Recruitment/Retention/Promotion Strategies A Summary of University of Virginia Best Practices

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1 Recruitment/Retention/Promotion Strategies A Summary of University of Virginia Best Practices Recruitment Best Practices Recruitment of applicants is taking place through established national professional publications such as the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture newsletter/website and the National Organization of Minority Architects special issue newsletter and website. In addition, the search committee has generated a notice that has been distributed via mail and to schools of architecture and professional contacts nationwide. Search committee members have solicited names of potential candidates from faculty at peer institutions and have contacted prospects directly to request their applications. These direct contacts are believed to be an important part of the search process and may bring forward diverse candidates of unusual promise. School of Architecture Maintaining a thorough process of identifying a diverse pool of qualified candidates for anticipated hires including the use of advertisements in professional minority publications and in local minority churches as appropriate. Appointing women and/or ethnic minorities to serve on all departmental searches. Participating in the Piedmont Virginia Community College job fair and job fairs on-grounds. Recruiting for positions at various schools, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University, James Madison University, and others. Hiring an official specifically tasked with assuming Human Resources (HR) duties. The University Police Department is looking to become actively involved with the Charlottesville Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC) in an effort to develop a program with the local high schools to foster an interest in Security and Police locally. One of the goals of this program is to attract more minorities and women. Executive Vice President Chief Operating Officer Recently, several of the University s Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) and the VP/CIO met with University Human Resources recruiters to develop an ongoing recruiting strategy to keep the job pools supplied with available and qualified IT talent. A draft recruiting/advertising proposal was prepared and further discussions are now necessary to finalize the proposal and commit the funds to implement the proposed advertising strategy. ITC has also used the features available in the New Pay Plan to prepare a more attractive offer to a candidate for a classified position. Features such as the Recruiting Bonus and Additional Leave Time have assisted in convincing the candidate that our offer was very competitive and worthy of serious consideration. In the majority of offers where these features were utilized, the candidate accepted the offer. Vice President/Chief Information Officer 1

2 The Library has its own Human Resources department dedicated to providing resources and services to supervisors and employees. Library Administrative Faculty Positions: Positions are advertised widely and in publications whose target audiences include underrepresented populations. The membership of search committees is designed to include underrepresented populations and to bring diverse viewpoints to the selection process. Classified positions: Facilities Management (FM) has created a special program to recruit potential applicants, and retain them once hired, known as the Apprentice program. FM s Human Resources and Training (HR&T) staff work intensely with regional guidance/career counselors, attend job fairs, visit community colleges, and schedule speaking engagements and meetings with local and regional leaders and organizations. Apprentices are chosen through a rigorous process that includes representatives from the Equal Opportunity Programs office. In selecting individuals, strong emphasis is placed on the potential of entry-level candidates versus previous job-related experience. In addition, FM HR&T staff is working with the University Community Relations Office to participate in a pilot project to reach out to low-income, high-risk, minority residents in the local area to encourage them to apply for jobs at FM and throughout the University. Office of the Vice President for Management and Budget Academic and General Faculty: For full-time, instructional faculty, whether tenure-track or general faculty, area coordinators in the McIntire School place advertisements in the Chronicle of Higher Education and discipline-specific journals, post announcements and conduct screening meetings at academic meetings, and mail personal letters to the chairs of doctoral programs enclosing a copy of the position announcement and job description. To ensure that a diverse pool is generated, a specific faculty member in each academic discipline is assigned the responsibility of identifying female and minority candidates at each discipline s national professional meeting. We compiled these activities into a best recruiting practices brochure for McIntire hiring officials to ensure compliance with policies and to generate a pool of candidates. McIntire School of Commerce Department chairs and administrators are reminded at least annually of EOP guidelines, and they are asked to include the perspectives of women and minorities in the search process, either on the search committee itself or through interviews. School of Medicine We assemble racially diverse search committees and always include significant student membership. For some positions, pool enhancement strategies include contacting relevant regional and national leaders to seek leads on potential candidates. Student Affairs professional 2

