As one of San Diego's major employers, UCSD attracts millions of dollars to the state and city every year. More than 17,000 academic and staff employees are working at UCSD. These men and women contribute each day to fulfilling the University's mission in teaching, research, patient care, and public service in a setting where different cultures and backgrounds flourish. UCSD's institutional commitment to excellence and diversity is an important tradition and a part of every manager's responsibility. In today's environment, the challenge for many managers is to hire and retain quality workers from a richly diverse population. Many of us who are confronted with the task of hiring are not fully familiar with the complexity of laws and regulations governing selection, nor are we expected to be in the face of changing business and regulatory environments. This guide cannot answer every question about selection, but it does offer some sound practical guidelines for hiring the most qualified candidate for the job while meeting the University's objectives for excellence and diversity.
Federal and state laws, regulations, and court decisions are the external forces that have had significant impact on the employment function, including selection. The thrust of these laws and regulations have been to encourage societal change in the work place by prohibiting discrimination and recognizing that the reality of our culturally diverse population and immigration patterns provide a work force of diverse accents, behaviors, communication styles, dress and talents.
Collectively, the federal laws are a product of a period beginning in the sixties and continuing to the present. The federal agencies with responsibilities for enforcing equal opportunity consolidated the laws and regulations into a single document entitled "The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures." The Guidelines require employers to use "job-relatedness" and "business necessity" as the basis for employment decisions and the definitions and standards contained therein made sweeping changes in human resource practices for all employers, and are accepted as standard in today's business environment.
Equal opportunity and nondiscrimination protect the rights of specific groups based on:
race (including racial harassment)
color
religion
marital status
national origin
ancestry
sex (including sexual harassment)
sexual orientation
physical or mental disability
medical condition (cancer-related condition)
status as a Vietnam-era veteran or special disabled veteran
age
citizenship (within the limits imposed by law)
Affirmative action, as established by Executive Order 11246, applies to all employers with government contracts or subcontracts. The Executive Order enforces the nondiscrimination laws and obligates the employer to have an affirmative action plan in hiring and promoting qualified minority and female employees. A later revision of the order added goals and timetable to the employer's plan. Affirmative action for disabled individuals, disabled veterans and Vietnam-era veterans are mandated by the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veteran's Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, respectively.
The enforcement authority for affirmative action results was assigned to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). This agency within the Department of Labor oversees federal contractors and is empowered to investigate employment practices; investigate complaints; issue rules and regulations; cancel, terminate, or suspend contracts; and refrain employers from entering into additional contracts.
UCSD's Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) is a collaborative effort of the Vice Chancellors, Human Resources Department and Equal Opportunity/Staff Affirmative Action Office. Within this plan, UCSD hiring authorities are accountable for using a nondiscriminatory selection process and making decisions that facilitate the attainment of affirmative action goals and objectives.
The Regents' Resolution SP-2 ended the use of preference for minorities and women in the hiring decision by prohibiting the use of race and gender in UC's employment practices. However, the Regents' Resolution also contains an exemption that allows actions which are strictly necessary to establish or maintain eligibility for federal or state funds, where ineligibility would result in a loss of federal or state funding. In implementing SP-2, UCSD has modified the hiring process by eliminating the use of preference in the selection decision while maintaining goals and enhancing outreach efforts.
Successful selection starts with a conscious and deliberate hiring plan that considers the University's objectives for both excellence and diversity. Having a plan provides direction for reaching a nondiscriminatory selection decision by laying out the foundation for an open and consistent set of procedures. Elements of the selection plan are:
a position description of the job responsibilities, duties and specification that has been supported by a thorough job analysis.
a recruitment plan showing sourcing activities that would result in a skilled diverse pool.
a nondiscriminatory selection process using clear measurable selection standards and a structured interview format conducted by well-informed interviewer(s).
a willingness to invest resources (money, time and staff) to hire the right person for the job.
The recruitment plan lays the foundation for identifying the candidate who is the right fit for the position and the organization. For UCSD, the "fit" is defined by the skills and knowledge to perform the duties of the position and the ability to work successfully within the culture of the organization. Both nondiscriminatory practices and affirmative action obligations are part of the plan.
The recruitment plan has the following components:
Clear statements of the minimum requirements to use for sourcing and screening applicants. Minimum requirements should not imply a lower or lesser hiring standard; rather, they are:
all the skills, knowledge and abilities that the employee must possess in order to perform the job without additional training at the time of placement
Marketing strategies that cast a wide net to attract applicants from a broad spectrum of potentially qualified job seekers. The strategies should target applicants who can meet both skills and diversity objectives.
Procedures that ensure an open process for treating each applicant fairly, equally and consistently.
