Issues on field operations: Field staff recruitment and training

1. Issues on field operations:Field staff recruitment and training

2. I. Field staff recruitment • Large number of staff required for few weeks  Recruitment campaign • Objective of the recruitment exercise: Recruit staff:1. capable of undertaking the duties 2. in sufficient numbers for all geographic areas

3. I. Field staff recruitment • The quality of the recruitment campaign will affect the quality of the census data  A good recruitment campaign is a necessary condition to guaranteea successful census

4. I. Field staff recruitment 1. Who do you need to recruit? Roles and responsibilitiesof field staff at different levels should be clearly defined in advance: • Enumerators/interviewers • Supervisors • Regional managers

5. I. Field staff recruitment 2. Determining the staff number • Number depends on basis of enumerations and structure of workforce • Bottom-up approach: 1. Establish number of enumerators required 2. Establish number of supervisors required and so on… • Reserve staff should be planned at all levels

6. I. Field staff recruitment 3. Recruitment strategies • Recruitment campaign • Direct appointment • school teachers • heads of villages…

7. I. Field staff recruitment 4. Publicity for recruitment campaign • Targeted towards potential applicants • Media and methods depend on target groups • Use established networks of workers • Use community networks • Support of other government agencies Special attention needed: where shortage of applicants could be expected if enumerators from various ethnic groups are needed

8. II. Field staff training • After having recruited field staff, adequate training should be provided  Field staff training is a key factor to achieve a high level of quality in the census outcome

9. II. Field staff training 1. Objective of field staff training Field staff should be trained on: • The importance of their duties • How their efforts fit into overall census goals • The way to undertake their duties • Specific issues such as confidentiality

10. II. Field staff training 2. Timing of training • Training should be delivered as close as possible to the time at which it is to be used

11. II. Field staff training 3. Training strategies “Cascade” principle: • Each level in the hierarchy trains the level below  At all levels, need to train on “how to train”!  Number of layers should be small “Master trainers”: • Persons are appointed to train staff in a geographical area  Important to ensure consistency of training

12. II. Field staff training 4. Training material • Should be carefully developed to ensure a consistent approach to enumeration • Use of videos may ensure homogeneity of training outputs Take in consideration language diversity when relevant

13. II. Field staff training 5. Training enumeratorsand supervisors Combination of: Home study exercises • Questionnaires completed before classroom training Classroom training sessions • More time needed for interview-based census On-the-job training (for enumerators) • Supervisor accompany enumerators visiting a few households • Weakest enumerators can be identified

14. II. Field staff training 6. Training of senior staff • Senior staff and regional managers should also be well trained  This should result in a higher level of understanding also by those in lower positions

15. Reference material on field staff recruitment, remuneration and training: “Handbook on Census Management for Population and Housing Censuses” Chapter III; sections B, C (pages 90-103)

16. Field staff recruitment and training • Questions? • Problems? • Useful experiences?