Employee recruitment time could be cut in half under new process

March 8, 2022 (Volume 45, Number 13)
Article by Michele Coffill

woman in mask standing in front of room and pointing to wall that has white papers taped to it with blue tape, blue tape also runs vertically down the wall, separating papers into sections

President Mantella stands with microphone to address people seated at tables around her

man standing pointing at one of two white boards, a wall full of papers taped to it is behind him

behind a large whiteboard filled with colorful post it notes, a woman stands at a podium.

The time needed to hire a new faculty or staff member could drop by half, following recommendations that came from a continuous improvement event focused on university recruitment and talent acquisition.

Victor Klein, from Klein Consulting, led Human Resources staff and others involved in recruitment through a week's worth of meetings, "Transforming the Employee Recruitment Process," that culminated March 4 in an event that revealed results.

Megan Bravo, HR business partner and talent acquisition advisor, said candidates are waiting an average of nine-14 weeks from time of application to time of offer. Shifting some hiring processes to Human Resources will reduce that time period by 50 percent, she said.

"We have eliminated redundancies and brought a lot of the work into HR," Bravo said. "This will bring the time for a candidate who is waiting to hear about a position down to five to seven weeks."

Bravo said much of the work that now lies with search committees will be done by a search chair, who could collaborate with an appointing officer or dean. Listing salary ranges in job postings is also an effective way to reduce the number of applicants for one position, she said.

Details of the new recruitment process will be posted on the Human Resources website. Bravo said the roll-out will occur around April 4.

President Philomena V. Mantella and others from the senior leadership team attended the event. Mantella said the strategic way the team viewed and changed recruitment reminded her of the university's Reach Higher 2025 plan.

"This team took a look at itself. You got out of your shoes and put yourself in the shoes of other people," Mantella said. "Reach Higher 2025 can only be achieved if we are the change that we are asking of our students."