Recruiting and Selection Guide for Hiring Managers and Supervisors Revised

Recruiting and Selection Guide for Hiring Managers and Supervisors Revised 10/17/08 Recruiting and Selection Guide for Hiring Managers and Supervisors Table of Contents I. Vice Chancellor’s Message II. Goal Statement III. Steps to Success in Recruiting & Selection of Budgeted Employees IV. Steps in Recruiting & Selection of Wage (non-budgeted) Employees Page 2 of 11 Revised 10/17/08 Recruiting and Selection Guide for Hiring Managers and Supervisors Vice Chancellor’s Message The Texas AgriLife Extension Service and Texas AgriLife Research are committed to maintaining a community which recognizes and values the inherent worth and dignity of every person; fosters tolerance, sensitivity, understanding, and mutual respect among its members; and encourages each individual to strive to reach his or her own potential. In pursuit of its goal of academic, research and outreach excellence, we seek to develop and nurture diversity. I believe that a proactive stance in support of equity and diversity broadens the cultural richness of the agency and enhances its vitality and reputation. Therefore, hiring supervisors are charged with the immediate responsibility for recruiting, supporting, assisting, mentoring, and thus retaining employees with a diversity of backgrounds and experiences. The Texas A&M AgriLife Human Resources Office staff is available to assist and direct supervisors in these activities. The purpose of this manual is to equip all hiring decision makers with the means to ensure that every search provides each applicant with equal access to the entire process and equal opportunity throughout the process. The following pages set forth the required procedures, practices, and requisite forms to use in accomplishing these objectives and are to be followed for every staff search. The ultimate goal of the selection process is to contribute positively to our efforts to recruit, select, and retain the best candidate for each job. Thank you for your assistance in our pursuit of excellence and equity for all in our community. Dr. Mark Hussey Interim Vice Chancellor Texas A&M AgriLife and Dean of College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Page 3 of 11 Revised 10/17/08 Recruiting and Selection Guide for Hiring Managers and Supervisors Goals of the Recruiting and Selection Process Recruiting  To attract highly qualified individuals.  To provide an equal opportunity for potential candidates to apply for vacancies. Selection  To systematically collect information about each applicant’s ability to meet the requirements of the advertised position.  To select a candidate who will be successful in performing the tasks and meeting the responsibilities of the position.  To engage in hiring activities that will result in reducing underutilization of underrepresented groups where such underutilization exists.  To emphasize active recruitment of traditionally underrepresented groups, i.e. individuals with disabilities, minority group members, women and veterans. Page 4 of 11 Revised 10/17/08 Recruiting and Selection Guide for Hiring Managers and Supervisors Steps to Success in Recruiting & Selection of Budgeted Employees Step 1: Prepare Position Description Create a new position description or review and change or update the position description for a vacant position. Position descriptions should be entered and approved using the position description module in http://greatjobs.tamu.edu/hr    Design the position’s responsibilities and tasks to meet unit needs and develop the position description. Consider the primary tasks, duties and activities of the position, particularly those which are most important for successful job performance. Identify the essential functions of the position. Determine whether the position requires the employee to customarily and regularly exercise discretion and independent judgment and have the authority to make important decisions. If the position is a non-classified position, the answer to this question should be “yes.” The percent of total time should be at least 50%. Determine the competencies a qualified individual must possess and demonstrate. Note which of the competencies are critical in order to differentiate superior from barely acceptable applications, and ultimately, to identify the best qualified candidate. Indicate the skills necessary to carry out the primary functions. List the minimum qualifications (i.e. education, experience, licenses, etc.) the person should possess in order to perform the job. State what, if any, specialized knowledge is required. Identify the required, expected, and/or preferred qualifications for the job. Check with Human Resources to ensure that the position’s title and salary level are appropriate.    Page 5 of 11 Revised 10/17/08 Recruiting and Selection Guide for Hiring Managers and Supervisors Step 2: Develop a Recruiting Plan As with any task, a good plan can help you achieve your goals more quickly with better results. A good recruiting plan does not necessarily need to be an elaborate, formal document. Instead a succinct outline will suffice to help you focus your efforts. When developing this plan, consider the location of the position, the current labor market near the position, and any unique aspects of the position which you might need additional attention in advertising. Also ask yourself if a local search will suffice or if you need to expand the search to a region, the entire state or even nationwide in order to secure the best candidate pool. Be sure to plan for the recruiting timetable to include the advertising, development of the hiring matrix, initial evaluation of the applicant pool, development of interview questions, interviewing, offer letters, closing the position, initial processing of the new