Lake Superior College

Policy: Chapter 4 - 4.1.1 Classified Hiring Process

Purpose
It shall be the goal of the college to recruit and maintain the highest quality employees.  The purpose of this policy is to ensure that in fulfilling this goal, the college adheres to all contractual and legal requirements and promotes diversity in all of its search and selection processes.  The Human Resources Office staff, the Affirmative Action Officer, and the appropriate administrator will be involved in all phases of the search process to ensure this commitment is maintained.

Implementation

Part 1. Approval of New Positions
All requests for full-time and part-time permanent, seasonal or temporary positions or upgrades to existing positions require approval beginning with the appropriate supervisor or administrator. The appropriate administrator or supervisor will draft the position description. The Human Resources Office may provide assistance in preparing the position description. The administrator will forward the request with a signed position description to the President who will bring the position to President's Council for discussion and approval.
A new position will require an audit of the appropriate classification that, in most cases, is approved at the MnSCU or state level. This process requires that an organizational chart accompany the position description and will take at least two weeks to process.
With the position and classification approval, an Employment Requisition form is completed, signed by the appropriate administrator and the President, and forwarded to the Human Resources Office to start the recruitment process.

Part 2. The Search Chair and Committee
A. The chair of the search committee shall be appointed by the President and will normally be the administrator or supervisor to whom the hiree will report. The search committee chair will meet with a HR representative prior to starting the search to review the process. This review will include the posting and bidding processes. It is possible that the bidding process will create a vacancy in another area and mitigate the need for a search committee. Also, the posting process may result in a state employee claiming the vacancy, thus mitigating the need to continue the search process. These areas should be fully explored before assembling the search committee.
B. The chair shall work with the department staff and college community to establish a search committee. The Search Committee Handbook describes in detail the issues a chair needs to consider in forming a committee (e.g., stakeholders, in-field expertise, ability to commit to the process, etc.). The chair will request volunteers and inform each union of the names of volunteers willing to serve on the committee. The committee should include: representatives from faculty, affected bargaining units and students or other individuals with expertise or a stake in the decision. The search committee shall have at least four members, including the chair. The final selection of committee members will be approved by the President, using the Search Committee Nomination form.
C. All members of the search committee must agree to be available during all aspects of the hiring process. All members shall also attend an orientation and criteria development meeting facilitated by a Human Resources staff member before the process begins. The committee members must agree to maintain confidentiality during the entire search process and take an active role in all aspects of the search for qualified candidates.

Part 3. Advertising
If it is necessary to recruit candidates, the search committee chair will work with a Human Resources staff member to post vacancy notices in the Statewide Applicant system and other appropriate sources and selected newspapers.

Part 4. Applicant Pool Certification
The applicant pool, created by the Statewide Applicant system list, is certified by the Affirmative Action officer prior to proceeding with the search process. The Human Resources office will ensure all applications are complete and will prepare copies of resumes for the committee's screening process.

Part 5. Screening
The screening criteria is developed from the posting or recruitment advertisement and the committee discussion prior to the review of the applications. Each committee member will review all the applicant files using the agreed-upon criteria and make a recommendation to the committee. The search committee will meet and, through discussion, work to identify the semifinalists to be interviewed. A maximum of five interviews per position is advised.

Part 6. Interview
A. The search committee creates the questions to be used in each interview.
B. The Human Resources staff will contact all semifinalists to arrange interviews. The candidates will be sent a confirmation of the interview date and time, a position description, a parking permit, and any materials requested by the committee.
C. The chair of the search committee is responsible for conducting the interview process, ensuring that only appropriate questions and comments characterize the interview, etc. Interview questions should be standardized and used for all candidates. In addition to the interview, a written exercise or other exercise demonstrating the candidates work can be developed where appropriate.
D. Other activities intended to help the candidate understand the college and the community may include a meeting with a Human Resources staff member, a tour of the department and campus, a meeting with appropriate staff, etc.

Part 7. Recommendation of Finalists
A. After the interviews, the search committee will determine which of the semifinalists meet all the criteria and are acceptable to forward as a finalist. This determination should be based on the following factors:
1. The candidate's credentials and experience
2. Interview results
3. A work sample or other test

The search chair shall use the Search Committee Summary Form to recommend the unranked list of finalists to the appropriate hiring authority. The committee should include evaluative comments (a list of strengths and weaknesses) regarding each candidate.

B. The Human Resources office will conduct reference checks on the finalist candidates, after securing their written consent.

C. The appropriate hiring authority will discuss the results of the search and reference checks with the President. The President will make the appointment.

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