小蓝视频

Jennifer Scott doesn鈥檛 expect people to be authorities on inclusive and equitable hiring when they leave听the inclusive hiring听training sessions.听听

That鈥檚 why Scott, 小蓝视频鈥檚 director of recruiting, and her colleagues in the Office of Human Resources have developed a detailed toolkit and checklist to shepherd managers through an inclusive hiring process.听听

鈥淲e know when they leave the training, they鈥檙e not going to be full experts on the material,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淲e have supported them with references and resources to follow it up. When we look at inclusive excellence, it鈥檚 about fairness and equal access, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e trying to achieve.鈥澨�

Created in partnership with the听HR,听talent听strategies team, the听Inclusive Hiring听Toolkit听includes听six brief听modules听which听focus on the core steps of the hiring process. From听creating an inclusive job description,听equitable听applicant听review听and听interviewing,听and inclusive onboarding听The modules offer checklists and templates for measuring progress along the search. Any hiring manager on campus can request the training听and has access to the Toolkit. The presentation draws from and aligns with the 小蓝视频 Plan for Inclusive Excellence.听听

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely important for communities to see themselves represented on campus, and we can鈥檛 do that with processes that aren鈥檛 equitable,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 also important that we have diversity within the leadership teams on campus, and that鈥檚 an iceberg we鈥檝e trying to crack at.鈥澨�

Amanda Taylor, assistant vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion added, 鈥淚nclusive hiring is not just about getting people in the door. It鈥檚 ensuring that our environment and the culture and policies at 小蓝视频 really allow all employees to thrive.鈥澨�

One of the components of the training offers tips on how to expand a pool of candidates. Scott said sometimes听companies post job requirements that don't fully line up with the job duties, which can unfairly limit the pool of qualified applicants.听A听manager begins with a limited pool and a lack of diverse candidates. A human resources department posts open positions to a diverse section of job boards, and the training suggests niche-diversity focused听job boards that may help with recruitment.听听

Not all job candidates reach out to 小蓝视频.听Elizabeth Adams, Ready Hire coordinator for Human Resources, said听the university听is also taking an active role in building partnerships with organizations听and being intentionally accessible to all qualified candidates.听

The HR Office has developed a relationship听and shared openings听with the DC Department of Disability Services听Business Relations Unit, which works with employers by offering a variety of resources including technical assistance relating to reasonable听accommodations听and accessibility for the employee.听

The team also collaborates with Community Family Life Services, which works with women who are experiencing homelessness and domestic violence survivors, and The Arc, which works with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.听听

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to be听in touch with them so they can share our opportunities and then, once we identify somebody, they鈥檒l actually help us get any accommodations we may need,鈥� Adams said.听听

Once you've built a more diverse initial pool of candidates, there is still听work听to do to ensure fairness throughout the full hiring process, Taylor said.听The training focuses on the evaluation and assessment of candidates鈥攕pots where unconscious bias and sometimes explicit bias take place.听听听

Scott said managers can mitigate听any听unfairness听in the process by tracking the diversity of the pool during the process and by using the checklists in the toolkit. Scott said HR partners called diversity advocates or inclusion partners鈥攕he joked they haven鈥檛 settled on a name yet鈥攁re available to听sit on search committees to help ensure an equitable and inclusive search.听听

The HR team has听also designed an inclusive hiring briefing to help听campus hiring committees听approach the process in a more comprehensive way. Prior to summer 2020, she received a briefing request about once per quarter. Once the conversation around the racial justice movement picked up, Scott said the requests for briefings also grew. She is now conducting briefings about once per week.听听

鈥淚 really want committees to come out of our trainings with the resources and understanding the fundamentals of how to run an equitable search process,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淚 could look at data and say that we've hired more diverse people over the past few years, but we're constantly cycling in new managers. So, if I can have full departments really adhere to and know and execute the best practices and fundamentals, then that to me will be success.鈥澨