ABIDE Talent Management Strategy:
Initiatives

In our ongoing effort to avoid bias, HFC HR recognizes that false narratives about potential candidates are not limited to the initial review of an application but can be present before a position is even posted.

Potentially false narratives can have a disparate impact on underrepresented and marginalized populations and may negatively influence the overall equity and inclusion objectives of the hiring process.

To attract and build a more diverse workforce, and to avoid the presence of false narratives, HFC HR will strive to meet the following when creating position postings:

• We will make an intentional effort to appeal to a broad audience.
• We will remove the evaluation criteria language of “desired” or “preferred” qualifications.
• We will remove the statement “preference may be given to candidates that have.”
• We will remove the criteria of knowledge of current HFC systems.
• We will remove unnecessary acronyms, or HFC-specific jargon.
• We will ensure faculty position postings fully align with the Higher Learning Commission’s Criteria for Accreditation while seeking creative ways to incorporate opportunity hires.
• We will include directions for applicants who seek accommodations or need additional assistance in the application process.
• We will consider competencies, transferable skills, and equivalent tested experience (where appropriate) when developing requirements, including following the HLC’s Determining Qualified Faculty: Guidelines for Institutions and Peer Reviewers.
• We will include our ABIDE Recruiting Statement on all position postings.
• We will review postings annually to update language and qualifications (if necessary), and to ensure that potentially exclusive or offensive language is not included.
• We will reduce the amount of technical language and replace it with more conversational language with a broader appeal.
• We will use a gender decoder tool and use gender-neutral language in all postings.
• We will include the language, “Equivalent education/experience may be substituted for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal mandates or accreditation requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.”
• We will require a personal diversity statement* as part of the application process for potential faculty and staff members, including prompts (see below) to assist in creating diversity statements.

*Note: The requirement for this initiative may exclude entry-level postings where creating a diversity statement is not crucial to the overall position description due to the nature of the work, or where writing a personal diversity statement may create a potential barrier for applicants who may lack strong writing skills.

*Writing a diversity statement may require the candidate to reveal personally identifying information.

The HFC HR Team understands that bias can often be part of human nature. The need for people to compartmentalize and categorize is often necessary to process information. An unfortunate consequence of bias is the tendency to form generalizations, stereotypes, attitudes, and associations based on personal beliefs, values, and individualized experiences.

To create an environment aligned with our ABIDE goals, and to alert the Human Resources team and all members of hiring committees to any unconscious and unintentional biases, HR will develop and require that all involved in the hiring process attend the following training sessions prior to selecting candidates and conducting interviews:

• Advancing Belonging, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity
• Pronouns Training
• The 10 Lenses
• Unconscious Bias and Hiring (Implicit/Explicit/Institutional)
• Interview Skills
• Equity in Our Communication
• Microaggressions (Microassaults / Microinsults / Microinvalidations and Microresistance)

Additionally, these sessions will be offered once per semester for all new hires, including faculty and staff. Each attendee who completes the training will receive an Inclusive Hiring Certificate which will qualify them to serve on hiring committees. Annual recertification will be required to serve on a hiring committee.

Once created, we will provide all faculty and staff members with a Diversity Hiring Toolkit (accessed from the NEOED ABIDE Experience Portal) as one of many resources to assist with understanding the HFC commitment to attracting, building, and retaining a diverse workforce. This toolkit will include a glossary of ABIDE related terms.*

*Courtesy of OpenSesame

In our ongoing effort to be more intentional about our sourcing initiatives, we will strive to meet the following:

• We will proactively recruit diverse candidates for posted positions using a variety of sourcing options.
• We will proactively recruit diverse candidates for faculty and staff pools to maintain a database of diverse candidates for potential consideration if a new position is created or when replacement positions become available. If those potential applicants have matching qualifications, we will contact them to apply.
• We will use job postings as advertising tools in a comprehensive marketing strategy.
• We will contact and network with BIPOC individuals and members of other underrepresented groups who currently hold similar positions in other organizations. They may be interested in making a career change or serve as a referral source.
• We will leverage social media tools in candidate sourcing, such as LinkedIn Recruiter Corporate Talent Solutions and other tools.

The HFC HR and Talent Acquisition Team understands that the interview process can be exciting but also intimidating, particularly to historically underrepresented groups. It can bring feelings of anxiety, imposter syndrome, stereotype threat, and stereotype activation.

All applicants selected for an interview will receive an interview best-practices email. This message, titled, “We’re excited to start the conversation!” will provide each candidate with the following:

• An overview of the hiring process.
• What they can expect during the initial interview.
• Basic presentation tips.
• Microsoft Teams “Cheat Sheet” to assist with navigating the virtual environment.
• Information about who we are (HFC culture and work environment, Mission/Vision/Values, specific roles and teams, student demographics, etc.) to assist them in framing their portion of the conversation.
• Links to the “About HFC” webpage, highlighting our Equal Educational and Employment Opportunities and Non-Discrimination Policy, and our Mission, Vision, and Values.
• Names and titles of those on the selection committee whom they will meet in their first interview, along with links to their position profiles on the HFC website if applicable.
• A guide to answering situational and behavioral interview questions using the START (Situation, Task, Action, Result, Timeline) method.
• What happens after the interview (next steps).
• A link to a survey that asks for feedback on our application and interview process.
• Information about how their Certified Search Advocate is committed to reducing bias and ensuring equity across searches.

