Public sector recruitment is too often left in the hands of inexperienced human resources staff or narrowly focused recruitment consultants, the chairman of Rockpools told the National Children's Services Commissioning Conference in London.

Hamish Davidson told children's services workers that they should involve themselves personally in the process. "Recruitment, even for very senior posts, tends to be undertaken by very junior HR staff, person specs tend to be over-detailed, tend to be heavily rigid and formulaic, and tend to rely heavily on thepossession of a specific qualification."

He added: "Never let go of the hiring process. Don't delegate and own your own decisions."

He advised directors not simply to look for candidates who "tick all the boxes" but who could carry operations, had strong financial skills and the resolution to stay the course.

He also warned against delegating the verification of references. "I'm sure many of you in this room would consider giving a good reference to someone you wanted to get rid of," he said. "Be aware that other people will also be willing to do that," he said.

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