Recruitment & Hiring

The success of any organization is closely tied to the quality of its employees. An employer’s recruitment methods affect the individuals it hires, their performance and the retention and engagement rates of employees. Investing in a strong recruitment process will ensure you hire the right person for the position and your organization.

The following section outlines the key steps and considerations in the recruitment and hiring process. It highlights processes that consider an equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) lens, as well as other best practices in finding and attracting quality candidates.

If you have additional questions or concerns, please consult your Engagement Partner.

PREPARE FOR RECRUITMENT

HIRING LEAD

Must:

  • Identify one (1) person as the Hiring Lead who will be responsible for leading the recruitment process. They will be joined by one or two more people when in-person interviews are being conducted.

Best Practice:

  • Select a Hiring Lead depending on the position to be filled. It may be a senior staff person, project lead, Executive Director, Board Chair, etc.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Must:

  • Build a job description that accurately states details about the position.
  • Use the Sample Job Description template to articulate the role and responsibilities, as well as essential and desirable criteria (skills, aptitudes, knowledge, and experience).

EDI Best Practices:

  • Use gender neutral pronouns. Avoid binary personal pronouns and instead use ‘they’ or ‘the candidate’.
  • Be aware of ‘feminine’ versus ‘masculine’ words.
  • Avoid extreme modifiers such as, ‘world class’ or ‘unparalleled’. These can discourage qualified candidates who may not self-identify with the terms or language used.
  • Focus on the necessary requirements rather than the ‘nice to haves’ to give latitude to candidates with transferable skills.
  • Communicate your commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. Doing so will help signal to potential candidates that their personal identity and experience will be welcomed and supported.

Consider:

  • Surveying existing employees, supervisors, and subject matter experts to determine critical knowledge, skills, and attributes that lead to successful performance in the role and organization.
  • Looking at other like job postings on the JCC Resource Catalogue, Charity Village or other job sites to identify language and/or qualities that are applicable to the job description you are creating.

Resources:

HIRING TIMELINE

Must:

  • Determine the hiring timeline using the steps outlined in this chapter. First, select an ideal start date. From that date, work backwards to determine a realistic timeline that provides adequate time for each step of the process to occur.

Best Practice:

  • Allow two (2) weeks per step to keep hiring timeline on track.

Consider:

  • Reviewing how long previous hiring searches [for the role being filled] have gone on for to support accurate development of your timeline.

POSTING THE JOB

Must:

Best Practice:

  • Within the Sample Job Posting, add details specific to your role and location to capture the attention of multiple candidates.

Consider:

  • Consulting your Engagement Partner for additional suggestions and support where required.
  • Reviewing where jobs have previously been posted [for the role being filled] to determine alternate avenues for reaching candidates.

Resources:

REVIEW APPLICATIONS

Must:

  • Review all applications. Eliminate applicants who do not meet the basic criteria or qualifications.  
  • Use the job description to shortlist appropriate applicants to approximately 5 or 6 applicants for telephone interviews.

Best Practice:

  • Upon initial review of cover letters and resumes, separate applicants into an A, B or C pool. If you have a strong A pool, carry only these applicants to the next step.

Consider:

  • Sending a courtesy email to all candidates indicating you have received their application and will contact them only if they are selected for an interview.

INTERVIEW PROCESS

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Must:

  • Build a consistent list of questions to be used for all interviews, including telephone and in-person interviews.
  • Use the Interview Guide to get started. Analyze the job description to build out additional role-specific questions.

Best Practice:

  • Consistently apply the same interview questions and structure to all candidates.

Consider:

  • Consulting your Engagement Partner for additional suggestions and support where required.
  • Reviewing questions previously used for hiring [for the role being filled] and revise as required.

Resources:

TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS

Must:

  • Use short telephone interviews to quickly screen out applicants who are inappropriate for the position.
  • Use the Telephone Interview Guide to get started.
  • Determine 3 or 4 candidates who will move forward to in-person interviews.
  • Make a courtesy call or send an email to unsuccessful candidates who participated in a telephone interview.

Best Practice:

  • Use the same set of questions for every candidate and try not to deviate. This commonality fosters consistency and accelerates your ability to discern differences between candidates.
  • When all telephone interviews are complete, decide which candidates to invite to an in-person interview. Make decisions based on each candidate’s resume and telephone screen.
  • Be very judicious when assessing the quality and relevance of answers to your questions. If you get a red flag, rule them out.

