Three Things You Can Do to Bring Your Hiring Process Into the 21st Century: Lessons from the Extreme

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Three Things You Can Do to Bring Your Hiring
Process Into the 21st CenturyLessons from the
Extreme Hiring Makeover IPMA-HR Federal
Section ConferenceNovember 29, 2005
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Agenda

• Project Overview
• Three Things You Can Do
• Start at the Beginning
• Sell Jobs
• Focus on Quality
• Key Lessons for Agencies

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Extreme Hiring Makeover?
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Bill
Caitlyn
Stephanie
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The Nick Family
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A Makeover that Matters
OUR FORMULA FOR CHANGE

• 3 Pilot Agencies willing to tackle their hiring
  issues under the watchful eye of the public
• 1 Dream Team of public and private sector experts
  willing to donate their products and services
• 12 months of partnership to demonstrate whats
  possible

GOAL Put the most effective hiring practices to
work in the federal government.
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Makeover Pilot Organizations
U.S. Department of Education (ED) ED works with
local governments, communities, schools, and
financial institutions to ensure equal access to
education and to promote educational excellence
throughout the nation. 
National Nuclear Security Administration
(DOE) NNSA secures our nuclear weapons stockpiles
and needs help attracting highly skilled
individuals to unusual locations.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(HHS) CMS ensures access to health care for one
in four Americans and needs staff to implement
the most dramatic reforms to Medicare since it
was established.
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Makeover Dream Team
Monster Government Solutions (MGS) applies the
proven expertise essential to solving the human
capital challenges facing government agencies.
MGS offers a host of solutions from planning and
recruitment to assessment, staffing and hiring,
including the market-leading QuickHire enterprise
hiring management solution.
The Partnership for Public Service is a
nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to
meeting the people needs of government by
inspiring a new generation to serve and
transforming the way government works. By
focusing its energy on achieving leverage through
entrepreneurial partnerships and collaboration,
the Partnership acts as a catalyst for change.
AIRS is a diversified human capital services
company that provides effective and unique
solutions for talent acquisition, development,
and transition. AIRS is best known for its award
winning recruitment training seminars however,
it is quickly becoming a recognized leader in the
specialized fields of candidate sourcing
automation, distance based career transition, and
enterprise mentoring solutions. Its clients
include over 60 of the Fortune 500, as well as
market-leading companies in virtually every
industry.
CPS Human Resource Services is a
self-supporting government agency that provides
human resources and management consulting
services exclusively to government and
public/non-profit organizations. CPS uniquely
integrates two goals the fundamental goal of
government to advance the public interest, and
the goal of providing government and
public/non-profit organizations with efficient,
effective, and cost-competitive consulting
services.
Through a strategy of ongoing development and
acquiring some of the best intellectual property
in the field, ePredix has created a database of
predictive assessment and development content
based on the results of tens of millions of
individuals. By linking this enormous database to
innovative technology, ePredix provides
assessments that predict and improve job success
at all levels.
The Human Capital Institute is a membership
organization, think tank and educational resource
for professionals and executives in strategic HR
and talent management. The Human Capital
Institute provides thought leadership and cutting
edge research on human capital issues, as well as
courses, web-casts, executive workshops, seminars
and conferences.
Brainbench is the leading provider of online,
assessment-driven selection solutions for
government agencies and commercial customers. By
leveraging an extensive database of skills,
behavioral and bio-data assessment, Brainbench
can enhance both the quality and speed in which
candidates can be selected.
Korn/Ferry is the world's premier provider of
executive human capital solutions, with services
ranging from corporate governance and CEO
recruitment to executive search,
middle-management recruitment, strategic
management assessment and executive coaching and
development.
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Solutions

• COLLABORATIVE APPROACHES
• Quick-hit intervention on vacancy announcements
• Job analysis vacancy announcement workshop
• Boot Camp training workshops
• Toolkit of templates and techniques
• AGENCY-SPECIFIC INITIATIVES
• ED Process Redesign
• NNSA Marketing Recruiting
• CMS Assessment Selection

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Building Blocks forEffective, Efficient Hiring
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The Building Blocks for Success

• START AT THE BEGINNING THE STRATEGIC FRONT-END
• Know who youre looking for!
• Focus on assessment, marketing, and recruitment