Success in hiring is the result of numerous managerial choices made throughout the process. The key decision points are:
having requirements based on business necessity and job relatedness,
using a standard interview format for all candidates to ensure consistency and fairness in the treatment of candidates,
evaluating each candidate by using a methodology that matches qualifications to measurable standards before comparing candidates to make the selection decision, and
involving all stakeholders in the process to give greater depth and breadth to the data gathering process.
The position description is based on a thorough job analysis that identifies the functions, responsibilities and specifications required for successful performance. UCSD's approach to job specifications is to use skills, knowledge and abilities (SKAs) that the employee must possess and be able to perform successfully once placed on the job. While SKAs allow greater flexibility in describing specifications, it is not as quantifiable as the more common practice of using years of experience and education.
During the recruitment, use the minimum requirements to source and screen applications. The statements of SKA should be specific, measurable, and not artificially restrictive as to be a barrier to open access. Use technical terms, metaphors, or acronyms if it is meaningful to the population of potential applicants, and not only to those inside the organization. Examples of open SKA statements:
Public Contact: Ability to use tact; operate multi-line phone system; explain procedures clearly to visitors.
Flexibility: ability to vary behavior according to the situation; able to reassess priorities; ability to recommend new ideas when needed.
Word processing: use WordPerfect and functions such as merge, pagination, layout and macros to prepare forms, correspondence and nontechnical reports.
After the recruitment closing date, applications are reviewed in Human Resources using the minimum requirements. The qualified pool is then referred to the hiring authority for a second review to identify the interview pool.
If the initial qualified pool is too large to interview, use additional SKAs only if it will not negatively impact diversity. Alternate procedures can be used, such as assigning weighs to the requirements or using a supplemental questionnaire. To maximize screening effectiveness:
have clear measurable statements of the requirements
match qualifications against the requirement
use a matrix
consider using the preferred SKAs only if diversity is not adversely affected.
Use the interview to:
expand the information provided on the application
collect new job-related information
determine the candidate's "fit" to the job
Select interviewers for their ability to add value to the selection decision. Interviewers are stakeholders in the final outcome and should understand the job and its requirements and know the organization's hiring objectives.
Prepare key questions that ask about past job behavior, are open-ended and neutral. Have follow-up questions prepared in advance.
Formulate an interview format to provide direction to the interview and make the most effective use of time.
Allow time for an interview schedule that puts no pressure on you or the candidate. Prepare the candidate by providing information about parking, location, name and title of interviewer and length of appointment. Indicate that the full job description will be available for review prior to the meeting.
Arrange for quiet and privacy with no interruptions during the interview. It is just as important for the interviewer to make a good impression as it is for the candidate.
Well thought-out key questions can provide the maximum amount of useful information from a brief conversation with the candidate. The purpose of most questions is to open up a topic for conversation or to confirm information.
BEHAVIORAL QUESTIONS ask about what the candidate is doing currently or has done in the past. It asks for examples of current or past performance, based on the premise that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. Phrase questions in the present or past tense, but not the future tense: "Describe an occasion where you misjudged a situation. How did you handle it?"
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS encourage the candidate to give more than a one or two word responses that require an explanatory response and allow a candidate to show communication skills in an indirect way. Open-ended questions begin with: what, how, why, describe, explain, tell me. Example: "Describe your experience in meeting deadlines." Or, "Tell me about your current responsibilities."
CLOSED-ENDED or YES or NO QUESTIONS are used to elicit a specific response or verify information you already have. They result in minimal conversation and often begin with are, have, do, will, did, can, could. Example: "Have you ever had to meet a difficult deadline?" is closed-ended as opposed to "Describe your experience meeting difficult deadlines.".
NEUTRAL QUESTIONS do not reveal what you want to hear and encourage the candidate to express his or her own ideas as well as give unedited information. Neutral questions encourage honesty and candor: "What's more important, speed or accuracy?" is better than "Don't you think accuracy is more important than speed? "
HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS ask the candidate to respond to new or unfamiliar situations, providing insight to the candidate's ability to analyze and solve problems. Example: "Assume you are the supervisor and your best employee starts to come in late several times a week. What would you do?"
The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) places some special conditions on employers during the interview stage in addition to providing reasonable accommodation to applicants in the application, interview and employment process. The law prohibits precluding an applicant from consideration if he or she can perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. Although disabilities are broadly defined, temporary conditions that do not interfere with major life activities are usually not covered.
Reasonable accommodation means that job functions must be identified as essential or marginal, and only essential functions and the SKAs associated with them can be considered in the selection process. Consequently, interview questions should solicit responses based on the result or outcome rather than on the method used to arrive at the result. For example:
"This job requires lifting boxes weighing 25 to 40 pounds and storing them on shelves, some of which are above the head. How would you store and retrieve these boxes?"
