The case study
Context
H-Suite has worked extensively with Clare County Council since 2021, delivering competency-based interview training and related recruitment capability support across a number of programmes and participant groups. The relationship has developed over time rather than being based on a single intervention, allowing the programme to respond to participant experience, organisational priorities and changes in wider public-sector recruitment practice.
The work has focused on making competency-based recruitment understandable and usable. Participants need to interpret competency frameworks, identify strong evidence from their own work and communicate that evidence clearly. Interview-board members, in turn, require a consistent and fair approach to eliciting, assessing and comparing evidence. H-Suite has been invited to return in 2026 to deliver further training for interview boards, extending the work from candidate capability into the wider recruitment system.
The Challenge
Competency-based interviews can feel demanding even for experienced local-authority employees. Candidates must translate broad competency language into relevant examples, distinguish personal contribution from team activity and communicate judgement, action and impact under pressure. Many possess stronger evidence than they initially recognise but need a practical method for finding and presenting it.
The programme also needed to remain current. H-Suite adapted and expanded the content in light of updates introduced by the Public Appointments Service (PAS). Clare County Council does not currently use the PAS framework, but the changes offered a useful reference point for evolving standards and good practice. The task was to incorporate that learning without imposing a process that did not reflect the Council’s own arrangements.
Our Perspective
At H-Suite, we believe competency frameworks should help organisations recognise capability rather than become a barrier created by abstract language or formulaic answers.
Interview capability improves when people understand the purpose behind the process. Candidates need to connect real workplace experience with the behaviours, judgement and contribution expected at a particular level. Interview boards need to create the conditions in which that evidence can be explored and assessed consistently.
Our role was therefore broader than teaching an answer structure. We aimed to strengthen participants’ confidence, judgement and ability to reflect on their experience while helping the Council build a more consistent and practical approach to competency-based recruitment over time.
How We Worked
H-Suite delivered repeated competency-based interview programmes for Clare County Council from 2021 onwards, adapting the emphasis and examples to different groups, grades and stages of the recruitment process.
The programme translated competency language into a clear preparation process. Participants learned how to interpret a competency, identify evidence, separate individual contribution from context and show the decisions, behaviours and results that made an example relevant.
Practical application was central. Case-based learning, group discussion, role play, example scenarios and structured practice allowed participants to test their understanding rather than simply listen to guidance. Participants were encouraged to speak, interrogate their examples and receive constructive feedback.
The training used structured approaches, including STAR-based answer development, while emphasising that a framework should support clear thinking rather than produce a rehearsed or artificial response. Attention was also given to managing nerves, listening carefully to questions and communicating with confidence on the day.
As public-sector recruitment practice evolved, H-Suite reviewed and expanded the programme with reference to PAS updates. Although Clare County Council does not currently use the PAS framework, this ensured the content remained comprehensive and informed by wider developments while still being tailored to the Council’s own competency and recruitment context.
Feedback from successive groups was used to refine delivery. Requests for more practice, deeper exploration of individual competencies, locally relevant examples and follow-up support helped shape a programme that is increasingly interactive and grounded in the situations participants actually face.
The next phase will extend this capability through further interview-board training in 2026. This creates an opportunity to connect candidate preparation with consistent questioning, evidence gathering and fair assessment by those responsible for selection decisions.
What Changed
Across the programmes, participants consistently reported greater clarity about competency-based interviews and a stronger sense of how to prepare. Feedback repeatedly referenced the practical breakdown of competencies, clearer understanding of STAR-based answers and the ability to identify useful evidence from current work.
The Q1 2026 evaluation sheets captured 66 responses across a number of programme groups. All 66 respondents rated the programme’s achievement of its objectives at either 4 or 5 out of 5, producing an average score of 4.82.
The trainer’s ability to relate to the group received an average rating of 4.92, with every respondent again selecting 4 or 5. Participants frequently described the delivery as engaging, approachable, honest and connected to their actual experience rather than generic training.
The practical usefulness of the learning received an average rating of 4.71, with 97% of respondents selecting 4 or 5. Participants valued the opportunity to practice answers, work through competencies, receive feedback and leave with tangible actions for future applications and interviews.
Training methods also scored strongly: 98.5% of respondents rated their contribution to learning at 4 or 5. Case-based learning, interaction, group work, role play and example scenarios were among the features most often highlighted in the written feedback.
The qualitative feedback showed a shift from uncertainty towards clearer preparation. Participants referred to worries being resolved, greater confidence in focusing on interview readiness and a stronger ability to examine their own competencies and workplace contribution.
The Council’s invitation to return for further interview-board training in 2026 is an important continuation of the relationship. It reflects a move beyond supporting individual candidates towards strengthening the capability and consistency of the broader recruitment process.
Why This Mattered
A fair and effective recruitment process depends on more than a well-written competency framework. Candidates must understand how to communicate relevant evidence, and interview boards must be able to elicit and assess that evidence consistently.
By sustaining and adapting the work since 2021, Clare County Council has invested in practical recruitment capability rather than one-off interview preparation. The programme has helped employees take greater ownership of their preparation, incorporated learning from evolving public-sector practice and created a foundation for stronger interview-board capability in the next phase.