• SELL JOB OPPORTUNITIES
• Market positions (and the agencies) better
• Target recruitment efforts
• Enlist managers in recruitment efforts

• FOCUS ON QUALITY
• Monitor the effectiveness of the hiring process
  as well as its efficiency
• Pay attention to quality metrics

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Start at the BeginningProcess Redesign at the
Department of Education
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A Definition of Process

• What is Process?
• Take input as it is
• Transform it and add value
• Create output

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The Overall Hiring Process

• Some agencies have over 100 steps in the process,
  requiring dozens of hand-offs
• In some cases, there are points where you have to
  ask 10 people for approval
• All this, and managers are still not happy with
  the results

How many steps does it take to hire one person?
Heres an example
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Process Redesign at Federal Student Aid

• FSA reduced the number of steps and created a
  to-be process that
• Eliminates duplication
• Consolidates the flow of information between the
  hiring manager and HR
• Encourages meetings, rather than handoffs and
  email chains
• Asks senior managers to prepare and follow
  annual staffing plans 

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Ground Rules For Building and Ideal Process

• Organize work around results, not tasks
• Capture data once at the source
• Allow decision points at work level
• Incorporate controls into information processing
• Make people who use the process do the work
• Perform work steps concurrently, not sequentially

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What Level of Detail Works For Process Mapping

• Map to the level at which work is actually being
  performed
• Include sufficient detail to
• Identify who is doing what work steps
• Create performance baselines for later
  analysis
• Gather metrics for a business case
• Identify key elements which must be retained
  for
• Compliance
• Business Requirements

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Characteristics of an Effective and Efficient
Process

• Critical Success Factors
• Top management commitment
• Hiring Manager/Organization and HR Team
  partnership and accountability 

• Streamlined
• Minimal levels of review
• No duplication
• Value added steps only
• Minimal paperwork
• Standardized core processes
• Customized
• Results driven metrics
• Role clarity
• Leveraging technology
• Clear procedures and guidance
• Best-in-class service delivery

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Potential Challenges

• Increasing knowledge of processes and
  flexibilities, including OPMs initiatives such
  as category rating, student employment programs,
  and direct hiring authorities
• Enhancing knowledge of automated tools
• Training both HR Staff and Managers
• Improving accuracy and wide variance of metrics
• Standardizing the core processes while applying
  customized solutions to the hiring approach in a
  highly tactical, individualized environment

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Key Elements of the To-Be Process

• New templates allow HR specialists and others the
  opportunity to develop clearer, more concise,
  more compelling vacancy announcements intended
  to attract more top applicants (i.e., internal
  and external)

Changing the front-end of the hiring process was
critical to tackling both time and quality issues.

• Overhauling the EDHIRES system to improve ease of
  use and accuracy
• Utilize SMEs to validate prescreen ensuring
  only the best qualified emerge
• Developing policy for category rating offering
  managers a larger pool of applicants from which
  to select the best

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Start at the Beginning
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• Define Your Success Requirements
• Connect applicant skills to the mission of your
  organization.
• Establish professional experiences,
  qualifications or qualities required of
  candidates for this role.

• Sell the Position
• Identify key elements of the job and organization
  that make the position appealing to applicants.
• Outline potential steps in the career path of
  someone in this role, which helps applicants
  evaluate the position.

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• Identify Targeting Strategies
• List the types of organizations, associations and
  networks with which potential applicants might be
  involved.
• Provide sources of quality candidates for the job.

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Strategic Conversation Template
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Sell Job OpportunitiesMarketing Recruiting
at the National Nuclear Security Administration
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Vacancy Announcements

• OLD VERSION
• A bit dull to read
• Can be hard to understand
• Sometimes, its unclear what this person actually
  does
• RESULTS Just 3 applicants, all unqualified

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Marketing
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Utilizing Hiring Flexibilities
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Six Things Job Seekers Desperately Want You to
Hear

• Be more concise. Fewer words. Get to the point.
• Tell me exactly what you need.
• Bullet points are great!
• I have no idea what half of your jobs are looking
  for.
• Let me apply online using my USAJOBS resume.
• Tell me in laymans terms. Get rid of the useless
  jargon.
• When will I hear from you?
• We want to hear from you. We can take the bad
  news, just tell us!

