Chapter 6: Recruitment and Training of Field Personnel

Tanzania and Zanzibar

In preparation for the 2022 Population and Housing Census, Tanzania implemented a nationwide e-recruitment system to hire approximately 205,000 enumerators, content supervisors and ICT supervisors. The task involved designing, deploying and managing a digital platform to streamline the recruitment process, replacing traditional methods. The system was developed in-house by the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics (TNBS) www.nbs.go.tz and the Office of Chief Government Statistician Zanzibar (OCGS), with oversight from the Central Census Committee.

The e-recruitment system was a web-based platform, accessible via mobile devices and computers, enabling applicants from both urban and rural areas to register, upload documents, and apply for census roles. Key innovations included:

User-friendly interface: Designed for ease of use across devices.
Real-time status updates: Applicants received notifications on the progress of their application.
Automated Shortlisting: Reduced human bias and manual errors.
Geographic Integration: enabled location-based recruitment.
Scalability: Handled thousands of concurrent users with robust server infrastructure
Security: Employed encryption and secure authentication to protect personal data

The system also featured reporting tools, mobile/email alerts and technical support, ensuring a seamless experience for both applicants and administrators.

The digital approach yielded significant time and cost savings and improved overall efficiency:

Administrative Efficiency: Reduced manual workload by up to 70%, saving thousands of hours.
Cost Reduction: Eliminated expenses related to paper-based applications and physical logistics.
Inclusivity: Enabled applicants from remote areas to participate, enhancing equity.
Transparency: The automated process minimized bias and increased fairness.
Environmental Sustainability: Paperless operations contributed to eco-friendly practices.
Improved Communication: Real-time updates reduced applicant uncertainty and inquires.

Despite challenges such as limited internet access and digital literacy gaps, the system proved highly effective and scalable.

To maintain the integrity and quality of census data, several measures were implemented:

Data Security: Advanced encryption and secure login protocols protected sensitive applicant information.
System Testing: Rigorous testing ensured stability during peak usage.
User Support: FAQs, help desks, and internet café technicians assisted users with low digital literacy.
Monitoring and Analytics: Real-time dashboards enabled administrators to track progress and address issues promptly.
Fair Selection Criteria: Automated shortlisting based on qualifications ensured merit-based recruitment.

These safeguards ensured that the digital recruitment process did not compromise the accuracy, security or reliability of the census data.

Namibia

Namibia used an e-recruitment system during implementation of pilot and main census enumeration. The NSO recruited enumerators, team supervisors and IT field technicians as per the planned field structure. The recruitment for the census pilot was mainly at constituency level and the most preferred people were those who live in the selected EAs and all the temporary census pilot positions were advertised externally i.e. on the NSA website, the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation’s website, in the local newspapers, on the Radio and on the noticeboards of the following places: NSA Regional office, Regional council office, the Clinics, Schools, Police stations, Malls or Shopping centres. Any person interested in applying for the various positions was encouraged to apply online via the Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations, and Employment Creation’s website.

One of the recruitment criteria was that applicants should have completed grade 12, which was a challenge for areas with low literacy rates. In addition, the following information for each applicant was considered as criteria for selection, namely educational qualifications, driver’s license, language proficiency, basic IT literacy and previous survey experience. Candidates were deployed within the same constituency of residence, because such people are already familiar with the people, places, and customs in their respective communities.

Due to COVID-19 regulations issued by the government when the census pilot was conducted, the training of enumerators was done in small groups with numbers of less than 30 per class. There were three levels of trainings conducted during the census pilot namely,

Level 1: The master training was attended by around 20 qualified subject matter staff from the field operations, sampling, demographers, data processing and IT for 10 days in Windhoek. This training was facilitated by Managers and Executives from the subject matter area which included the census manager.
Level 2: The Training of Trainers (ToT) was attended by around 50 qualified subject matter Statisticians, Assistant Statisticians, regional Statisticians including the IT field technical staff for a duration of 10 days (about 1 and a half weeks) in the capital city- Windhoek. This training was facilitated by all the staff that attended the master training.
Level 3: The main training for all field staff was conducted at regional level. The highest number of trainees per classroom was 26 and the lowest was 12 and it proved to be well manageable. A total of 191 trainees were trained across the 14 regions and this level of training was facilitated by all the staff that attended the ToT for a duration of 10 days .

Level 1 and 2 trainings were conducted back-to-back with no break in between, after level 2 was done a one-week break was taken for preparations and deployment for the main training. Daily training review sessions were conducted to discuss any unresolved issues during training to improve training quality.

Kenya

Kenya used a manual recruitment process, and a recruitment guideline was prepared to guide through the entire process. Prior to census enumeration, a job advertisement for enumerators, content supervisors and ICT Supervisors was published in the MyGov newspaper supplement of 11th June 2019 contained in all daily newspapers. The recruitment aimed to achieve a ratio of enumerators to content supervisors at five and of ICT supervisors at 50.

The recruitment processes were carried out in the counties by the County Census Committees. The County Statistical Officers received applications for ICT Supervisors while Content Supervisors and Enumerators submitted their applications to the Chief’s Office and Assistant Chief’s office, respectively. After receiving the applications, the County Census recruitment committee used the qualifications as they were in the advert to shortlist. The number to be shortlisted was guided by the number of applicants and the positions to be filled. The committee ranked those who qualified based on the strength of their qualifications and the roles to be undertaken and the one third gender rule as required by law. At the point of application, details of the applicants were summarised using a standard form that was provided. The summary details included: Name of the applicant, Identification Number, Mobile Phone Number, Age, Sex, Disability Status, Ethnicity, Sub- County of Residence, Kenya Certificate of Secondary Grade, and Highest level of Education completed. The filled forms were submitted to the County Census Committees.

