March 2009 Newsletter
In this Issue:
- Welcome
- Upcoming Trainings – UK’s Hiring Process & Interviewing Techniques, Behavior Based Interviewing 101, How to Develop an Effective Job Posting, Legal Considerations
- Selecting for Success TIP – Personnel File Review/Reference Checks!
- Employment in the News
Welcome
Welcome to the Hiring Enhancement Program’s newsletter! As a hiring official, we recognize the challenges that you face in your day-to-day jobs and we want to help you maximize the value of time spent on the hiring process. This newsletter was established to share with you time saving tips and best practices so that you hire right, the first time! With this in mind, we have established some general guidelines for the newsletter. The guidelines are as follows:
- A newsletter including trainings, tips and alerts of employment changes will be distributed on the first Tuesday of every month. Information and materials distributed will be relevant and will be in alignment with the Hiring Enhancement Program goal of providing great service to you.
- Members can unsubscribe at any time. If you would like to opt-out of the newsletter, please send an e-mail to leslie.vega@uky.edu, subject line “Opt-Out”.
- You are welcome to forward this newsletter to any colleagues, managers or supervisors that would appreciate the information! (If you have been forwarded this e-mail and would like to opt-in to the newsletter, please send an e-mail to leslie.vega@uky.edu, subject line “Opt-In”.)
- If you would like to share information with the entire newsletter, please send it to hiringenhancement@lsv.uky.edu and we will add it to the following month’s newsletter.
Selecting for Success TIP: Personnel File Review/Reference Checks!
Did you know...as a UK Hiring Official, there are some important steps you can take to ensure a great hire in addition to using Behavior Based Interviewing. We recommend completing the following steps for all top candidates before an offer of employment is extended:
- Personnel File Review: Contact your Employment Specialist/Consultant to review the HR personnel file for any current or previous UK employee. HR personnel files contain performance evaluations, letters of recognition and/or any formal corrective action, which may help you get a fuller picture of the candidate.
- Reference Checks: Contact the references listed on your candidates’ application to verify dates of employment/title, follow up on any “red flags” that you may have and ask behavioral based questions to confirm that the candidate has the skills required for your position. Be sure to let candidates know that you’ll be contacting references so they can give a “heads up” to their references. (Note: Your Employment Consultant can customize Reference Check Guides for any position)
- Supervisor Reference Check: Check the listed references to make sure the current supervisor is included. If your candidate selected “No, you may not contact my supervisor” on his/her application, you do need to obtain his/her permission in order to contact the supervisor. HR recommends that you contact the candidate and inform them that your practice is to always speak with any final candidates’ supervisors and ask for that information and/or their permission.
Remember reference checks and personnel file reviews are just another way to gain additional information on a candidate. When making a selection decision, it’s important to consider all the information available, including: application materials, phone interview data, in-person interview data, personnel file review (if applicable) and reference information collected.
Employment in the News
Here is an article that reminds us how important it is to keep telling our applicants we value their interest, especially now that there is so much competition for jobs. To read the article, please click on the following link: http://www.staffinginstitute.org/distributions/SI_Weekly_2-11-09.html
Interested in learning more information on the Hiring Enhancement Program? Visit our website at http://www.uky.edu/HR/employ/HiringEnhancementProgram.html