We will create ABIDE-focused interview questions to allow candidates to discuss their philosophy and approach to diversity-related issues.

Guidelines for a “quality” ABIDE answer:

Actionable – Candidate discusses specific actions they took using “I” statements.

Clearly demonstrates the importance of acknowledging and validating colleagues’ or students’ feelings and concerns.

Acknowledges personal challenges or difficulties in a specific situation.

Articulates and explains a plan for follow-up.

Questions may include, but are not limited to:

“Describe the specific steps you have taken to mitigate biases in your workplace.”

“Tell us about a time when you had to overcome societal constructs regarding your identity to reach a goal.”

“Explain privileges that have afforded you the opportunity to apply for this role. How does that influence your perspective on the value of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts in the workplace?”

“Detail the specific things you want to do in the next year to further your own development and advance belonging, inclusion, diversity, and equity work.”

• We will strive to include a certified Diversity Search Advocate on all hiring and search committees.
• 100% of the HFC Human Resources Talent Acquisition Team Members are certified search advocates through the Oregon State University Search Advocate Program.
• 100% of the current HFC Human Resources Talent Acquisition Team Members are DEI certified.

Interested in serving on a Search or Hiring Committee?

Contact any member of the Talent Acquisition Team to start the process.

We will establish a defined and consistent plan to assess all candidates during the selection process, beginning with the creation of robust Assessment Rubrics based on the criteria in the job description.

Initial Screening: Launched HRIS applicant tracking system to scan for basic qualifications while removing personally identifying information.

Applicant Review: Assessing the résumé, cover letter, and diversity statement, being particularly mindful in terms of bias.

Applicant Pre-Interview: Virtual First Interviews or Pre-Screens will allow candidates to answer questions about themselves before moving to the full committee.

Candidate Interview: All questions align with interview rubric. With the exception of the initial introductions, hiring committee members understand that all interviewees should be asked a consistent set of questions.

Clarifying questions should be used only to assist the candidate in more fully explaining a response when they provide an initial answer that is vague, ambiguous, evasive, or does not fully address the primary question. It is important to note that these questions will remain free of judgment or potential bias.

Examples of open-ended clarifying questions may include:

“Explain the exact steps you took to arrive at that decision...”
“This is what I thought I heard… precisely which reports did you create?”
“I want to make certain I understand… in detail, precisely which examples relate to…?”

In this framework, other types of follow-up questions are not allowed, as they would change the question set for other candidates. Later interview rounds will afford an opportunity for broader-ranging questions for finalist candidates, if appropriate.

Additionally, we will:

• Incorporate behavioral questions to gain insight into the job candidates’ past experiences.
• Include interviewers with diverse skill sets and perspectives for team interviews.
• Ask candidates questions about their experiences related to advancing belonging, inclusion, diversity, and equity.
• Be consistent and use the same set of questions and evaluation criteria for each candidate.
• Record interviews for each candidate (unless the candidate specifically refuses to consent to recording, and verbalizes such refusal at the beginning of the interview). The applicant will be advised that refusal to permit the College to record their interview will not adversely affect the candidate or their consideration for the position.

Committee members will remain objective and neutral (though friendly) throughout the interview process and will refrain from suggestive indications during the interview. Suggestive is defined here as implying although not completely affirming a particular perspective.

Suggestive indications may be positive, negative, or leading.

What are Suggestive Indications?

• Positive suggestive indications could include, “Great answer”, “Looking forward to seeing you in the next round”, or excessive smiling and nodding in agreement or indicating thorough approval of a candidate or a response.
• Negative suggestive indications may include, “Hmmm, I disagree,” “Yeah, that’s really not what we are looking for,” making negative verbal intonations (“ugh,” a heavy sigh, etc.) or displaying a look of displeasure, boredom, or lack of interest or attention during the interview process.
• Leading suggestive indications could be telling a candidate the exact wording you are looking for in a response to an interview question, before or during the search process, or asking a question and following with something like “I’m sure you agree, right?”

Decision Making and Hiring

• Interviewer team members will avoid using measured language in the committee (e.g., referring to any candidates as “promising” or “disappointing”) until all candidates have been interviewed.
• Scoring will be based on qualifications directly related to the job description and not personal preferences.
• Debriefing will occur as an entire committee to compare notes for all candidates.
• Any perceived weaknesses will be discussed in terms of the possibility of creating an onboarding plan and the potential for additional support to ensure that new hires are given a full opportunity to be successful in their new roles.
• Rating scales will be consistent across similar searches.
• The Talent Acquisition Team will review committee notes and scoring rubrics to ensure consistency and a bias-free process.
• We will define the scoring scale intentionally. For example, if 5=Exceeds, we will identify the specific metrics that determine what constitutes a 5 ranking.

• We will seek candidate feedback through post-interview surveys to ask questions about their experience with the HFC hiring process. (HFC Candidate Experience Survey)
• We will solicit feedforward* from new employees during the onboarding stage specifically relating to their feelings of inclusion and belonging at HFC.
• We will strive to introduce new employees to all campus affinity groups with the expressed disclaimer that they are not required to become members, but that these groups can serve as resources for support and collegiality.
• We will review Talent Acquisition Search Data Reports detailing self-reported diversity/EEO data compiled and reviewed after searches.

*“Feedforward” means that we are seeking information, suggestions, and solutions to advance our process and move initiatives forward, as opposed to only receiving input about what might have been wrong.