Job posting

Promote equal opportunity, eliminate barriers in the application process, and provide realistic job previews for all potential applicants. 

Best practices

• Use the Diversity Resource List to find professional associations that may post your jobs.  
• Use social media, professional associations, and Business Resource Groups to build a recruiting network and candidate pipeline. 
• Use WorkSource employer services and featured employer events. 
• Use testimonial videos linked to job postings and agency websites. 
• Provide applicants maps to libraries and other free wi-fi locations. 
• Promote your telework positions to open statewide applicant pools. 
• Critically review your website to evaluate if recruiting/hiring is prioritized and accessible. Move "careers" link to the top of page. 
• Use unbiased language in job postings. 

Challenges

• Electronic applications and virtual hiring events can increase barriers for some, especially if they are not made accessible. This in turn impacts applicant pools by decreasing the number of applicants who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision. This can also create barriers for people without internet access. 
• Job posting language and requirements may create barriers to diverse job seekers. 

Resources

• Removing these gendered keywords gets you more applicants
• 10 Diversity & Inclusion Statistics that will change how you do business
• Ted: Regina Hartley – Why the best hire might not have the perfect resume

Sourcing is the proactive practice of identifying qualified candidates who may not be actively searching for a job or may not have come across your job postings. The ultimate goal is to engage these individuals and encourage them to apply. While sourcing is not yet a common practice in the public sector, it should be embraced as a strategic approach to finding candidates for hard-to-fill positions and increasing diversity within the applicant pool. By honing your sourcing skills, you can enhance your candidate pipeline, improve the overall candidate experience, and significantly shorten the recruitment cycle.

Best practices

• Always start by searching your applicant tracking system for qualified candidates who were not hired. These candidates do not have to be convinced, as they have already shown interest in your organization by applying previously.
• Utilize professional networking sites like LinkedIn to identify and connect with potential candidates who possess the skills and experience you need.
• Attend industry conferences and job fairs to network with potential candidates and promote your agency’s opportunities in person.
• Engage with local colleges and universities to tap into fresh talent, including internship programs and job boards specifically for students, recent graduates, and alumni.
• Leverage social media platforms to share job postings and engage with communities that reflect the diversity you aim to attract.
• Learn Boolean search skills to find candidates online.
• Build relationships with professional associations that represent underrepresented groups in your industry.
• Create and maintain a referral program that includes new hire referrals of qualified candidates from their networks.
• Utilize online forums and discussion groups relevant to your field to share job opportunities and connect with passive candidates.
• Implement a candidate relationship management system to keep track of potential candidates and nurture those relationships over time.
• Regularly analyze your sourcing strategies and outcomes to identify which methods are most effective for attracting the talent you need.

Challenges

• Sourcing candidates effectively can require significant time and effort, especially when building relationships with passive candidates.
• Sourcing does require talking to candidates. Email, online messaging, and text are okay for warm up, but to be taken seriously, a conversation must be had.
• Many candidates may be hesitant to engage if they are not actively looking for new roles, making outreach efforts more challenging.
• Tracking and managing multiple sourcing channels can become complex, leading to potential oversights, or missed opportunities.
• Limited resources or budget constraints in the public sector may hinder sourcing initiatives, making it difficult to implement comprehensive strategies.
• Ensuring that sourcing efforts align with diversity and inclusion goals can be challenging without clear metrics and accountability.

Resources

• WorkSource – No fees to post jobs or search for talent.
• The Diversity Resource List – Professional organizations and associations that represent underrepresented groups in various industries.
• LinkedIn – Free and premium accounts offer access to relevant professional groups and platform events that allow free messaging.
• Society for Human Resource Management – Articles and best practices on recruitment and sourcing strategies.
• Local Community College and University Career Services – Collaborate with their resources for sourcing new graduates and alumni.

Applicant screening

Eliminate barriers that reduce qualified diverse applicants moving through the applicant screening and selection process.

Best practices

• Evaluate how diverse/marginalized groups move through the application process – find gaps and address those barriers. 
• Make sure the recruiting teams and hiring managers are using competencies to balance experience and education. Don’t exclude anyone that can meet the competencies. Decide if the education requirement is necessary. Use experience for education substitution wherever possible. 
• Competencies are job related behaviors, matching skills with evidence of competencies in the applications. 
• Create intern programs or in-training options for less experienced applicants.
• Promote and support informational interviews. 
• Create “virtual interview rooms” and offer training and prep to applicants for virtual interviews. 
• Consider and try to reduce or mitigate all forms of bias: employment gaps, veteran’s status, name, education, address, etc. equivalencies

Challenges

• Lack of knowledge surrounding unconscious bias and its effect on the screening and selection process. 
• Hiring panels lacking diversity. 
• Gaining larger, more diverse applicant pools that meet minimum requirements. 

Resources

• Blind Spots: Overcome Stereotypes (3 mins)
• Blind Spot Challenge (2 mins)
• Hiring Bias (2 mins)
• Unconscious Bias in Recruiting (5 mins)
• 13 Common Hiring Biases to Watch Out For
• 11 Diversity & Inclusion Statistics that will change How You Do Business
• 10 Hiring Keys for a More Inclusive IT Team

Interviewing

Eliminate barriers that reduce qualified diverse applicants moving through the applicant interviewing process.

