Behavioural hiring works in local councils by shifting the focus from what a candidate has done on paper to how they actually behave, solve problems, and interact with the community.
By using evidence-based assessments to measure work personality and natural tendencies, councils can move beyond the resume to ensure new hires possess the resilience and empathy required for public service. This approach reduces turnover and ensures that every new team member aligns with the specific values and culture of the local government area they serve.
Key takeaways
- Behavioural hiring prioritises innate work preferences and soft skills over historical job titles to ensure long-term role success.
- Local councils use these methods to identify candidates who can handle the unique emotional and logistical demands of community-facing roles.
- Assessing for organisation fit involves measuring how a person’s natural behaviour aligns with council values and existing team dynamics.
- Data-driven behavioural insights help remove unconscious bias from the recruitment process, leading to a more diverse and capable workforce.
- Implementing these strategies allows councils to build high-performing teams that are more resilient to the pressures of public sector work.
Recruiting for local government is inherently different from the private sector. You aren't just looking for a set of technical skills; you are looking for individuals who can represent the council’s values while navigating complex regulatory and community landscapes. Traditional hiring often fails here because a candidate might have the right qualifications but lack the temperament to handle a frustrated ratepayer or a high-pressure public meeting.
When a hire doesn't work out in a council environment, the cost is more than just financial. It impacts team morale, slows down essential community projects, and can even damage the public’s trust in the organisation. This is why many people leaders are moving toward a more sophisticated model that looks at the whole person – specifically their natural work personality and how they are likely to react in real-world scenarios.
At Compono, we have spent over a decade researching what makes teams thrive. We have found that technical skill is only one piece of the puzzle. To build a truly resilient council team, you need to understand the underlying behaviours that drive performance and engagement. This shift from 'experience-first' to 'behaviour-first' is the foundation of modern behavioural hiring.
To understand how behavioural hiring works in local councils, we first need to look at the concept of work personality. This isn't about a person's character in their private life, but rather the natural preferences and energy they bring to their professional tasks. In a council setting, certain roles demand very specific behavioural profiles.
For example, a project manager in civil works needs to be a Coordinator. They need to be organised, structured, and focused on deadlines. Conversely, someone in community engagement might thrive as a Helper, using their natural empathy and reflective nature to build trust with local residents. Behavioural hiring allows you to identify these traits before the first interview even takes place.
By using scientifically validated assessments, councils can see where a candidate sits on a spectrum of work actions. Whether they are natural Doers who focus on practical execution or Evaluators who bring logical, analytical critique, having this data upfront changes the conversation. It moves the interview from 'tell me about your experience' to 'how do you naturally approach a problem like this?'
One of the most significant advantages of behavioural hiring in local government is the ability to measure organisation fit. Every council has its own unique culture – some are highly traditional and structured, while others are undergoing rapid digital transformation. Finding someone who fits into that specific ecosystem is vital for retention.
Behavioural hiring tools allow councils to define the 'ideal' profile for a role based on the current team’s strengths and gaps. If your planning department is currently full of people who excel at detail but struggle with big-picture vision, you might specifically look for a Campaigner. These individuals bring the energy and persuasive power needed to sell a new vision to stakeholders.
This level of workforce intelligence is what sets high-performing councils apart. When you use a platform like Compono Hire, you can automatically score and rank candidates based on how well their work personality matches the role and the organisation. This doesn't replace the human element of hiring; it simply gives you the data you need to make a more informed, objective decision.
Local councils serve diverse communities, and it is essential that their workforces reflect that diversity. However, human recruiters are naturally prone to unconscious bias – often favouring candidates who 'feel' like a good fit because they have a similar background or communication style. Behavioural hiring counteracts this by focusing on objective data points.
When you prioritise behavioural evidence, you open doors for candidates who might have non-traditional backgrounds but possess the exact traits needed for the job. A candidate from the retail sector might have the perfect Advisor profile for a customer service role in a council, even if they have never worked in local government before. By looking at their flexibility and collaborative nature, you find talent that others might overlook.
This data-driven approach ensures that the selection process is fair and transparent. It allows hiring managers to justify their decisions based on measurable fit rather than a 'gut feeling'. For councils, this leads to a more inclusive culture and a team that is better equipped to understand and serve the varied needs of their residents.
Behavioural hiring isn't just about the moment of recruitment; it’s about setting the stage for long-term employee success. The insights gained during the hiring process should follow the employee into their role, informing how they are managed, coached, and developed. This creates a seamless transition from a candidate to a high-performing team member.
Once a person is hired, councils can use their behavioural profile to tailor their onboarding. If you know a new hire is an Auditor, you know they will appreciate a structured, detail-oriented introduction to their tasks. They will want to see the procedures and control mechanisms clearly laid out. On the other hand, a Pioneer will want to know where they have the autonomy to innovate and solve problems creatively.
We see this in practice through Compono Develop, which uses these same behavioural insights to provide personalised learning pathways. When you understand how a person naturally learns and works, you can support them in a way that actually lands. This holistic view of the employee journey – from the initial behavioural assessment to ongoing professional growth – is how councils build sustainable, high-performing cultures.
Key insights
- Behavioural hiring ensures that council staff are not only technically capable but also behaviourally suited to the unique pressures of public service.
- By identifying dominant work personalities like Coordinators or Helpers, councils can balance their teams to cover all eight essential work activities.
- Objective behavioural data significantly reduces the risk of unconscious bias, fostering a more diverse and representative council workforce.
- The insights from behavioural assessments serve as a roadmap for personalised onboarding and long-term employee development.
- Using a platform like Compono Hire allows councils to automate the ranking of candidates based on organisation and culture fit.
Building a high-performing council team starts with looking beyond the surface. By implementing behavioural hiring, you can ensure your next hire is the right fit for your community and your culture.
Traditional recruitment focuses on past experience and technical skills found in a resume. Behavioural hiring looks at natural work preferences and tendencies to predict how a candidate will perform and fit into the team culture.
Councils have high community visibility and complex emotional demands. Behavioural hiring helps identify candidates with the resilience, empathy, and service-orientation required for these unique public-sector roles.
Not at all. It enhances the interview by providing data-driven insights. It allows hiring managers to ask more targeted questions based on the candidate's specific work personality and potential blind spots.
Yes. By understanding the different work personalities in a team, leaders can better manage communication and resolve conflicts by acknowledging the different ways people process information and approach tasks.
Modern platforms like Compono make it simple. Assessments are quick for candidates to complete, and the results are integrated directly into your hiring workflow to provide immediate, actionable scores.