Day 3 – Morning Field operations: Recruitment, remuneration and training of field staff

UNECE Workshop on Census Management in SPECA member countries StatCapCA Training Workshop Nr.1 Day 3 – MorningField operations: Recruitment, remunerationand training of field staff Paolo Valente (UNECE)

Topics covered : 1. Recruitment 2. Remuneration 3. Training Reference material: • Handbook on Census Management for Population and Housing Censuses (Chapter III; sections B, C)

Recruitment • Census field work requires a large number of staff who are only required for few weeks  A recruitment campaign is necessary Objective of the recruitment exercise: • Recruit staff capable of undertaking the duties of the various positions and in sufficient numbers for all geographic areas

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

Recruitment Enumerators Roles and responsibilities: • Contact with respondents • Clerical work in the field and at home • Travel

Recruitment Supervisors Roles and responsibilities: • Time with the enumerators (by phone or personal contacts): on-the-job training, follow the operations • Quality assurance during the enumeration • More on quality assurance than administration

Recruitment Regional Managers Roles and responsibilities: • Public communication • Liaison with targeted government and community groups • Assure quality in census administration but little on enumeration • Approve payments • Reporting to Census Office • Little interaction with supervisors and enumerators

Recruitment Roles and responsibilities They should be clearly defined by precise instructions in manuals and be reinforced in training

Recruitment1.1 Number of field staff • First step: Determining the staffnumber • Number depends on basis of enumerations and structure of workforce (ratios of staff at the various levels) • Bottom-up approach: 1. Establish number of enumerators required 2. Establish number of supervisors required and so on for all levels in the hierarchy…

Recruitment1.1 Number of field staff How many enumerators? • Usually: 1 enumerator per 1 enumeration area  Estimate:number of EAs in previous census • Estimate to be corrected for: • Special cases (depending on workload): EAs with >1 enumerator; or 1 enumerator assigned to >1 EAs • Specialist enumerators (for specific population groups, special institutions etc.) • Reserve staff to be used as replacements • Length of enumeration period: Shorter enumeration  More enumerators required

Recruitment1.1 Number of field staff The number of supervisors and managers depend on the structure of workforce(ratios of staff at the various levels)  Standard staffing ratios are usually decided by the census agency, and adapted at the local level when appropriate

Recruitment1.1 Number of field staff Staffing Ratios Depend on factors such as: • Duration of enumeration • Administrative structure of the country • Staff availability • Time required for communication between people at different levels in the hierarchy

Recruitment1.1 Number of field staff Staffing Ratios: Regional Manager Ratio regional manager/supervisors: depending on the administrative tasks Supervisor The ratio supervisor/enumerators is the most crucial since it has an impact on the quality assurance. It may vary within the country (urban/rural). 1:5 good starting point Enumerator

Recruitment1.1 Number of field staff Reserve staff should be planned at all levels, to replace staff that do not complete their duties Other strategies are also possible in some cases Ex: workload taken over by other workers

Recruitment1.2 Recruitment campaign • In general, the majority of positions are filled by members of the public, through a recruitment campaign • Some positions may be filled by people from special groups (e.g., school teachers or heads of villages) through direct appointment Issues to consider: • Timetable • Publicity

Recruitment1.2 Recruitment campaign Timetable: • Close to when the work should start, but not too much! • May be conducted separately of jointly for different levels Advantages of the two approaches: • Separate campaigns (from higher to lower levels): • staff at one level can select staff at lower level • applications can be processed in different times • Joint campaigns: • efficiency savings due to joint process (publicity costs…)

Recruitment1.2 Recruitment campaign Publicity: • It should be targeted towards potential applicants  Identify in advance group of potential applicants: Ex.: unemployed persons, university students, etc. • Media and publicity methods depend on target groups • Established networks of permanent or temporary workers or social networks, when available, could be used • Support of other government agencies (post offices…) • Use community networks (particularly in remote areas) • Areas where shortage of applicants could be expected (i.e.: from previous census) need special attention

Recruitment1.3 Selecting staff Staff selection should be aimed at appointing the best quality staff • The use of standard application forms makes selection easier and more efficient • Selection criteria should de determined in advance • Applicants should be assessed against the criteria • Suitable applicants should be ranked (scoring) • Interviews based on standard set of questions should confirm the suitability and allow to rank applicants

2. Remuneration • The remuneration should be commensurate with the work performed, and payments should respect the conditions agreed, otherwise staff will not produce high-quality work

2. Remuneration Basis of payment: • Payments can be based on: A: a record of hours worked, B: an estimate of time per household, or C: an estimate of time for the entire workload • Each approach has advantages and disadvantages (see table III.1 in Handbook on Census Management) • Different approaches can be adopted for different levels • Approach A not recommended for enumerators • Approach C is valid if there are no big variations in workload

2. Remuneration Payment system: • The existing payment system of the census agency can be used to pay field staff, but resources should be increased to face higher workload • The system should include internal controls and audit trails, to ensure accountability and avoid that funds are misappropriated However • Too many controls will slow down the system!  Find the right balance

3. Training Most members of field staff have limited experience or training in statistical collection activities Therefore, they should be trained to understand: (a) The importance of their duties; (b) How their efforts fit into overall census goals; (c) Issues such as confidentiality; (d) The way they are expected to undertake those duties.  Field staff training is one of the key factors to achieve a high level of quality in the census outcome

3. Training Timing of training • In general, training should be delivered as close as possible to the time at which it is to be used • A workshop could be organised for key participants (e.g., regional managers and census agency staff) at the start of the field operations some months before census day, to promote team building

3. Training Trainers “Cascade” principle: • Each level in the hierarchy trains the level below (from census agency staff down to enumerators)  At all levels, need to train on “how to train”!  Number of layers should be small Other approach: “Master trainers”: • Persons responsible for training staff in a geographical area

3. Training Training material • Training material should be carefully developed to ensure a consistent approach to enumeration across the country • Use of videos may ensure homogeneity of training outputs Take in consideration language diversity when relevant, with regard to terms used in training sessions

3. Training Training of senior staff • It is particularly important that senior staff are well trained.  This should result in a higher level of understanding also by those in lower positions Training regional managers • The census agency should provide ongoing support, through visits by agency staff or frequent telephone contact • Intensive classroom based training should be provided (see suggested content in Handbook on Census Management)

3. Training Training supervisors and enumerators Home study exercises • Based on questionnaires to be completed and returned to the trainer BEFORE classroom based training • Objectives: 1) Familiarise with work and prepare for the training 2) Provide feedback to trainer on where to focus training Classroom training sessions • More time needed for interview-based census (see suggested content in Handbook on Census Management) On-the-job training • Supervisor can accompany enumerators visiting a few households • Supervisor can identify weakest enumerators and provide support

Day 3 – Morning Field operations: Recruitment, remuneration and training of field staff