5.20A - Hiring Procedure

Purpose

To assist search committees and hiring units to conduct searches that both maximize their ability to establish a qualified and diverse applicant pool, while complying with internal policies and state and federal regulations

Definition

Qualified applicant: an individual that applies to a position that meets at least all minimum required qualifications.

Procedure Statement

The following procedure provides the basic steps that all employees will follow with respect to a fair, equitable, and diverse search committee, and selection process at Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC).

1. Requisition and Justification

The hiring manager reviews the needs of their department in conjunction with their available budget. The hiring manager completes the Requisition and Justification Form and submits to Human Resources. This form allows the hiring manager, and their division leaders review and provide feedback on the necessity of this position to administration.

At this time, the hiring manager should also review the position description and submit any updated changes along with the Requisition and Justification Form. A position description should:

• define quantifiable required and preferred qualifications
• accurately summarize the position with approximately 10 bulleted points

2. Review by Administration and Posting

Once a complete Requisition and Justification Form and position description are received by HR, Cabinet will review the posting and either approve, deny or send the form back to the hiring manager for further review. The Cabinet member over the area will be responsible for communicating to the hiring manager any questions from Cabinet or if the position is approved or denied.

Once approved, the position is normally posted on Friday to ApplicantStack, the College’s applicant tracking system. Normal posting periods are 14 days.

3. External vs Internal Postings

Hiring managers are strongly encouraged to post all positions externally. If there is a need for an internal only search or a shortened search, that justification needs to be included on the Requisition and Justification Form. Cabinet will review the justification and approve or deny the request for an internal search and/or shortened posting period.

4. Search Committee and Application Review

While a position is open for applications, a hiring manager should take the following actions to help streamline the process:

• Identify a diverse search committee. Search committees play a vital role in evaluating and recommending the most qualified candidates for employment. Search committee members are often the first KCKCC employees that a candidate will meet. Each member has an opportunity to represent KCKCC as a diverse and welcoming community while carrying out the search in accordance with the College’s policies and procedures. The search committee should include people from within or outside your department who will bring diverse outlooks, are respectful of different cultures and characteristics, and are representative of the general College community the position will interact. The size and composition of your search committee will vary, depending on the level and complexity of position being filled. All search committees should have a minimum of three people serving on the committee.
• A search committee is responsible for identifying interview question, recruiting for the position when applicable, evaluating applicants, participating in the interview process, and recommending finalists. Members should be available to participate fully and consistently in the entire process.
• Members may be faculty, staff, students, alumni, or other outside constituents. For faculty positions, a majority of the committee members shall be comprised of faculty members from the department in which the new hire will serve.
• Identify a selection rubric for applicants. A selection rubric will outline how the search committee will screen qualified applicants. Criteria on a selection rubric should include, at a minimum, the quantifiable preferred qualifications that are listed on the position description. Search committees should be cautious to only add criteria that are described on the position description to ensure applicants are aware of how they will be evaluated when submitting their application materials
• Finalize interview questions. The search committee should develop interview questions to assess each candidate’s qualifications. Questions should be consistent among candidates, and focus on a range of topics, including but not limited to diversity and inclusion, skills and experience, work style, and prioritizing work. The search committee should avoid any interview questions or conversations that focus on race, age, sex, gender , religion, disability, etc. These questions are not relevant to an applicant’s qualifications.
• Review and sign confidentiality agreements for all committee members. As a search committee member at KCKCC, the ultimate success of our search process and the integrity of the College depends on searches being conducted in an impartial, ethical and professional manner. It is 2 critical that individuals that participate understand the critical importance of confidentiality to the integrity and success of the search process. Search committee members are required to complete a confidentiality agreement for each committee that they will serve on.

5. Application Review, Interview Process, and Selection

Once the initial posting closing date has passed and the documents from #3 above have been received in Human Resources, the hiring manager will receive all qualified applicants. The search committee will then screen the candidates against their selection rubric and identify top candidates for an interview. The hiring manager will also decide if they would like the position to remain posted for additional applicants or placed on hold and removed from the applicant website.

Once the committee has interviewed all applicants, the committee will then recommend a top candidate or candidates based on qualifications and the candidate interviews to the hiring supervisor. Once a top candidate is identified by the hiring supervisor, the hiring manager will submit to HR:

• Selection rubrics and interview questions from all committee members for all candidates
• A New Hire Recommendation form

Best practices for interviews are as follow:

• A minimum of at least 3 individuals should be interviewed.
• Positions that are at the director level or higher should have at least two interview stages. These interview stages should provide a candidate to meet the search committee, their supervisors up to their Cabinet member, and the individuals that they will be supervising.
• If there is not a top candidate identified for the position, the committee can elect to review additional applicants.
• Whenever possible, an alternate candidate should be identified in the event the top candidate declines the offer.

6. Top Candidate Contact and Last Steps

The top candidate will be contacted by HR to begin the salary negotiation and acceptance process. To avoid any confusion or misinformation, the hiring manager may contact the top applicant to let them know they were selected contingent upon a successful completion of pre-employment screenings, but any discussion of a salary should be limited to what is listed on the job announcement.

For staff, HR will review the candidate’s skills, in addition to the salaries of other individuals in a similar Grade within the division to identify a starting salary for the position. To be equitable to current employees, new employees will not be placed at a starting salary over the midpoint of a Grade without the approval of the HR and the cabinet member for the division. If HR and the cabinet member do not agree on the starting salary above the midpoint, the President will have final approval.

For faculty, HR will review the step/class the hiring manager listed based on the applicant’s education placement on the salary schedule as defined by the Master Contract.

Once a candidate has accepted a position, HR will work with the individual and the supervisor to complete onboarding paperwork and identify a start date.

7. Exceptions

Deviations from the hiring procedure may occur occasionally under limited circumstances. In the event there is a need and/or request to deviate from the hiring process that has been outline, justification will need to be submitted to Human Resources for review and approval.