Usually, the primary role of a selection committee is to recommend the preferred candidate to a Board of Directors, a person or body who has the final hiring authority. Sometimes, rather than presenting just one candidate, the committee is asked to provide a list of candidates (ranked or unranked) to the Board. On rare occasions, the committee is granted the right to make the final hiring decision.

In all cases, the committee should provide an assessment of candidates' education, experience, personal qualities, and overall suitability for the position that supports their recommendation.

All selection committee members need to be comfortable to voice their perspectives openly and freely and to speak up if someone is making assumptions or influencing others inappropriately.

Establish a reasonably sized committee and one that includes ethnic, gender and age balance if possible. Having too large a committee will make scheduling interviews more difficult and potentially lengthens the timeframe. Typically, an effective selection committee consists of four to six people.

Select one person who will act as Chair of the committee.

Prior to starting the selection process, the committee should agree on its method of decision-making: will it be by consensus, majority vote, unanimous decision, etc.?

Reserve several blocks of time on the selection committees' calendars as early as possible for screening applications, conducting interviews, reviewing references, and making the final selection.

The committee should also decide who is the primary contact with the candidates and for all other inquiries, bearing in mind that the committee needs to speak as one voice. If a search firm is being used, typically this responsibility rests with them.

Throughout the entire selection process, strict confidentiality must be maintained. This becomes difficult particularly if the candidate meets a large number of people. Leaks can create tremendous and irreversible damage ranging from hurt feelings to grievances and complaints.

All discussions must stay within the committee. No information should be shared outside the committee of who said what about any of the candidates, the process, or the decision.

If others besides the designated contact are going to share information, agree on what information will be provided. Usually, a committee will respond only to questions regarding the status or progress of the search process.

Ensure all members of the selection committee understand the responsibilities of the position and agree on key selection criteria.

All committee members should be provided with copies of the position description, candidates' resumes, advertisements, selection criteria, and interview questions.

The same questions should be asked of all candidates. We also suggest they be asked by the same members of the selection committee. Follow-up questions, if needed for clarification, do not need to be the same for each candidate.

Drafts of questions should be reviewed by a human resources person in advance of the interviews and reference checks.

The entire committee needs to participate in all interviews. You should discuss beforehand what to do if someone misses an interview. For example, do they withdraw from further participation? Do they share their feedback on candidates they did interview but refrain from participating in the actual selection decision?

Other considerations include:

In some cases, the organization might establish sub-groups, such as representatives from staff, for candidates to meet informally. The sub-groups can provide feedback to main selection committee, if desired.

A main selection committee member should sit in on any separate informal meetings for purposes of continuity. Also, the representative member can provide his/her observations back to the selection committee on how effectively candidates responded to various audiences.

Think about how best to involve staff a candidate may supervise. Giving them an opportunity to meet the candidates and provide feedback is a good idea but having them actually participate in the hiring decision could potentially complicate the process. You may not necessarily want staff to be privy to all of the information and discussions about candidates who may become their supervisor as it might influence future working relationships.

Suggest being cautious during "informal" sessions, with respect to trying to get too much personal information from candidates. What one person may perceive as just being friendly and showing an interest in someone (Are you married? Do you have kids? How do they feel about relocating?), could be perceived by a candidate as non job-related information that could influence a hiring decision. If there are questions the informal group wants to ask every candidate, the selection committee should review those questions.

Remind individuals from informal sessions when providing input to the main selection committee, especially if in writing, that it be provided in a professional manner and speak only to job-related qualifications.

Provide all individuals who meet with candidates a copy of their resumes and the selection criteria/qualifications for the position.