Support Staff Recruitment & Selection Guide

Recruitment

1. The need to fill a position is determined upon resignation, leave of absence/illness, temporary (not casual) assistance or a new position. The Area Head/Administrative Director must advise/seek approval from the Central Appointments Committee (CAC) to fill the position in accordance with CAC policy.
2. The Area Head/Administrative Director ensures there is a current and up-to-date Job Description Questionnaire (JDQ) on file in Human Resources (HR). If not, complete a JDQ and forward to HR for evaluation before taking any further steps. (JDQs are not required for IUOE or Food Services positions.) Please refer to the following web-site for guidance and directions in completing the on-line JDQ form: http://www.brandonu.ca/jobeval/
3. Posting: All vacancies (other than casuals) must be posted on Campus for a minimum of five working days and must appear on Campus prior to appearing in any external publications. If there is to be any pre-employment testing, it must indicate so on the posting. Complete a Request for Vacancy Posting (RVP): http://www.brandonu.ca/hr/forms/ and circulate for signatures in the order they appear on the form. When the duly signed RVP form has been returned to HR, HR will prepare the job posting, circulate it on campus, post the position to the University web-site and to the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada web-site, along with a few other employment agencies within Brandon. If you are not advertising externally, proceed to instruction # 6.
4. To advertise externally, prepare the external ad using the BU external ad template: http://www.brandonu.ca/hr/forms/ and send it electronically to the Director of HR, who in turn will send it to the Vice-President (A & R) for approval before the hiring area submits it to the external publication.
5. Once the external ad has been approved, prepare a Purchase Requisition form: http://www2.brandonu.ca/purchasing/forms_page.html attach a hard copy of the ad and send it to the Purchasing Office for processing. The closing date of the external ad must be the same as the closing date of the internal ad that appears on Campus.
6. Applicants for support staff positions apply to the Director, Human Resources and applications are received in HR. After the closing date, HR prepares a list of all applicants, identifies internal applicants and provides the file to the Area Head/Administrative Director. This is the original file and contains confidential information. It must be returned to HR following the selection process. When an internal candidate is short-listed, HR will advise the applicant to inform their supervisor that they have applied for the position.

Selection

1. The Area Head/Administrative Director determines the composition of the Selection Committee. It should consist of the Area Head/Administrative Director and at least two other individuals who will work along with the successful candidate and/or who work closely with the area. It should not normally include the individual leaving the position. A member of the HR staff (normally the HR Officer) may be available as a Selection Committee member if HR or the Area Head/Administrative Director wishes.
2. The Area Head/Administrative Director determines whether to have the Selection Committee members review all the applicants, or whether to make the short-list him/herself. The applications must be kept confidential to the Selection Committee.
3. Internal applicants are to be given consideration for interviews based upon the provisions of their respective collective agreement.
4. The Area Head/Administrative Director contacts the candidates to schedule the interviews and advise them of the interview time, location and of any testing that has been scheduled. The candidate should also be advised to bring copies of credentials to the interview. Do not ask candidates to report directly to the interview location. It is important that you provide them with a person to report to and a suitable seated waiting area. If you wish to use the HR general office as a waiting area, this can be coordinated by contacting HR. Pre-employment testing can be conducted through HR too, if you require assistance. If testing is to be done by HR, the Area Head/Administrative Director must consult with HR prior to scheduling the interviews to ensure that HR is available to conduct the testing.
   Support Staff Recruitment and Selection Guidelines
   Remember, in many cases, this will be an individual’s first contact with the University, and a pleasant and professional experience is very important.
5. The Selection Committee will develop a set of standard behaviour-based questions that will be asked of all of the candidates. These questions will be sent to HR in advance of any interviews. HR may provide assistance in the development of these questions and ensure all of the questions are non-discriminatory and relevant HR will approve and/or change the questions following consultation with the Area Head/Administrative Director.
6. Once the interviews have been completed, the Area Head/Selection Committee will determine who the successful candidate will be, taking into consideration the qualifications required for the job as advertised, the experience, education and suitability of the individual, also keeping in mind the requirements of the respective collective agreement as it relates to internal candidates.
7. Once the successful candidate has been identified, the Area Head/Administrative Director will conduct the reference checks. If the Area Head and/or Selection Committee wish to contact individuals other than those provided as references, you must seek written authorization from the candidate prior to making any such contacts. The form is available on the HR website: http://www.brandonu.ca/hr/forms/
8. Following the reference checks, the Area Head/Administrative Director will make a verbal offer of employment to the successful individual. When the individual verbally accepts the offer, complete a Request for Employment Contract: http://www.brandonu.ca/hr/forms/ and send it, along with CAC minutes, copy of the posting, Selection Committee recommendation, application, etc., to HR. The Area Head/Administrative Director will also personally contact the unsuccessful internal candidates to advise them of the Selection Committee decision and offer any developmental suggestions. This must be done prior to an area or Campus announcement being made.
9. The Area Head/Administrative Director must keep a written record of reasons for non-selection of internal applicants and interviewed internal candidates in case of a grievance, and must also keep all interview notes (all committee members), ranking records or other tools that are used to determine the successful candidate. Legal advice and opinion given to the University indicates “documents existing at the conclusion of a hiring process, whether minutes of the committee meetings, CVs/applications, personal notes of committee members, rating tools, or responses to interview questions as recorded by committee members, should be kept until a grievance has been issued related to the hire, or until the deadline to grieve passes.”
10. Return the entire file of applications to HR, along with a list of those who were interviewed, names of selection committee members, and interview questions.
11. Send regret letters to unsuccessful external candidates who were interviewed. HR can provide suggested wording for these letters.
12. When the Request for Contract form has all the required signatures, HR will prepare the employment contract and it will be signed by the Director, HR and sent directly to the successful candidate. When the signed contract has been returned to HR, a copy will be sent to the Area Head/Administrative Director.
13. The Area Head/Administrative Director should plan for the individual’s arrival at Brandon University and take into consideration the items contained in the New Employee Arrival Checklist which can be found on the HR web-site at the following: http://www.brandonu.ca/hr/forms/