employee, and finally, completion of the recruiting file. Step 3: Post the Position and Build a Diverse Pool of Applicants Texas A&M AgriLife is committed to building a diverse workforce and expects hiring managers to conduct searches in a manner that will attract a diverse pool of applicants. Posting a Position: All non-faculty positions must be posted at https://greatjobs.tamu.edu/hr for a minimum of five (5) days. The notice of vacancy (NOV) should be based on the position description. An NOV cannot be posted until the position description is approved. Faculty positions may also be posted at https://greatjobs.tamu.edu/hr. Units have the opportunity to allow applicants to complete a faculty form (rather than application) and submit documents online. Advertising: If the recruiting area for this position is beyond the community in which the job is located, indicate on the NOV that you would like to have the position advertised with HigherEdJobs.com at no cost to the hiring unit. For positions requiring degrees, consider advertising with university career centers. Advertising at universities whose students are primarily minorities will also help diversify your applicant pool. If appropriate, advertise in journals, periodicals, newspapers, magazines, and internet and utilize the Graystone Group Advertising Agency at no cost to the unit. Graystone Group will design your ad to your specifications, proofread your copy and critically review it, and make suggestions to further improve the quality of the ad, which is sent to the unit for final approval. You may send an ad copy to Graystone Group via e-mail at ads@graystoneadv.com, via fax at (203) 549-0061, or by phone at (800) 544-0005. Page 6 of 11 Revised 10/17/08 Recruiting and Selection Guide for Hiring Managers and Supervisors A list of adverting resources for building a diverse applicant pool is available at http://aghr.tamu.edu/recruitment/Building-Diverse-Applicant-Pool.pdf If advertising on other web sites, journals, etc., refer all applicants to http://greatjobs.tamu.edu for the full position description and to apply online. This will ensure that all federal, state and Texas A&M AgriLife requirements are met. The statement “Equal Opportunity Employer” must be a part of all job announcements. Identify employers or persons who may be sources of potential applicants or who can provide advice about recruiting. These may include existing employees, friends or colleagues at other units, institutions, or agencies. Remember that a unit/departmental website can be an effective recruiting tool. Step 4: Score the Application Material     Develop a numerical method of evaluating the application materials. Determine ahead of time what job-related factors you will consider. Determine the weight you want to assign to each factor. Based on the results of this scoring, select candidates for interviews. Score the applications/resumes/cover letters using the Hiring Matrix or other quantitative ranking form that has been approved by Texas A&M AgriLife Human Resources. The Hiring Matrix and short tutorial are available at http://employees.tamu.edu/managers/hiring/HiringMatrix/Default.aspx. To use the Hiring Matrix, you must first download and save the Excel file to your computer. When downloading the matrix, select “enable macros” and be sure your version of Microsoft Excel security level is set to “medium.” To set your security level within Excel to medium:  Open Microsoft Excel  Choose “tools”  Choose “options”  Choose “security” tab,  Under “security level” tab select “medium” Step 5: Write Interview Questions Prior to the Interview Develop your interview questions ahead of time. Record written interview questions on the form provided at http://agservices.tamu.edu/forms/AG-422.pdf. Sample acceptable and unlawful questions can be found at http://aghr.tamu.edu/recruitment/Unlawful-Questions.pdf  Questions must be job-related.  Ask the same questions of all interviewed applicants.  Record all interviewed applicant responses and score numerically. Page 7 of 11 Revised 10/17/08 Recruiting and Selection Guide for Hiring Managers and Supervisors Step 6: Score the Interviewed Applicants Assign a score to each interview. This score will represent how well each applicant answered each interview question. Record these scores on the form you created in the previous step http://agservices.tamu.edu/forms/AG-422.pdf. After scoring, add these points to the hiring matrix to document why the applicant you hire has the highest overall score. Change the online status for all the applicants you interviewed. Log into http://greatjobs.tamu.edu/hr and locate the NOV. Identify each person you interviewed and change their status. For each applicant interviewed, click on “Change Status,” and then choose “Interviewed” from the drop-down box. You must confirm your choice by clicking on the “Continue to Confirm Page” button, and then clicking on the “Save Status Change” button. Step 7: Conduct Reference Checks and Record the Responses Conduct a reference check on at least the finalist for the position (applicant with the highest score after the interviews). Guidelines for reference checks:  Compose questions ahead of time.  Ask the same questions for each reference check.  By submitting the application, the applicants gave permission to contact any person associated with their previous employment.  