"This job requires periodic archiving of files from the office to a storeroom in another building. The files are taken from file drawers, packed into boxes, and taped. The full boxes weigh 50 pounds. How would you pack and transport the files?"
"The receptionist has to take information as it comes over the phone and enter the message directly into the E-mail system at the same time. Please describe the procedure you will use to accomplish this task."
"As a floater, this job requires the employee to travel from one location to another, sometimes with very short notice. How will you travel to various locations during the workday?"
The interview is a two-way business conversation to exchange information and to determine if there is a fit between the position and the candidate. Some suggestions:
Hold all calls and don't allow interruptions.
Establish an uncritical environment. The interview is the time to gather, not evaluate the information.
Give a brief overview of the process to establish an understanding of what will take place. Use the "road-map" approach as a guide for both the candidate and yourself.
Listen, listen and listen! Ideally, the interviewer should talk no more than 20% of the time. Combine good listening with good use of questions and comments. Remember that as long as you are talking, you are not learning about the candidate.
Prepare open, neutral and behavioral key questions covering the essential functions. Cover each area using follow-up technique to probe, reflect and summarize.
Use paraphrasing to clarify and expand on the candidate's responses. Begin with phrases such as "you said before . . . " or "You gave me an example of a time when . . . " or "let me see if I got this right . . . "
Use comments to show interest, encourage conversation and move the interview forward without falling into a question and answer interrogation. Example: "That's interesting . . . " or "I see . . . " or "why don't you elaborate on that a bit . . . "
Question the answer! Seek contrary information to confirm or correct your first impressions. If the candidate recites an accomplishment, ask "Tell me about an occasion when things did not go well," or "and what did you learn from that experience?"
Control the direction of the interview. If the candidate strays from the topic, redirect the interview by waiting for a pause and say "thank you, I think that answers my question," or "with time so short it will be valuable to move to another subject."
Use silence. Candidates may bridge a silence with useful information.
Encourage candor and honesty by not evaluating the information during the interview.
To encourage honesty, ask for the name of someone who will speak to the topic. For example, if the candidate said she always meets her deadlines, ask "who can I speak with regarding those deadlines?"
Jot down key words during the interview for later reference. Do not write evaluative comments in the candidate's presence.
Do not discourage the candidate.
"We like the information you provided about yourself and would like to learn more about your experiences as it relates to this job. We will have an hour for our meeting. Let me explain the agenda for today. I will begin by asking questions about your work experience. We will be concentrating on your work experience, knowledge and skills. As much as possible, I would like to hear about specific examples. As we move along, I may ask you to give me names of persons who know your work in a particular area. So that I will not forget, I will be taking notes as we talk. You will have an opportunity to ask questions and provide additional information at a later point."
"Do we have permission to call your current supervisor? Previous supervisors? May we call you for help in getting references from your supervisor, if needed?"
"What is your current (most recent) salary?"
"What starting salary do you expect from this position?"
"Is there anything else you would like to add?"
"Do you have any questions?"
"Thank you for your time, and interest in the position. We will finish the interviews by __________. We will check references before making a final decision. We anticipate getting back to you with our decision by _______________.
Reference checks are normally conducted after the interview to confirm information already provided by the candidate in the interview and application. Immediate supervisors are the preferred source of information because they have the best direct knowledge of the candidate's work performance.
RIGHT TO PRIVACY vs. RIGHT TO KNOW
Reference checking is an issue for the supervisor as either the reference requestor or reference provider. The basic issue is the employee's right to privacy vs. an employer's right to know. Supervisors have to respect the confidentiality of an employee's personnel record against the need to know about a prospective employee's performance history. Those of us with hiring responsibilities are thus placed in the unenviable position of having to balance these two concerns. There are legal precedent and case law that have given employers authority to truthfully disclose an employee's work record in response to a request from a prospective employer. However, there is a risk in doing so if the response is beyond the scope of the request; is not factually correct; implicates the employee in protected activity under labor relations, discrimination, or other laws; or otherwise harms the employee's interest. This potential liability for defamation and invasion of privacy have resulted in the practice of providing only the dates of employment and job title in response to reference requests. More recent court decisions have given employers some protection from defamation actions by specifically protecting communication "concerning job performance or qualifications of an applicant for employment, [if the information is] based upon credible evidence, [and made] without malice . . . "
The demand for thorough reference checks will continue to grow as supervisors seek more information about the past performance of prospective employees in order to make better informed selection decisions and reduce costly errors in hiring.
Prepare by becoming thoroughly familiar with the information already provided by the resume and interview.
Call for an appointment to speak to the reference by telephone. Once the time is confirmed, send the job description to the reference provider for review.