3 associations have been leaders in networking for minority and female professionals, and we use those established networks to promote positions to targeted populations. These have been especially effective in insuring a diverse pool of candidates. We employ screening interviews so that we may give additional consideration to a larger number of candidates than is practical to bring to Grounds. We are careful to check references using a structured question list before inviting candidates to Grounds. We work to develop an interview process that will be broadly inclusive of the diverse viewpoints of potential colleagues as well as students, one that will show prospective candidates that they will be joining a diverse community. Comparable candidate evaluations are sought using a structured rating sheet. We seek to make candidates feel warmly welcomed to the University and Charlottesville communities through meals, information packets, and tours. When candidates of color are finalists, we pay extra attention to identifying sources of connection and support within the Charlottesville community to help with recruitment and retention. Recently, one faculty member of color told us the extra attention we offered by arranging a return visit for her to connect with peers, identify a church community, and carefully consider her transition to Charlottesville made a difference in her decision to accept our offer. Office of the Dean of Students The searches were limited to internal candidates. We disseminated the position announcements throughout the University community, including to the Faculty Senate, the General Faculty Council and Employee Councils, the President s EEO Committee, the Women s Leadership Council, the UVA Network for Women, the WFPA, and to EO officers in all units. The provost solicited names of possible candidates from each dean, placing an emphasis on identifying strong candidates among women and minority faculty. In several cases, deans personally contacted potential candidates and encouraged them to apply. We also worked with University Relations to publicize the open positions. In addition, members of the search committee for each position solicited nominations from a variety of sources. Nominated candidates received notice from the Provost s Office and were invited to apply. In some instances, nominated candidates declined to apply but nominated others for the pool. Some of the candidates identified through these personal networking processes emerged as among the strongest in the pool. Two of the three candidates selected for the vice provost positions did not apply prior to being invited. Without the personal networking and aggressive recruiting efforts to build a strong pool of candidates, two of our three top candidates might never have participated in the search process. The outcome of these searches diversified senior leadership in the office in terms of discipline/school (Engineering, Arts & Sciences, Medicine), gender (two women), race/ethnicity (one African-American), and areas of expertise and experience. Provost s Office Faculty are encouraged to identify diverse candidates as they attend national professional meetings. Once identified we actively phone and encourage them to apply when a position for which they might fit opens. After interviews, we have kept in touch with individuals who chose another school in case their situation changed over time. School of Nursing 3

4 The most recent faculty position was advertised in 2 newspapers and electronically posted on websites of UVA Women s Leadership Council and National Black MBA Association. Send to key contacts and professional organizations in the industry. Maintain and refer to departmental recruitment files for prospective applicants who have directly contacted departmental managers. Contact University Career Services and Alumni Career Services. An attempt is made to obtain a diverse group of individuals to serve on the committee to ensure that all points of view are represented, and that interviewed applicants see and experience diversity from the committee. Vice President of Finance During the Spring of 2003, UCS invited the University EOP Director to address all departmental employees and discuss affirmative action/eeo practices. All departmental employees were in attendance as the discussion was held during a normal bi-weekly staff meeting. For its one vacancy, UCS did make an effort to reach out to a recent alumnus (an African- American woman) to alert her to the job vacancy. She had been a graduate intern in the department, was encouraged to apply, and ultimately was selected for the position. University Career Services The Department has targeted publications and newspapers that traditionally have professional minority subscribers and relies on a variety of professional associations to publicize vacancies. Student Health makes efforts to network with professionals in the hospital and local community and draws on those contacts and networks to actively invite women and minority candidates to apply. The Department also sends letters to colleagues at other universities to assure they are aware of vacancies, and contacts former job applicants to verify they are aware of staff openings. Finally, all search committees have two females and to the extent workloads allow, minority representation. Department of Student Health In some instances, particularly in professional positions, the Law School has actively recruited candidates from among our own alumni by posting job openings on our career opportunities network and by soliciting applications from alumni. Each year, we receive more than 800 entry-level resumes from the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). These resumes identify women and minorities, to whom we give special consideration. We advertise each season in publications including Black Scholar, Black Issues in Higher Education, Affirmative Action Register, and National Black Law Journal. During the recruiting season, we evaluated the work of many female and minority faculty members at other law schools. This review was designed to identify potential 4