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Sell Job Opportunities

• A Better Job Posting
• Is simple and straightforward
• Be concise less is more
• Avoid using government jargon write so that any
  potential applicant can understand
• Conveys the excitement and impact of your
  agencys work
• Is well-organized and easy to navigate
• Easy for job seekers to find key information
  (i.e., duties, requirements)
• Clearly describes the position
• Potential applicants have enough information to
  determine whether or not the job is a good fit
  for them but not so much information as to
  overwhelm them
• Provides a sense of what their day-to-day
  functions would be
• Clearly states job requirements citizenship,
  education, experience, skills, etc.
• Makes effective use of white space
• Bulleted lists and short paragraphs are clearer
  and less daunting than long, bulky paragraphs

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Sell Jobs Job Posting Template
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Focus on Quality Assessment Selection at the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Assessment The First Cut

• Assessment Overview
• Web-based screen for minimum qualifications
• Web-based skills assessment (knowledge test)

• Assessment
• Web-based screen for minimum qualifications
• Web-based skills assessment (knowledge test)

BEFORE Questions did not effectively screen out
candidates lacking requisite skills and experience
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Assessment The First Cut

• Assessment
• Web-based screen for minimum qualifications
• Web-based skills assessment (knowledge test)

AFTER Conducted two-day workshop to produce
enhanced screening questions

• Job analysis
• Question development

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Skills Assessment

• Assessment
• Web-based screen for minimum qualifications
• Web-based skills assessment (knowledge test)

Assessed health care/ insurance expertise and
writing skills combined with pre-screen to
produce final score
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Select the Best, Part 1

• Selection Overview
• Applied category rating
• Selected candidates from the top category for
  interviews
• Behavioral and cognitive assessment
• Structured interview

• Selection
• Applied category rating
• Selected candidates from the top category for
  interviews
• Behavioral and cognitive assessment
• Structured interview

• Category Rating Approach
• Established pre-determined categories in which
  candidates would be placed, based on a combined
  score of the pre-screen and online skills test
• Candidates deemed well qualified earned a
  combined score of 85 points or more
• The result was a list of 24 well qualified
  applicants, from which the hiring manager could
  select candidates to interview

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Select the Best, Part 2

• Selection
• Applied category rating
• Selected candidates from the top category for
  interviews
• Behavioral and cognitive assessment
• Based on job analysis conducted via online survey
  of SMEs
• Structured interview

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Indicators of Success
Early Involvement of Managers

• 227 applicants versus the average 53

Increase of Qualified Applicants
Clarified Roles for Candidates

• 33 applicants from the target pool

Marketing Targeted Outreach

• Better Sales Pitch
• Enhanced Marketing
• Targeting

Automated Pre-Screening

• 15 screened out in pre-screening, up from 6

Web-Based Skills Assessment
Efficiently Select the Best Applicants

• 169 applicants took the online skills assessment

Category Rating

• Pre-Screening
• Skills Tests
• Predictive Assessment
• Interviews

Cognitive Screen

• 24 individuals deemed well qualified in
  category ranking

Interview

• 6 new employees hired in the 1st round

Offer
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Focus on Quality

• Improve pre-screening questions
• Base questions on requirements of the job
• Use a range of possible responses
• Be objective
• When plausible, use multiple hurdles
• Large candidate counts
• Use tools that enable quick transition from one
  hurdle to another

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Key Lessons for Agencies
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Key Lessons for Agencies

• Key Building Blocks
• Fix the front end of the process Managers drive
  the process
• Better sell opportunities at agencies
  Compelling, plain-English job announcements and
  marketing
• Focus on quality Determine success factors
  upfront, involve the experts and use technology
  wisely
• Lay the Foundation for Success
• Change takes time but it is possible
• Top leadership support is a must
• Dedicated project resources ensure greater
  success
• HR must partner with hiring managers
• Internal communication builds buy-in
• Recruiting means more than posting a job

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More Information
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More Information
PARTNERSHIP FOR PUBLIC SERVICE Katie Malague
kmalague_at_ourpublicservice.org CPS HUMAN RESOURCE
SERVICES Chris Parkercparker_at_cps.ca.gov
www.extremehiringmakeover.org