Before Recruitment

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  • Planning & Initiating Process
    1. Discuss the vacancy or new position with your supervisor and other appropriate leaders within your department. Make sure you have information about budget and funding for the position, which can be obtained within your department.

    2. Define the Position: Whether you are looking over an existing job description or creating a new job description, it is important to spend time on this step.

      Ask these four questions to help define the goal/position:
      1. Why are we hiring someone for this role? What are the objectives?
      2. What are some specific activities this person will perform? Activities should be aligned with objectives.
      3. What are the minimum requirements (i.e. the knowledge, skills, and abilities) to perform these activities well? What are the preferred requirements?
        a) Minimum requirements are...
        b) Preferred qualifications are...
      4. How do we evaluate candidate against these requirements?

        A job analysis provides a way to develop an understanding of the job by examining the tasks performed in the job, the competencies required to perform those tasks, and the connection between the tasks and competencies. Information from the job analysis will be used to determine the position classification and hiring pay range. Instructions for how to complete a job description are here.

    3. Create a Requisition in Workday:  Please reference the recruiting job aids and videos on how to create a job requisition in Workday. Once reviewed and approved, your Talent Acquisition Specialist will reach out to schedule a strategy meeting. 
  • Strategy Meeting

    The strategy meeting lays the foundation and a joint understanding of the hiring manager’s needs. A new hire offers an opportunity to bring new experiences, backgrounds and talents to your team. Keep in mind that the idea is to hire the best person for the role, no matter the race, ethnicity, age, or gender, while knowing that you performed a thorough candidate search.

    Meeting with your TAS

    During the Strategy Meeting, the hiring manager meets with their Talent Acquisition Specialist (TAS), to discuss the purpose, goals, key performance indicators, skills, expectations and challenges of the open position. The timeframe of the recruitment process, where you should target advertising, and the logistics plan of recruitment will also be discussed. The strategy meeting enables TAS and the hiring manager to be work together towards the same goal and establish joint accountability.

  • Forming a Search Committee

    The search committee is an ideal place to lay the foundation for a fair, consistent, and inclusive recruitment/hiring process that protects against discrimination and values the potential contributions of all candidates.

    To ensure the success of your search, the Hiring Manager’s responsibility is key during the recruitment process. They are responsible for forming a search committee and/or designating him/herself or another individual as the chair to lead various activities of the recruitment process, such as screening applicants and interviewing candidates. Depending on the situation, this could be the hiring manager.

    The following is best practice guidance to assist with forming a search committee:

    • How many? Select four to seven members. For Grade 7 and higher, five to ten members may be appropriate.

    • When deciding who should serve on the committee, consider:

      • Overall, the committee should able to provide a variety of perspectives on the role and function of the position being filled.
      • Ensure the committee is well balanced in terms of gender, race/ethnicity.
      • Consist of other staff (for staff committees) but may include faculty, students and/or alumni as appropriate to the position.
      • Each member should:
        • Have thorough understanding of the role.
        • Understand the needs of the of the department and University.
        • Be able to actively participate in the entire process (ex: interviews, discussions)

    • What next? Upon identifying members, send an invitation (and remember to copy supervisors).

    Recruitment Resources: Creating and Managing the Search Committee

    Hiring Manager and/or Search Committee Chair Responsibilities

    1. Participate in the Charge meeting and ensure that the charge is clear and precise. Ambiguity in the Charge, in the role of the search committee, or in the extent of the search committee’s authority can create confusion that could hinder and delay the competitive recruitment process at critical points.
      • The Charge is a meeting between the search committee and the hiring manager/search committee chair (may be designated for some searches). During this meeting the hiring manager.
      • Defines the position to be filled wih the job posting attached.
      • Clarifies the tasks and role of the search committee, including for example:
        1. How many candidates should be forwarded to the hiring manager.
        2. How the finalists are to be ranked or unranked.
        3. How feedback on each candidate is given to the hiring manager.
        4. Who the final decision makers are.
        5. Defining the résumé review and interview implementation plan.

    2. Lead the search committee during the recruitment process.
      • Promote a collegial atmosphere.
      • Manage confidentiality and determine how the search committee will communicate with each other, the campus community, and with applicants.
      • Promote and practice compliance with applicable laws and policies.
      • Screen applicant(s)
      • Decide on who opens/closes/guides the interview(s).
      • Establish a process to ask interview questions and follow-up questions.

        Recruitment Resources: Interview Agenda and Interview Questionnaire

      • Schedule interviews.
        • Provide search committee with candidate materials, interview questions, interview evaluation forms, interview location, interview agenda and questionnaire.
        • Ensure interview rooms are equipped with proper technology (if necessary), chairs, and water
        • Serve as point of contact to the search committee and applicants/candidates to answer any questions.

    3. Use a candidate evaluation tool to collect feedback from search committee after the final interview.

      Maintain discussions that treat all applicants/candidates with respect and dignity.

      Recruitment Resource: Qualtrics Survey Tool

    4. Keep applicants/candidates informed of process and timelines.
      • Work with your Talent Acquisition Specialist in order to communicate to unsuccessful applicants/candidates in a timely manner.
      • Provide feedback on candidates and present finalist(s).

    5. Document and Evaluate
    • Maintain recruitment documentation.
    • Evaluate the recruitment process and share feedback with the hiring manager.

    Search Committee Responsibilities

    1. Participate in the charge meeting.
    2. Review applicant (as appropriate) and candidate materials, interview questions, and complete interview evaluation rating forms.
    3. Follow interview agenda and attend all scheduled interviews.
    4. Maintain confidentiality.
    5. Assess applicants/candidates and participate in evaluations process and use tool to identify finalist(s).
    6. Provide evaluative feedback to hiring manager/search committee chair as requested.
  • Commitment to Non-Discrimination, Inclusion, and Belonging

    The University of Richmond prohibits discrimination and harassment against applicants, students, faculty or staff on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, ethnicity, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, military or veteran status, or any classification protected by local, state or federal law. The University is committed to complying with its Policy Prohibiting Discrimination and applicable non-discrimination laws and recruiting and retaining exceptional staff and faculty to further the University’s mission and strategic goals.

    Thinking intentionally about these commitments before your recruitment and hiring process will benefit your department and the university by increasing:

    • Exposure to varied viewpoints and positions
    • The problem-solving ability of the team as groups with greater diversity of life experience, work experience, and perspective can solve complex problems better and more quickly than homogenous groups
    • Cultural knowledge and understanding
    • Cultural awareness
    • Diminishing culture stereotypes
    • Enhancing ability to adapt success

    It is important for Search Committees to discuss ways to build a broadly diverse and highly qualified applicant pool. It is also important to be aware of and avoid conscious and unconscious factors that could potentially lead to discrimination in the hiring process, such as the impact of bias and implicit associations during the talent acquisition phase.

    Video Resources

    We encourage you to watch the following videos to expand your understanding of diversity in recruitment and hiring.

  • Pre-Recruitment Tools
  • Advertising

    The goal of any job posting is to find the very best candidate for the position, which requires you to search widely and from diverse sources. Strategic recruiting can also help build a diverse and talented pool of candidates who may bring new and exciting perspectives to the university.

    Below is a list standard advertising:

    Other sites could include, but are not limited to:

    For additional sites, please reach out to your Talent Acquisition Specialist to discuss next steps and costs.