Hiring for Organizational Sucess - Part II
Develop and Implement an Effective Hiring Process for Your Nonprofit

 Jenetta Hyatt

 

by Jennetta Hyatt
TSNE Human Resources Manager for
   Fiscal Sponsorship and Recruitment

Part I of Hiring for Organizational Success detailed best practices for developing an effective hiring plan. Part II provides tried and true ideas for creating a process that results in talented, satisfied non-profit employees.

Know the Four Major Components

An effective hiring process ensures that all activities in the process comply with employment laws. It has four major components:

  1. Recruitment
  2. Screening
  3. Interviewing
  4. Selecting

Recruit Talented Candidates

When recruiting, spread the word about your nonprofit’s open position(s) by casting as wide a net as possible. The most fruitful recruitment efforts begin with a job announcement or advertisement that, in addition to providing job qualifications and expectations, includes information about your organization and the department or team with the job vacancy.

The following recruitment activities can help you attract a diverse pool of applicants:

  • Associations
  • Career centers
  • Non-profit, capacity building and nongovernmental organizations
  • Past applicants (in some cases it is possible to consider a past applicant)
  • Other organizations that will accept your job announcement and possibly provide you with a referral.

Update your standard lists periodically. If your job announcements are sent to other nonprofits, check with the organization, if possible, regarding their preferred receipt method. Remember, some organizations may still prefer receiving your announcement via fax or mail, as opposed to email.

Tip: Keep track of those sources that you find useful. Avoid wasted effort – and money – on sources that don't produce quality applicants.

Screen Your Applicant Pool Well

By casting a wide net, you increase your chances of receiving a host of resumes. Determine beforehand, the criteria you will use to screen applicants in or out of the hiring process. Some find it helpful to develop a matrix that compares the applicant selection criteria against all resumes and applications received and helps rate them fairly by the same criteria.

Tip: Applicant selection criteria should be documented in the event inquiry regarding your hiring process from a regulatory agency such as MCAD (Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination).

Interview Fairly and Thoroughly

The exchange of information during an interview allows both the candidate and the organization to evaluate each other and determine whether there is a match between the two. Several interview formats can be used, such as the telephone interview, behavioral interview or case interview. The interview format selected by your nonprofit should afford every applicant fair and equitable treatment while obtaining facts and pertinent employment information from candidates that will allow you to make an informed hiring decision. Depending on the situation, you may want to conduct more than one interview, and if so, the purpose of each interview should be clearly differentiated.

For prescreening purposes, a telephone interview may be helpful, but not suggested to take the place of a face-to-face interview.

A behavioral interview can follow the telephone interview. Behavioral interviews are based on the belief that, in similar situations, past behavior is a predictor of future behavior. Interview questions are then designed so that the candidate provides details on how past situations were handled or resolved.

Unlike the behavioral interview, a case interview introduces the applicant to an actual or perceived organizational dilemma that she or he may face if in the open position. It usually requires the applicant to analyze a situation, address the actual work involved and problem solve.

A panel or group of interviewers can be valuable in an interview to alleviate bias. As a suggestion, when possible, more than one person should be involved in interviews. We all have a tendency to be biased, and the impact of a bias during the interview process can be disastrous to the applicant and the nonprofit. Blatant bias is illegal.

Tip: Craft open-ended interview questions to elicit the maximum amount of useful information from candidates. Avoid questions like, Can you make a decisions? Instead ask, Can you describe a time in which you had to make a difficult decision? What was the outcome? Would you have done anything differently?

The Interviewers’ Role

The role of an interviewer in a hiring process is crucial and should not be underestimated. The interviewer helps to:

  • Set the tone of the interview
  • Develop questions for candidates in order to obtain facts
  • Ensure that all candidates are treated equally and fairly

The interviewer and others that participate in interviews should:

  • Possess good interpersonal skills, be good listeners and be able to build relationship with candidates
  • Help set the tone for the interview, making candidates feel welcome and comfortable
  • Possess some knowledge of all employment laws that are relative to a hiring process to eliminate inappropriate or illegal questions and comments directed at candidates
  • Avoid all biases and judge candidates solely on job-related criteria
  • Be sure not to make promises or convey false information to a candidate
  • Be familiar with the requirements of position in order to appropriately assess candidates
  • Help keep the interview on track
  • Evaluate candidates' responses

Tip: During the interview, allow the candidate to do most of the talking. It may be difficult to get the information you need if you are doing most of the speaking.

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