Inform the reference provider that you have received consent from the candidate to call and that you will be asking about information that the candidate has provided.
"___________ asked us to speak with you regarding information he/she has already shared with us" or "I'm calling to verify information provided by _________
Initiate the sharing of information by giving an overview of the job, objectives and work environment. Then ask, "Given our requirements, what is your assessment of the candidate's qualifications for the job?"
Continue to gather information by reading from the application and your interview notes and asking for comment and confirmation.
If the response is a generality, follow up with a probing question. For example, if the response is "She's the greatest!" Ask "Why did she leave? What has been less effective since she left?"
Follow up on what is unspoken: "Let me see how I can put this . . . " Ask "I sense a hesitancy in your voice. Is there a concern? " If the comment is "I prefer not to comment on that." Ask "Is there someone else who would be able to share information about this?"
"What was the salary at the time of separation?"
"What are the dates of employment?"
"Since none of us are perfect at everything we do, describe what could be considered as shortcomings."
"On the last performance evaluation, what was particularly noted? What recommendations were given for improvement?"
"What is the attendance standard in your organization for vacation and illness? To what extent did this candidate meet those standards?"
"Would you rehire? What would be your reason?"
"Is there anyone else that I can contact for information?"
"Are there any additional comments you can share with me?"
In addition to reference checks that are inquiries about performance, the selection process includes pre-employment background checks for "critical" positions that may include investigation into criminal/court records, education, licensing or certification, and department of motor vehicle records. The purpose of a background check is to protect employers from the growing area of "negligent hiring" when employers can be held liable if their employee commits acts causing harm to others and the employer knew or should have known at the time of hire that the employee had such dangerous propensities. While the employer is not held liable for the act itself, the employer is liable for its own negligence in hiring or supervising the employee.
Background checks are conducted on the final candidate prior to an offer. However, a conditional offer can be made pending the outcome of the investigation. The candidate must understand that any offer is conditional pending the outcome of the check.
At the beginning of the recruitment, inform the Staffing Specialist about the need for a background check so that it becomes a part of the public notice. A written authorization from the candidate is necessary before a check can be made. The results from the investigating agency are confidential and retained in Human Resources.
All data gathered from the application, interviews and reference providers are part of the final evaluation. It should be completed as soon as possible after all the information has been gathered. The essential points to incorporate into a fair and consistent evaluation are:
having clear, measurable selection standards. Example:"Advanced word processing skills using graphics, cut and paste and importing and exporting functions to prepare manuscripts in a WP Windows environment."using a matrix to match each candidate against the selection standard.
being aware of personal biases such as stereotyping or unsubstantiated first impressions.
avoiding assessments based on comfort level.
Articulating measurable worker traits. Example:
"Problem-solving: trouble shoot organizational problems: identify correctly and respond appropriately to key people and key issues, define problems and identify central issues, sort and weigh consequences of alternatives."
Hiring authorities are accountable for:
a nondiscriminatory process
compliance with laws and policies
exercising sound judgement
doing the right thing
Keeping these four principles in mind at each decision point will reduce the chance of violating any EEO guidelines as well as ensuring that job-relatedness and business necessity are the basis for selecting the best qualified person for the job.
Today's business environment requires employers to keep written records of the process and decision. Having records available if any part of the recruitment is challenged by the applicant or regulators will enhance the integrity and credibility of your process and decision. A complete selection record has the following:
The recruitment plan that identifies the scope of sourcing, hiring requirements and selection format.
The list of key questions and notes from the interview.
The notes from the reference checks.
The instruments used for screening and evaluation applicants, including the criteria used.
In addition to the above, the applications, employment requisition, posting notice, applicant flow register, and referral list should also be retained as part of the official record.
Know the market value of the position and the salary you can afford. Be prepared to speak to the topic during the interviews.
Establish an offer salary that considers the candidate's salary history, market forces, and equity with other employees in the department. Be prepared to confirm the offer in writing after the verbal offer.
Confirm the candidate's acceptance in writing and include an agenda for the first workday. Provide information about parking and benefits. Remind the candidate to bring all documents that are needed for signing up as an employee. Provide a name and phone number to call if there are any questions.
Then, notify the unsuccessful candidates as soon as possible after the selected candidate had accepted. A call or letter thanking the candidate for their interest and a brief explanation of the selection and process should be sufficient.
Ease the new employee's transition into the work unit by:
informing other employees about the arrival of the newcomer.
preparing the work station
scheduling private time to review job duties, introduce co-workers, orient to the unit's mission, facilities, work schedule, training plan, etc.
scheduling time to complete the hire forms,get parking permit, i.d. card, etc.
scheduling the new employee for HR's orientation to the benefits programs and new employees.