5 candidates for visiting and lateral positions. As a consequence of this search, we invited five women to visit the Law School, including two African-Americans (both of whom accepted). We have had conversations with colleagues at other schools concerning our interest in identifying and recruiting qualified female and minority persons for entry-level positions and asking about their own recent graduates. Frequently, these colleagues provide us with names of candidates we should consider. We also continue to follow-up on last year s review of our own graduate pool in an effort to identify minorities who might be good prospects for faculty positions. As of March 3, 2004, we have made eleven visiting offers to professors currently teaching elsewhere. All but one were accepted. Among these eleven individuals are five women, three African-Americans (both women), one Asian, and one South Asian. School of Law Efforts to Maximize Underrepresented Populations in the Applicant Pool In searches where there is a clearly inadequate pool of applicants provided by University Human Resources, ITC has and will undertake and pay for targeted advertising of the position, and specifically encourages applications from female and minority candidates. ITC also encourages person to person information spread about vacant positions to female and minority candidates, both within the University family and externally. Vice President/Chief Information Officer We have incorporated our commitment to diversity in our planning strategies for recruitment and retention and in our Balanced Scorecard metrics. We have a new metric upon which to measure our success. Our first target is a net increase of 4 in faculty/staff diversity, with a net increase of at least 2 in faculty diversity. And target two is a net increase of at least 2 in faculty/staff diversity, with net increase of at least 1 in faculty diversity. Currently 13% of our staff is from underrepresented groups. Our goal is for our staff to reflect the community we serve. At this time the Library is underutilized in its Hispanic and Asian representation. The users we serve include Hispanic, African-American and Asian populations. Library faculty job postings are advertised in publications and listservs focusing mainly on discussions or issues for individuals from underrepresented groups and all search committees are encouraged to look for diversity in applicant pools as they review applications. We are currently in the process of identifying areas across the country with more diverse populations with plans of distributing our postings in these area library schools and libraries along with recruitment trips to these areas. In the past six months we have hired two minority faculty members and we hope to continue in our progress. Library Our goal is that our faculty and staff reflect the diversity of our student body to provide role models for them. Currently, 25% of our faculty is female; one individual is of Asian Indian ethnicity and one individual is an African American. We recruited an additional female (Latino) to join the faculty next fall, as well as three white males. 5

6 In the long term, we believe that we should take a leadership role in increasing the diversity of the qualified and available candidate pool. To do so, we must encourage potentially qualified undergraduate students to consider academic careers. We expose undergraduates to the work of a business professor by giving them opportunities to work on research projects or assist in the classroom. All of our third year students participate in a student subject pool, which includes a module introducing them to academic research and the process and the potential for making a meaningful contribution to knowledge. If an underrepresented student decides to pursue a PhD in business, we provide some financial support in exchange for a promise from the candidate to interview with us for a job when he or she graduates. We are constantly looking for ways to interest all students, and particularly ones from underrepresented groups, in academic careers. McIntire School of Commerce One division has observed an increase in the number of applicants, especially from women and foreign graduates, to its training program. The division anticipates the increased number of fellows in this program will make future efforts to recruit from these populations more successful. One center plans to advertise in minority-owned newspapers and in newspapers serving areas with nursing schools in areas of high minority populations. School of Medicine Some of the events in which Department staff have made their Black and Blue presentation include the Mid-Atlantic regional conference of ACHA (November 2002), the National Black Leadership Conference in Richmond (January 2003), and the South Eastern College Health Association Conference (March 2003). CAPS staff participate in search committees outside Student Health and look to collaborate with other areas to deliver programs and information that benefit the University at large. For example, Dr. Taylor participated in a brown bag luncheon series focusing on issues pertinent to black professional women, spoke about mental health issues among African American Women to the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and continues to work with the Office of African- American Affairs (OAAA) in a program known as The Consultation Corner. Dr. Anderson continues to support programs at Hereford College and to reach out to Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual students through presentations at LGBT meetings and regular involvement on the Advisory Board of the LGBT Resource Center. Also worthy of note was the outreach service offered by CAPS following the performance of the Laramie Project. This play about reactions to the brutal murder of a gay college student was jointly sponsored by LGBT Resource Center and the Drama Department. Because of the emotionally sensitive nature of the subject matter, those sponsoring the performance requested that CAPS staff be on hand to help anyone who might need to talk after having seen the play or after having participated in the discussion. Department of Student Health Retention Best Practices Regular reinforcing the commitment to advancing women and minority employees by encouraging direct reports to consider professional development opportunities for and to mentor promising employees. Offering flexible working schedules with flexibility in each individual's start time, departure 6

