The policy column

Last month, the Museums Association (MA) published its Salary Guidelines, highlighting below-market pay in the sector.

The MA is committed to supporting museums and individuals to address this and other workforce issues. Our approach is outlined in our new Workforce Strategy and 3-Year Delivery Programme.

Our next research focus is recruitment and selection. We aim to pull together good practice to help shape how we work.

One area of particular interest is positive action, which includes a range of measures to help people from under-represented groups overcome disadvantages in competing with other applicants.

These measures can include:

• Engaging with communities and addressing barriers to application or selection
• Writing job descriptions and adverts with inclusive rather than exclusive language
• Writing job descriptions that include honest not “historic” selection criteria
• Thinking about where to advertise
• Thinking about selection, including where and when selection events take place and how interviews are conducted
• Ensuring all those involved are fully trained.

We are keenly interested in what works in the sector and how we can help influence the adoption of inclusive practices. By making recruitment and selection practices inclusive and objective, the workforce can become more reflective of the communities we serve.