Best practices

• Provide the questions in advance - the same amount of time for every interviewee.
• Build in a cushion of between interviews to assure there is equity for candidates in case there are tech difficulties.
• Conduct a "tech-check" with candidates at least one day prior to their interview. 
• Ensure everyone gets equal time to answer questions. 
• Create best practices and require training for panelists around implicit bias. 
• Train managers on the importance of diverse panels. 
• Consider using DES's Mitigating Implicit Bias in the Hiring Process course.
• Try other methods (besides testing and interviewing) to evaluate. Use projects, skills evaluation, working problems or scenario questions, and provide candidates copies in advance so they can prepare. 

Challenges

• Virtual meeting platforms can cause tech disruptions during the interview, making it hard for applicants to concentrate on answers/responses. If technical issues arise, consider rescheduling the interview with the candidate. 
• Should we offer alternatives to remote interviewing, or will there be issues if the process is not the same for everyone? 
• Getting the panel trained/on the same page with competency/behavior-based interview goals. 
• Selecting a diverse panel. 

Resources

• How to overcome unconscious bias when interviewing & hiring (4 mins)
• 4 steps for busting unconscious bias (4 mins)
• Snap-Judgement Science
• 10 ways to conduct the best Remote Interviews
• Four Best Practices for Remote Interviews
• Best Practices for Conducting Remote Interviews
• 10 Behavior-based Interview Question & Answer examples with the STAR method – Mock Questions (12 mins)

Reference checking

Obtain quality reference checks that verify the candidate possesses those competencies that are established as needed in the competency/behavior-based interview process.

Best practices

• Follow the same guidelines as a competency/behavior-based interview to verify the competencies identified in the interview. This means asking about examples of real accomplishments, challenges and behaviors, rather than asking hypothetical questions. "How did they ..." instead of, "How do you think they would ..."
• Rely on professional instead of personal references. 
• Consider asking references if there is someone else you should contact for a professional reference. 

Challenges

• Knowing the difference between a reference check and a job verification. A job verification confirms employment, while a reference check often includes additional information such as achievements, strengths, performance, and behavior in the previous job. 

Resources

• Reference Check Checkup
• Behavior-based Reference Checks

Onboarding

Goals:

• Hiring managers are equipped with a variety of best practices so new hires/promotions, particularly in remote locations, feel connected, engaged, and welcome over the first year of employment.
• Hiring managers are equipped with a variety of best practices to support an inclusive work environment where new employees/promotions can bring the best version of themselves to the job and contribute productively as soon as possible to the mission.

Best practices

• Connect new employees to the Statewide Business Resource Groups during New Employee Orientation.
• Create an accessible onboarding resource webpage for managers and new employees.
• Use a welcome interview to set the groundwork for ongoing conversations.
• Use a new employee orientation buddy program where new employees are paired with a current employee to assist with those day-to-day questions, tasks, and to assist with orienting them to the agency culture.
• Take pulse surveys once a week for 12 weeks to see how things are going and to gather suggestions for improvement.
• Conduct "Stay interviews" at the 30-day point and again at 6 months.
• Base initial professional development conversations in strengths-based competency development (the same competencies used in the interview) and continue development and performance metrics for retention.
• Ensure employees aren’t separated for lack of skills/knowledge which the agency should be providing through training.

Challenges

• Challenges to provide social connection remotely or even in-person, which leads to isolation issues
• Technology issues (virtual meeting etiquette, meeting fatigue, bandwidth). 

Resources

• Qualtrics onboarding guide
• 12 Employee Onboarding Ideas
• Is the Entry Interview the new Exit Interview?
• Building a buddy system for remote onboarding
• 5 ways to welcome remote new hires
• Virtual Watercooler Activities for your Remote Employees
• 6 Stay Interview questions that top employers ask

Employee development

Equip managers with a variety of training, best practices, and resources to prioritize retention through development strategies.

Best practices

• Make sure connection happens. 
• Coaching and career development. 
• Operationalize relationship building at work. 
• Practice coaching one-on-one, in remote environments it is more difficult to connect.
• Have discussions rather than asking questions. For example: What are three developmental areas you are interested in? What steps have you taken? Use SMART goals to coach with encouragement. Identify what goals they want, not just what they need.
• Create conversations around career pathways and find ways to support, even if that means the current position is a steppingstone to something else. Few employees will stay long-term. If we want a growth mindset in our employees, we must support a growth mindset environment and expectations.

Challenges

• Managers fail to realize the importance of career development as a primary engagement factor.
• Managers don’t know how to "coach" someone to development goals. 
• Goals don’t end up being set by the employee, the manager tells them what they need to do. This leads to no discovery and no buy-in.

Resources

• Working Retention into Your Employee Lifecycle Management Strategy
• Employee Lifecycle Management – 6 tips on things you should be doing
• Supporting Remote Team Members – Skillsoft (3 mins)
• Leader versus Manager – Simon Sinek (3 mins)
• This is what makes employees happy at work (4 mins)
• 3 steps to stop remote work burnout (4 mins)
• How to Keep Your Remote Employees Engaged at Work
• Are you their Coach, Mentor, Counselor or Consultant (7 mins)
• The Three Core Coaching Skills(3 mins)
• Standing up for Diversity: Why Coaching Skills Matter
• How to Use Coaching to Support Diversity and Inclusion
• What is a STAY Interview? 13 Questions to ask