If you plan to contact the applicant’s current employer, please inform the applicant ahead of time. Sample questions for reference checks and a reference check form are available at http://agservices.tamu.edu/forms/AG-446.pdf. Page 8 of 11 Revised 10/17/08 Recruiting and Selection Guide for Hiring Managers and Supervisors Step 8: Close the Position A background check is required for all positions. All offers must be made contingent upon successful completion of a background check. Extend a contingent offer and prepare a contingent offer letter. See sample contingent offer letters at http://aghr.tamu.edu/recruitment/Confirmation-Letters.doc. Send the contingent offer letter and Background Check Disclosure Notice and Authorization Form, AG-473, (http://agservices.tamu.edu/forms/AG-473.pdf) to the chosen applicant. o Have the applicant sign the Background Check Disclosure Notice and Authorization Form AG-473 and return it to the Human Resources Office by e-mail HRBackground@ag.tamu.edu, fax 979-458-1046, or U.S. mail to 2162 TAMU, College Station TX 77843-2162. o Have the applicant sign and return the contingent offer letter to the unit. Include a SIGNED copy of this letter with the new employee paperwork that is sent to payroll. o Upon completion of a successful background check, Human Resources will email the unit. This email must be provided to payroll along with the other new employee documents. o When the background check returns information warranting further consideration, Human Resources will contact the hiring unit. This information must be handled in accordance with 33.99.14 Criminal History Record Information – Employees and Applicants at http://tamus.edu/offices/policy/policies/pdf/33-99-14.pdf o If the results of the background check are such that a decision is made to not hire the applicant, Human Resources will send an adverse action letter to the applicant. The applicant will be given 7 days to dispute the accuracy of the background check report. Hiring managers will have to wait the 7 day period before filling the vacancy with another applicant. If you have offered the position to a male applicant age 18 - 25, the applicant must complete the Statement of Selective Service Registration Status and registration must be verified for those who are not exempt from the registration provisions. The Statement of Selective Service Registration Status, form AG-401, and the verification, if applicable, must be provided to payroll along with other new employee documents. Change the online status for all the applicants. Log into http://greatjobs.tamu.edu/hr and locate the NOV. o Change the status of everyone not hired to “No Longer Under ConsiderationInterviewed/Not Interviewed-Send Email/No Email” and then choose a “Reason” from the drop-down box provided. These reasons must reflect the scoring already noted on your hiring matrix or other evaluation tool. Note: If several applicants were not hired for the same reason, you can change all statuses at the same time by clicking their box under “All/None,” then clicking on the “Change Multiple Applicant Statuses” button at the bottom of the list. Choose the one status and the one reason at the top of the next page, and continue as before. o Change the status of the applicant you wish to hire to “Hired” (follow steps above). Page 9 of 11 Revised 10/17/08 Recruiting and Selection Guide for Hiring Managers and Supervisors Print the hiring certificate which you will receive via email when you move the applicant’s status to “hired”. This certificate must be provided to payroll along with the other new employee documents. Change the status of the NOV to “filled”. Step 9: Do the Paperwork Assemble files in Laserfiche in accordance with the following checklists: Recruiting File http://hrtoolbox.tamu.edu/compliance/Recruiting-File-Checklist.pdf Personnel File http://hrtoolbox.tamu.edu/compliance/Personnel-File-Checklist.pdf Schedule and Conduct New Employee Processing 1. Select “Unit Contact Information” from the employee processing website at http://aghr.tamu.edu/processing.htm for instructions on set up required prior to the new employee beginning the online processing. 2. New employees can then be directed to http://aghr.tamu.edu/processing.htm for required forms, training, and benefit enrollment, if applicable. All new employees are required to use this on-line new employee processing system. Page 10 of 11 Revised 10/17/08 Recruiting and Selection Guide for Hiring Managers and Supervisors Steps to Success in Recruiting & Selection of Wage Employees   A generic position announcement is posted with Texas Workforce Commission by Human Resources Extend a contingent offer and provide the applicant with the Background Check Disclosure Notice and Authorization Form, AG-473, (http://agservices.tamu.edu/forms/AG-473.pdf)  Have the applicant sign the Background Check Disclosure Notice and Authorization Form AG-473 and return it to the Human Resources Office by e-mail HRBackground@ag.tamu.edu, fax 979-458-1046, or U.S. mail to 2162 TAMU, College Station TX 77843-2162.  Upon completion of a successful background check, Human Resources will email the unit. This email must be provided to payroll along with the other new employee documents.  When the background check returns information warranting further consideration, Human Resources will contact the hiring unit. This information must be handled in accordance with 33.99.14 Criminal History Record Information – Employees and Applicants at http://tamus.edu/offices/policy/policies/pdf/33-99-14.pdf  If the results of the background check are such that a decision is made to not hire the applicant, Human Resources will send an adverse action letter to the applicant. The applicant will be given 7 days to dispute the accuracy of the background check report. Hiring managers will have to wait the 7 day period before filling the vacancy with another applicant. Best Practices  Post a Notice of Vacancy in GreatJobs and accept applications online  Use contingent offer letter, http://aghr.tamu.edu/recruitment/ConfirmationLetters.doc, with AG-473, Background Check and Disclosure Notice as an attachment  Print application into Laserfiche and stamp as electronically signed. Attach to EPA to be included in payroll file.  Page 11 of 11 Revised 10/17/08