Consider:

  • Ensuring the candidates’ career goals align with those of the position. If they do not, question their suitability.
  • Consulting your Engagement Partner for additional suggestions and support where required (e.g., when hiring a senior position).

Resources:

IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS

Must:

  • Determine who will conduct the in-person interviews. Provide the list of interview questions to interviewer(s).
  • Conduct the first round of in-person interviews.
  • Conduct the second round of in-person interviews, as required.
  • Notify unsuccessful candidates. 
  • Make a courtesy call or send an email to all candidates who participated in an in-person interview.

Best Practice:

  • Use the Interview Guide to get started.
  • Ask a variety of questions to determine whether they have the skill and experience to do the job
  • Perform in-person interviews with a minimum of two (2) people from the organization present.
  • Make notes during the interview for reference when assessing and making final decisions.

Consider:

  • Ensuring at least one of the people supporting in-person interviews is someone who the candidate will be working with. This will support evaluation of professional and organizational fit.

NEW HIRE

REFERENCE CHECKS

Must:

  • Request at least three (3) references for the top 1 or 2 candidates.
  • Complete reference checks before even an indication of an offer is made (including verbal offers).
  • Use the Reference Check Form to ensure consistency. Adapt the questions as required.
  • Complete a criminal records clearance, as required for the position.

Best Practice:

  • Reach out to the references provided via email and set a time to connect. This helps avoid multiple unanswered phone calls.

Consider:

  • Reviewing the candidates’ social media presence.

Resources:

MAKE AN OFFER

Must:

  • Obtain any necessary approval for the hire.
  • Determine a proposed start date, salary or hourly wage.
  • Call and make a verbal offer to the preferred candidate.
  • If a criminal records clearance is required for the role, inform the preferred candidate that the offer is pending a successful criminal records clearance.
  • Be prepared to receive a counter-offer. In some cases, your preferred candidate may want to negotiate their start date, salary and/or other entitlements such as paid vacation, etc.
  • Follow up the phone call with a Sample Employee Agreement, signed by an authorized signatory, via email.

PREPARE AN EMPLOYEE AGREEMENT

Must:

  • Draft an employee agreement outlining the start date, salary, benefits, etc. Use the Sample Employee Agreement to get started.
  • If your MSA is under Facility Engagement Service Company (FESC) , consult your Engagement Partner before preparing the employee agreement.

Best Practice:

  • An employee agreement must set out the rights, responsibilities and obligations of the organization and the employee during the period of employment. The employee agreement will include:
    • Position information: job title; department; who they will report to; etc.
    • Term of Employment: on-going or fixed term
    • Hours of Work: hours of work and description of any flexible working options, such as working remotely; working evenings and/or weekends; etc.
    • Compensation and Benefits: salary/hourly rate; benefits plan eligibility, if applicable; any other additional benefits
    • Paid Time Off: include information about vacation and sick time entitlements
    • Confidentiality Agreement: reference to employee’s legal obligation to abide by the Confidentiality Agreement
    • Termination Terms and Conditions: amount of written notice required; employer’s right to terminate for cause; etc.
  • Include the job description as an appendix to the employee agreement.
  • Give the employee a deadline to review and sign the offer (generally 3 to 5 business days). 

Consider:

Resources:

CRIMINAL RECORDS CLEARANCE

Must:

  • If your organization requires a criminal records clearance as a condition of employment, a policy must exist to articulate the organization’s position and requirements.

Best Practice:

  • Criminal records clearance is required if an employee will work directly with vulnerable populations. They are also important if the employee will have financial responsibilities within the organization.

EDI Best Practices:

  • To support diversity and inclusion, some policies include statements that describe the organization’s acknowledgement that there can be stigma surrounding people’s criminal history. To avoid perpetuating shame, the organization may not consider crimes around drug offences, sex work, property offences, or poverty-related offences as relevant in determining a candidate’s suitability for a role.

Consider:

  • The policy must describe relevance of a past criminal record to a candidate’s eligibility for employment, or an employee’s eligibility for continued employment. The policy could also articulate that a criminal records clearance will be reviewed based upon the following factors:
    • The nature and gravity of the offense(s) for which the candidate or employee was convicted/charged (e.g., convictions for hate crimes or other power-based crimes)
    • The time that has passed since the conviction and/or completion of the sentence and/or any other evidence of rehabilitation since the criminal conviction
    • The nature and responsibilities of the job held or sought and its relation to the prior criminal activity
  • Criminal records clearances are required if an employee is to work directly with vulnerable populations. They can be important if the employee will have financial responsibilities within the organization.