7 time and days worked. Executive Vice President Chief Operating Officer A very important Retention strategy is the ITC Internship Program. This program was created to provide ITC employees (faculty, classified and wage) with a totally risk free way to try out another job for advancement, personal growth, or technical skills development. The Internship Program allows ITC employees to work for up to 6 months in a different position and obtain direct experience and job training. The interning employee works with the manager and the other employees in the department to become proficient in the new role. At the conclusion of the six months, the interning employee may be allowed to extend the Internship, return to their previous position, or be transferred to the Internship department on a permanent basis. The transfer may result in a promotion or an In-Range Adjustment. Vice President/Chief Information Officer The Library has an extensive training program to assist employees in the development of technological and organizational development skills. The Library s program taps into the University training opportunities but also seeks external expertise when developing specific skills training. We are currently implementing a leadership training institute specifically for library managers and the Diversity planning team will recommend cultural competency training for the coming fiscal year. A travel budget is available for both classified staff and faculty to pursue professional development activities. We have a staff share program that allows staff to build skills in other areas by working a specified amount of time in different units. We are also in the process of developing the Library research committee to provide leave and funding for research projects, and developing a mentoring process for staff. The University Library has a Multicultural Issues Committee in place that focuses on finding ways to promote diversity awareness through discussion, events, and resources in hopes of providing a more diverse environment for our staff and users. Library Classified positions: Current FM employees are encouraged to apply for the Apprentice program. Meetings are held for this purpose, and to make sure employees understand the application and selection process and also are aware of other employment opportunities. Participants in the Apprentice program gather together to share experiences and identify ways to improve the program. Office of the Vice President for Management and Budget Met expectations: When individuals expectations are not met, they are more likely to leave. We work hard to meet expectations, starting with the treatment of new colleagues and staff before they arrive. We created the Faculty/Staff Arrival Checklist (Appendix D) to guide and standardize our preparation for a new arrival. Work-family conflict: We believe that families are important. We work with trailing spouses of potential job candidates to try to find them appropriate employment. We anticipate needs as best we can and frequently consider and accommodate reasonable requests and 7

8 special needs. Generally, our integrated core curriculum and graduate programs offer a great deal of flexibility in scheduling. We continue to work with our faculty to generate a schedule that accommodates their particular needs. As the program allows, we also devise schedules for our classified staff that enables them to work a schedule that accommodates their particular needs and still provides the services we require. We accommodate tenure-track faculty who need to extend their tenure clock for family or other personal reasons without any hesitation. Participation in Decision Making: We regularly commission task forces to analyze and make recommendations on specific topics. A recent example is the commission on promotion and tenure policy (e.g., studying the possibility of slowing the tenure clock for temporarily parttime tenure-track faculty). Growth Opportunities: We provide resources for all faculty and staff to pursue opportunities to develop their skills. For faculty, we pay for grader and research assistance, research and teaching workshops and seminars, conferences, summer support, databases and hardware, and research subject stipends. For staff, we pay for workshops and seminars. McIntire School of Commerce In July 2003, the School of Medicine appointed Dr. Sharon Hostler as Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development. She is charged with developing and implementing activities that will increase faculty development and satisfaction, thus leading to improved retention. Among these activities are the faculty development programs in areas such as grant writing, time management, teaching with multimedia, effective presentations and handouts for teaching, preparing for the annual performance review, and promotion and tenure at the School of Medicine. Many employees have been given additional responsibilities, promotions, and/or additional compensation to recognize excellence and to retain them. Some departments have encouraged their staff to take on-line training courses or classes at PVCC and UVA for professional development, and have supported these employees by making efforts to accommodate class and exam schedules. Departments have also adjusted work schedules to retain excellent faculty or staff employees who require part-time hours to continue to work here. Units are encouraged to support employees participation in professional development opportunities such as committee service, workshops, or conferences. If someone is actively looking or is actively being recruited and it is a matter of matching the salary of an outside offer, which is generally the case with staff, we try to increase the UVA salary to retain the staff member. The School of Medicine annually allocates funds specifically for the retention and start-up packages of faculty members from underrepresented populations. The allocation recently increased from $150,000 to $200,000. School of Medicine To improve retention of minority professionals, we offer professional development sessions that explore our differences and promote understanding and respect for all members of our community at least three times every year. We strive for a diverse staff within the Office of the Dean of Students that mirrors the student population at the University. Office of the Dean of Students 8

