Issues on field operations: Field staff recruitment and training

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

II. Field staff training 5. Training enumerators and 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

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

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

Field staff recruitment and training  Questions?  Problems?  Useful experiences?