ABIDE:
Advancing Belonging, Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity

The HFC Human Resources department is committed to intentionally creating a culture where all team members feel that they belong and see themselves as valued contributors to our future growth.

This commitment includes, but is not limited to, seeking professionals of diverse backgrounds, experiences, abilities, talents, and perspectives to join our community.

The HFC Human Resources department also recognizes that advancing belonging, inclusion, diversity, and equity (ABIDE) beyond the acronym reflects how each word speaks to purposeful and distinct values.

In conversations within our department and with hiring managers, selection committees, faculty and staff, candidates, and the community, we believe that it is important to purposefully discuss how the College defines and advances belonging, inclusion, diversity, and equity to promote thoughtful dialogue.

The HFC Talent Acquisition Team, a team within the HR department acknowledges that historically, some marginalized populations have been underrepresented in faculty, administrative, and staff positions across the field of higher education. Our primary goal is to continue eliminating systemic barriers by addressing the root causes of inequities in recruiting and talent acquisition.

To address this general societal injustice, we aim to create a workplace that, to the extent possible, is broadly representative of our student population and community. Studies show that students and employees perform better when they feel connected to their college. Significant contributors to student success include representation and a connection with instructors and those who serve students. In meeting our primary goal, we will expand our job-sourcing entities to reach a broad, diverse cross-section of qualified candidates.

The HFC Talent Acquisition Team will continue and refine selection practices to reduce barriers to a diverse workforce, enhance each candidate’s inclusive and equitable experience, and clearly communicate through practices and policies that all who apply for positions with HFC are evaluated on their qualifications and potential for contributing to the overall success of our students.

The initial phase of the ABIDE Talent Management Strategy addresses five main areas mostly involving diversity and equity.

We asked ourselves:

• Where are we sourcing? Are we reaching the types of candidates we want to attract?
• How are we advertising? Are we making our postings inclusive or exclusionary?
• Who is making the hiring decisions? Are we involving a cross-section of diverse voices on our search committees?
• How well is new talent welcomed to the campus? Have we optimized our orientation and onboarding processes to the extent possible?

The secondary phase of the ABIDE Talent Management Strategy addresses the areas of inclusion and belonging.

We asked ourselves:

• Do people feel connected? Are people engaged? Are too many people leaving HFC?
• Do we really value the experience, opinions, and ideas of others? Are we too comfortable with the status quo and too resistant to change?
• Do we have a plan for team members to map a long-term career here where they can grow, advance, and eventually retire?

Included in the ABIDE Talent Management Strategy are four major sections, with the bulk of the initiatives in section four. The four major sections include:

1. ABIDE Recruiting Statement (which addresses Social Justice)
2. Defining our ABIDE Commitments (what do we mean by ABIDE, how do we define our intentions?)
3. HFC Human Resources ABIDE Statements of Practice (vision moving from our current to ideal future state)

4. HFC Human Resources ongoing and upcoming ABIDE Initiatives:

   • Position Posting Initiatives
   • Education Initiatives (training and development)
   • Sourcing Initiatives (including “Grow Our Own”)
   • ABIDE Interview Question Initiatives
   • Search Committee Initiatives
   • Evaluation Initiatives
   • Post-Interview Initiatives

We asked ourselves:

• How will we measure success?
• What are the best practices of other successful organizations, not limited to just higher education?
• What is reasonable and feasible, but also, where are the stretch goals that will move us forward?
• Understanding that we can’t please everyone, have we included enough voices to allow for balanced and constructive input?
• What resources do we need for implementation?

Members of the HFC HR Talent Acquisition Team commit to the following:

1. We will build and support an environment where all voices are valued and where diverse, inclusive, equitable, and welcoming ABIDE practices are embedded in the culture of how we operate.

2. We will sustain and improve upon a recruiting environment where differences are invited, encouraged, celebrated, and valued. We believe ABIDE benefits and enriches all, including the development of our students, staff, faculty, and our global community.

3. We will educate others and promote our belief that diversity is multi-dimensional, both identity and multivariate, encompassing not just race and ethnicity, but gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, experience, age, ability, class, perspective, and other differences.

4. We will embrace individual differences and foster equity by continuing to work toward eliminating barriers in any hiring process that may prevent the full participation of all who are interested in working with HFC to assist in achieving our mission, vision, and values.

5. We will continue to attract and retain a diverse faculty and staff that is broadly representative of our student population, the communities we serve, our state, and our increasingly diverse nation to the extent possible.

6. We will strive to ensure transparency in our recruitment and hiring practices to the extent ethically and legally possible.

*The HFC ABIDE Recruiting Strategy is intended to be a single component of an overall HFC DEIB Strategic Plan.