9 We also work with individuals to allow them to take undergraduate and graduate courses that are not directly related to their professional responsibilities, allowing them to adjust working schedules to allow for class time. Provost s Office Twice in the past we have named the group of new hires Centennial Fellows and Theresa Thomas Faculty. This gives professional recognition and identifies them as a cohort of exceptional scholars. Active mentoring of both teaching and research is taken seriously with Chairs as well as with identified faculty working in a similar area. We make active use of the Teaching Resource Center. School of Nursing Job Enrichment - allows critical talent to stay in areas where their expertise is most needed but expands their job to include other aspects. An example of this strategy would be UHR s creation of the Executive Recruiter and Lead Recruiter, which remain recruiters but provide the individual with enhanced duties and/or areas of specialization. Generally, no increase in pay is provided to the employee. Training and Education - units regularly encourage and support employees to pursue training opportunities, professional development, conferences, seminars, and other opportunities to further their education. Providing financial assistance and time away from work has permitted units to retain some key individuals within our organization. An added result has been that some of these individuals have been promoted to management roles with their department. Reassignment - permits employees to be reassigned to a position with the same pay band and role within the organization. UHR has reassigned several employees across division lines. Most recently, a minority employee was reassigned from the UHR front lobby area to benefits. This has allowed a relatively long service employee an opportunity to learn aspects of employee benefits; she would not have been exposed to in her prior position. This has proven to be a win-win for the employee and the department. Job Rotation/Cross-training - allows an employee to be trained on a range of tasks by rotating them through different positions or divisions generally, on a temporary basis. Employees learn new skills and typically find their jobs more interesting and challenging. The staff of both divisions gained valuable insight and appreciation for the work of their colleagues. Professional and supportive work environment - specific strategies used by VPF units include: positive reinforcement and praise for jobs well done celebrations to mark significant achievements flexible working schedules understanding the special needs of a parent Vice President for Finance The Department offers a variety of continuing education opportunities to promote retention. SH reworked a schedule so a Director could take advantage of an opportunity with the School of Medicine. A reduction in hours was arranged for both a senior faculty member and a staff member due to childcare issues. Department of Student Health 9

10 Promotion/Advancement Best Practices Classified positions: FM HR&T offers a variety of on-the-job training opportunities. Employees who participate learn new skills, which make them more effective in their current positions and more likely to be promoted. These efforts include providing funding and leave time for employees to take adult education courses (e.g., English as a Second Language and GED-preparation) outside of the University. Office of the Vice President for Management and Budget Career development and advancement opportunities are discussed with employees during annual performance evaluations and sometimes more often, depending on the circumstances. Employees are given the opportunity to provide input and feedback to their organizations. In larger units, prior to a position being posted to the website, management reviews internal staff to determine if departmental needs can be met with existing staff talent. When appropriate, internal staff is promoted or advanced. Vice President for Finance Other Best Practices Ellen Cathey was hired as the new Associate Dean for Students during the period. Previously this position was filled on a part-time basis by a faculty member from one of the School s departments. A decision was made, leading up to this hire, to convert this to a fulltime position and to fill it with a person especially knowledgeable about student affairs. The School now has a point-person within the school who is committed to promoting diversity and equity in the school and in our recruitment of new students. She will be developing new programs in coordination with the Department Chairs to build a more diverse qualified student applicant pool. School of Architecture The Vice President s Office seeks to conduct exit interviews to understand the reason for which employees chose employment outside of the Division, and to apply the information learned to future recruitment and retention efforts. Vice President for Student Affairs Suggestions We believe that a major limiting factor is the diversity of the qualified applicant pools, and we further believe that the success of our UVa efforts could be substantially bolstered by a centralized and unified promotional program aimed at attracting underrepresented candidates to UVa. We believe this should become a sustained effort whose funding is stable and effectively managed. Advertising of specific vacancies is currently the responsibility of the hiring department, including both the costs and the effort. Vice President/Chief Information Officer 10