their own purposes whether they need to retain evidence of a check being carried out for longer periods. No details of an individual’s criminal history provided in response to a criminal record check should be recorded or maintained within the e-Recruitment system. In addition, any details of an individual’s criminal history provided in response to criminal record checks, and any further internal assessment or follow up with the individual regarding their eligibility for appointment, should be kept under secure arrangements with only limited access from authorised officers. Details of criminal records should be destroyed 'within six months of the last action being taken on them.' (NSW Government Personnel Handbook, 2-15.5.1). |
| Working with children checks | 5.10.1 - Records of working with children checks as a result of which a job applicant is not offered employment - Retain for a minimum of 2 years after recruitment is finalised, then destroy 15.4.3 - Records relating to working with children checks as a result of which:
Retain for a minimum of 75 years after the date of birth of employee, or 7 years after action completed, whichever is later, then destroy | The selection committee report contains a checklist that the check has occurred, and that the candidate has been successful at a particular date/time. No details of an individual’s criminal history provided in response to a working with children check should be recorded or maintained within the e-Recruitment system. In addition, details of an individual’s criminal history provided in response to working with children checks, and any further internal assessment or follow up with the individual regarding their eligibility for appointment, should be kept under secure arrangements with only limited access from authorised officers. |
| Conduct and services check | Successful applicants 15.4.3 – Retain for a minimum of 75 years after the date of birth of employee or 7 years after employment ceases, then destroy Unsuccessful applicants 15.10.1 - Retain for a minimum of 2 years after recruitment finalised, then destroy | If this check is required, an agency can set this up as a 'Status event' in e-Recruitment. E-recruitment will then record the checks performed, by whom and when, for successful applicants and these details become read-only in the system. The selection committee report contains a checklist which shows that the check has occurred, and that the candidate has been successful at a particular date/time. No details from the outcome of a person’s conduct and services check should be recorded or maintained within the e-Recruitment system. Records of the outcome of an individual’s conduct and services check, or any further internal assessment or follow up with the individual regarding their eligibility for appointment, should be kept under secure arrangements with only limited access from authorised officers. |