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Establishing an inclusive hiring process and training

July 11, 2022

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that Purdue Fort Wayne will be continuing implementation of an improved inclusive hiring process that builds upon steps introduced by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in October 2021 to enhance the university’s search committees and faculty search process.

This next phase of the university’s strategic planning initiative to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion will provide the support and training needed to build the strongest applicant pools possible for every open position. Our new inclusive hiring process for faculty and staff will be fully activated effective August 1.

Over the past year, leaders from the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; the Office of Human Resources and Office of Institutional Equity; the Office of Academic Affairs; and faculty partners have reviewed the university’s inclusive hiring processes. The need for several key improvements and actions were identified. They included:

  • A thorough review by the HR|OIE compensation and classification team of the traditional posting language to ensure that we are using inclusive language
  • An HR|OIE review of our recruitment efforts to ensure that we are intentional in our efforts to reach candidates not only for their background, but also their experience, ability, and perspectives
  • The need to establish an inclusive hiring process that prioritizes the department’s specific goals, affirmative action goals, and the use of data from the hiring pipeline to see where diverse candidates are dropping out
  • The launch of DocuSign forms by the HR|OIE talent acquisition team to create efficiencies in the workflow for hiring managers
  • Creation of a list of hiring resources targeted to expand an advertising option where positions are posted to provide greater support to diversity and departmental goals
  • Development and launch of a curriculum by ODEI and HR|OIE to address inclusive hiring training for search committees to shed light on the best inclusive hiring practices
    • Prospective search committee members need to complete the training prior to participation. Anyone interested in participating on a search committee is asked to take advantage of an inclusive hiring workshop even if they are not currently involved with a search. During this past year, more than 180 faculty and staff participated in the training. Email Kendall Hovis at [email protected] for information on the training schedule. Hiring managers can also select from an identified pool of inclusive hiring search committee participants.
    • Inclusive hiring training is co-facilitated by team members from the Offices of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and HR|OIE, and by an academic chair or professor.
  • Identification by ODEI of equity advocates outside of the search process to support a search committee and/or serve as an applicant resource
    • When candidates go through the hiring process and engage with people from many different backgrounds, it can validate that Purdue Fort Wayne fosters a truly inclusive culture.
  • Completion of website enhancements to promote added transparency and to make it simple to find resources and inclusive hiring interview/search committee resources

With the full support of cabinet leaders, the new inclusive hiring process has already entered a soft launch phase. It applies to all open positions at Purdue Fort Wayne. The input obtained during the coming weeks will be used to reinforce the workflow so that our commitment to an inclusive hiring process achieves our strategic goals.

We extend our thanks to Chief Diversity Officer MarTeze Hammonds, Associate Vice Chancellor for HR|OIE Cynthia Springer, and the members of the various committees who have worked so hard to activate this pillar of our Strategic Plan and bring this important initiative to fruition.

A list of FAQs has been developed to help answer any questions you may have. Additionally, faculty and staff are invited to join HR|OIE at its next #HelloPFW Town Hall Session at 1 p.m. this Wednesday (July 13) to learn more about this process.

Sincerely,

Ron Elsenbaumer
Chancellor