Supporting people with lived experience in recruitment processes

There are many people with lived experience working in the sector. People with lived experience may or may not choose to disclose this. Practitioners should feel safe and supported regardless of their choice to share their experience.

Setting up for success

To set up for success, organisational leaders and managers should:

consider their own biases about lived experience and reflect on how they can overcome these
create a commitment statement and display this publicly, saying that they value lived experience in the workplace
acknowledge that there are lots of people with lived experience working in the sector and value lived experience expertise
reflect on their own social context and power, and how this might be different for people with lived experience and intersecting identities, such as disability, cultural background, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, and experiences like criminalisation and alcohol and drug use.

- How does your organisation recognise, value and support workers with lived experience?
- How does your organisation ensure a range of diverse perspectives inform your work, applying an intersectional lens?
- Are there any barriers, biases or gaps in how your organisation supports workers with lived experience?
- Does your organisation practise healthy boundaries, safety and self-care to maintain a positive work environment?
- How does your organisation use language? Is the language you use biased?

During recruitment

During recruitment processes you can:

consider including people with lived experience on interview panels (informed by the nature of the role)
signal your commitment to supporting people with lived experience in the workplace and communicate that lived experience is valued
make sure applicants are aware that they don’t have to share personal details of their experience
offer support if someone talks about their lived experience during the recruitment process and make appropriate referrals if needed
if applicable to the role, ensure you call out the lived experience pathway available under the Mandatory minimum qualification policy(opens in a new window) for specialist family violence practitioners in your job ad. Refer to the Planning your recruitment(opens in a new window) section of this resource for information about what to include.

If a person does apply through the lived experience pathway, offer opportunities to discuss the pathway and available supports before an interview.

Give the applicant information about the nature of the work so they can consider the implications of getting involved. This might include details of the engagement, supports available and discussion of any risks and safety concerns.

You can give them a reflective questionnaire like the one below. These can help a person decide if they would like to proceed.

You can ask applicants to consider the below questions. Note that they do not need to share their responses.
- Have you had enough time since your experience (or that of your family member) to feel ready and safe to engage in this work?
- Are you prepared to listen to the experiences and views of other colleagues or clients with lived or living experience, which can potentially be distressing to hear?
- Are there any specific types of support you need for this role (training, resources, mentoring, etc.)?
- Do you have any legal or privacy concerns that might affect your ability to do this work?
- What do you do for self-care and what support systems do you have in place? These can be formal such as services or informal like community, friends and pets. (Note that organisations should also provide a safe and supportive work environment for people with lived experience.)

If you do want to include a person with lived experience on the interview panel, consider:

how you can promote this opportunity with service users (for example, through an expression of interest)
the person’s role on the panel and their level of participation
whether you can make any adjustments to ensure the interview process is inclusive (for example, reviewing the questions with the panel member before the interview)
what supports the person might need to take part.

If you are consulting or engaging with people with lived experience who are not directly employed by your organisation, ensure you:

pay people for taking part, properly valuing their expertise
let them know how their work has informed policies, programs and services
provide resources and information in a timely manner so they understand what is needed from them. Pre- and debriefing can be helpful.

Supports in the workplace

Organisations should also consider how to support people with lived experience when they join the workplace, including:

opportunities to upskill and support workers – this could involve career development and ongoing pathways to sustainable job opportunities
providing workers with safety and support – for example, through supervision and referral to a Employee Assistance Program(opens in a new window) or other supports if needed
considering the nature of their involvement in your organisation and what support may be needed. For example, if it’s a one-off engagement or public-facing work, this may need extra support.

For more tips on hiring people with lived experience, read Drummond Street's CLIK Guide: Building an intersectional lived experience workforce in the family violence and sexual assault sectors(opens in a new window)

Updated 11 July 2024

Supporting people with lived experience in recruitment processes

On this page

Setting up for success

During recruitment

Supports in the workplace