Our reimagined approach is based on four fundamental phases of a search process.
1. Strategic alignment In the early stages of the search, be mindful of the composition of your search committee. It is vitally important that members of underrepresented groups at your institution be invited to the table. Be aware that, perhaps especially in organizations with good intentions, these individuals may receive multiple invitations to participate in such processes and may therefore shoulder an inequitable administrative burden. It is worth considering if there are ways your institution can help to mitigate this burden through course reductions in recognition of service or by reconsidering over the longer term the weight such forms of service carry in evaluation around tenure and promotion.
Our experience tells us that committees are more successful when they undertake diversity, equity, and inclusion training as a group and take more time at the front end of a search process to thoughtfully consider how DEI principles will frame and inform their approach. This is an area where a search firm, if you have chosen to engage one, should add real value by providing the resources, tools, and training required or by supporting the work of your internal DEI experts. The end result of this alignment process should be more than simply slotting an equity statement into your job advertisement and, depending on your institutional culture, could go as far as opting for a targeted or restricted hire. In particular, it should be clearly understood at the outset of the search how relevant policies around employment equity will impact decision-making, how and when candidates may be asked to self-identify, and how that information will be considered in committee decision-making.
We have also found that it is critical that committees take time up front to examine the line drawn between “need to haves” and “nice to haves” in the candidate profile. Allow for a full discussion around whether selection criteria or listed qualifications are creating unnecessary barriers and look for ways to emphasize candidate potential or transferability of skills over experience.
2. Candidate attraction Are your promotional efforts reaching a broad candidate pool? Review available media platforms to determine their reach and target audiences and look for alternatives such as networking groups, conferences, and associations with a broader audience, if necessary. If using a search firm, ask how they are making intentional targeted efforts to reach a diverse pool and what steps they are taking to thoughtfully engage diverse candidates in conversation.
Identify and reach out to individuals or leaders who have connections with key communities, or potential candidates who might not apply based on a passive advertisement but would add to the diversity of your institution’s faculty or leadership team. Keep in mind that many of these candidates may be risk averse based on negative previous experiences with these processes. Some may have different approaches to decision-making that have been shaped as much by cultural and gender differences as by previous experience and institutional biases. It may take several conversations to address questions and ensure candidates feel authentically engaged in the process. When an active recruitment process may require additional resources, external support such as search firms can be engaged to complement the efforts of an institution’s internal team.
3. Assessment and decision-making Clients who have had success in inclusive hiring have been deliberate and intentional at the assessment and decision-making phase. They have examined their policies, tools, and procedures to identify areas where bias might have an impact on intentionality and inclusion. When assessing candidates, they are thoughtful, question their actions or presumptions, and are willing to look beyond an applicant’s CV for context.
In our experience, it can be valuable to invite candidates themselves to specifically comment within their application packages on their fit with the qualifications or criteria in order to highlight the value of non-traditional career paths and address any gaps in experience. We have also seen positive impacts made by tailoring an interview approach to accommodate candidates of all backgrounds and abilities and account for gender and culturally-based differences in approach and style.
Be aware that there are no truly neutral merit-based decisions, and everyone involved in this stage of the process will exercise some form of bias, conscious or not. For this reason, it is important to ensure the entire committee stays focused on the “must have” selection criteria established at the outset of the search and engages in thoughtful and intentional discussion, being careful not to be swayed by the most credentialed or loudest voice in the room or the most charismatic interview candidate.