To ensure uniformity in the recruitment, standard interview tests were developed and shared electronically with the County Census Committees in a password-protected document for integrity. The County Census Committee submitted the list of applicants shortlisted and selected candidates to the Director General for approval. The successful candidates were notified through public noticeboards, phone calls and text messages.

The training for the census enumeration personnel was implemented in a cascaded manner. The first training level was the Training of Trainers involving 500 participants in a central place. Thereafter, the Trainers trained the ICT supervisors at the regional level. The ICT Supervisors then trained the Content Supervisors for 7 days. The trained census personnel were then deployed in their respective enumeration areas.

Training of enumerators was conducted on a non-residential basis in schools and churches for most of the regions except arid and semi-arid areas in which they were residential. In the non-residential training venues, payments were made to cater for meals and stationery. Training of trainers and supervisors (ICT and Content supervisors) was non-residential. Training of Trainers was held from 15th to 22nd July 2019, training of ICT supervisors was done from 25th to 1st August 2019 while training of content supervisors and enumerators were conducted from 4th to 11th August and 14th to 20th August 2019 respectively.

Botswana

Botswana used e-recruitment for the 2022 PHC for enumerators and supervisors testing and selection. The recruitment aimed to achieve a ratio of four enumerators to each supervisor. During the Pilot census, the assessment was done using Google Forms which required internet access for the whole period of writing up to submitting the test and instant receipt of test scores.

For the main census, a team of system developers reviewed the assessment tool and developed it in CSPro software. The assessment was accessed through a CAPI system that could work offline but needed internet connection for synchronising/submitting the assessment also backed up on tablets. The assessment was password protected and only made available when allowed and ready to take the test. All applicants taking the assessment were registered in the system by using their national identity card numbers (Omang). For those who were not Omang, the development team had to register them to access the test.

Sierra Leone

The recruitment procedures adopted for 2021 mid-term PHC (MTPHC) followed a similar pattern of the past censuses in Sierra Leone. The recruitment aimed to achieve a ratio of enumerators to content supervisors at five and for ICT supervisors at 3,375. Job advertisements were put out over the media for the various categories of field staff needed for the cartography mapping, pilot census and the main census enumeration. Ability to handle an electronic instrument (phone, iPad, laptop, desktop etc.) was an advantage in the recruitment process for the MTPHC cartography and census. Shortlisted candidates were interviewed, the successful candidates went through training and examinations to guide the selection of field staff. Extra people were recruited to serve as a reserve in case of illness, bad performance or abandonment of positions. Contracts and picture IDs were provided to each successful participant at the end of training to aid field staff identification.

England and Wales

In England and Wales, the census was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and face-to-face training was therefore not possible. A combination of digital e-learning modules and virtual classroom sessions (for managers only) were developed and delivered for training of Census Field Operations (CFO) staff. This training aimed to ensure that all field staff were adequately prepared to perform their roles effectively from day one of their employment.

The digital training was delivered through a Learning Management System (LMS), providing a structured and interactive learning environment. The modules were developed using an e-learning authoring tool designed to create engaging and interactive content. Virtual classroom sessions were facilitated through a web conferencing platform, enabling real-time interaction and scenario-based role play exercises. A total of 32 different modules were created, of which 22 were role specific and ten were generic such as health and safety, data protection, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding census data, and a general overview of the census.

All employees were required to sit an assessment at the end of each digital module and had to achieve a minimum pass mark of 80% over three attempts. All training had to be completed within the first week of employment and within a set number of contracted hours. A total of 25,734 field staff completed their digital training, with 83% of learners completing the training within the allocated four days, and 92% completing in time for them to commence field work on the first day of the operational period.

Quality assurance processes were built into the design and development stages of the training. The content was reviewed and tested rigorously to ensure accuracy and relevance. The LMS provided secure access to the training materials, and the virtual classroom sessions were conducted in a controlled environment to maintain data security. More than 5% of the classroom sessions were observed to assess the quality, and it was concluded that the use of virtual classroom as opposed to face-to-face classroom was effective and still imparted the necessary knowledge.

The digital approach significantly reduced the time and cost associated with traditional face-to-face training. It allowed for consistent delivery of training content to a large number of field staff across different locations. The use of digital modules enabled learners to complete their training at their own pace, resulting in an average completion time that was less than the time originally budgeted. This approach also facilitated the tracking of training progress and performance, ensuring that most field staff were operationally ready on time.

However, several challenges were encountered during both the development and operational stages of the training:

Development phase:

Quality Assurance: The initial quality assurance process did not meet expectations, resulting in a high number of errors that required correction. To enhance future development, we would recommend developing the training in-house to ensure greater control over content and quality.
Content of the Training: Balancing the level of detail required by subject matter experts with what was practically achievable for this type of training proved challenging. The process was further complicated by an evolving design, requiring late-stage adjustments where flexibility with the supplier was limited. In-house development may have allowed for greater adaptability in responding to these needs.

Operational phase:

Technical Issues: Challenges with the LMS and system integration led to delays and required extra troubleshooting. In some cases, assessment failures were due to technical issues, which had to be resolved quickly by resetting the system and adjusting time allowances for affected trainees, impacting their overall user experience.
Chasing for Completion: Despite the requirement to complete the training within a specific timeframe being clearly outlined during recruitment and onboarding, efforts were still required from both the supplier and LMS to ensure completion. In some cases, extensions needed to be granted, requiring operational teams to work additional hours to accommodate the extended period. Future improvements could include allowing more time for completion to ease the pressure on both learners and staff.

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