Refocusing Recruitment

CASIP: Improving the HR recruitment experience

In step with Shape
In step with Shape, the university’s strategic plan, the Continuous Administrative Service Improvement Program (CASIP) coordinated by the University Initiatives Office, focuses on improving and streamlining processes and technology supports in finance, information management and reporting, and human resources administration, CASIP helps remove barriers so that work can be carried out efficiently and effectively, focusing on three priorities: process re-engineering, technology enablement/automation, and role alignment and optimization. 

Identifying recruitment challenges 
Hiring managers reported an overall lack of support and unclear processes citing examples such as long wait times, numerous hand-offs between teams leading to confusion about who to contact, excessive entry points and too many forms to find and complete. High-level analysis, supported by a KPMG review, showed that the university has been under-resourced in recruitment. At the time, much of the recruitment process was shouldered by hiring managers who were already overextended with responsibilities for their respective teams. 

CASIP’s Human Resources Administrative Process Stream (HR Stream) includes representation from subject matter experts in Shared Services and Human Resources, Health, Safety and Environment. This team focuses attention on easing the administrative burden on hiring managers enabling them to quickly move through the hiring process to find qualified candidates that meet their needs. 

The HR Recruitment Pilot
Hiring and retaining an inclusive, diverse and highly-skilled faculty and staff starts with a well-structured and sustainable recruitment process. As such, a 12-month HR recruitment pilot was rolled out in February 2024, with the goal of creating consistency, better workflow, administrative efficiencies, and improving overall end-to-end support for hiring managers. 

“The importance of having a solid and streamlined recruitment experience cannot be overstated,” said Todd Gilchrist, Vice-President, University Services and Finance and Interim Vice-President, Facilities and Operations, and a co-sponsor of CASIP. “Having appropriate support in place through every step of the hiring process means that managers spend less time on the administrative burden while securing the right candidate for their teams.” 

Matina Kalcounis-Rueppell, Dean and Vice-Provost, College of Natural and Applied Sciences,  also a co-sponsor for CASIP, added that it is “equally important to consider that the recruitment process is often the first opportunity we have to attract the best people to work at the University of Alberta, so it must be done effectively right out of the gate.” 

Enhanced recruitment services for hiring managers 
The Recruitment Pilot is currently being piloted through the Department of Pediatrics, the Department of Medicine and the Mike Petryk School of Dentistry in the College of Health Sciences; the Faculty of Arts in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities; the Faculty of Science in the College of Natural and Applied Sciences and External Relations.

Those participating in the recruitment pilot can now take advantage of the enhanced services offered by four new recruitment associates in Shared Services. Recruitment associates can assist with: 

• Developing an interview plan 
• Interview support (participating on interview panel) 
• Checking references (phone or online) 
• Initiating pre-hire activities (set up CCID, appointment for new employees)
• Drafting the offer

Early impressions 
Lindsay Bliss, director, Integrated Communications (Academic) recently hired a senior communications partner for the Strategic Communications portfolio and leveraged the resources through the recruitment pilot, “My experience working with one of the new recruitment associates was wonderful … [it] was such a huge help in terms of lightening the recruitment load.” 

Robert Wood, dean in the Faculty of Arts shared his recent experience “(the) recruitment associate took the time to understand the scope of the position, our needs and expectations for the successful candidate, and our desired approach to the interview process and (they) built a recruitment timeline that worked for our schedules and kept us on track to complete the process efficiently.” Robert also expressed that he “was impressed with the tools and information that was provided to screen candidates, customize the interview guide, and assess the candidates during the interviews and (that) at every step, it was clear that the recruitment associate was committed to understanding and supporting our recruitment goals while respecting our role as the hiring manager; we hope other faculties will soon have the opportunity to benefit (from the recruitment pilot) in the same way!”

Supporting hiring managers in more ways 
A number of other HR enhancements are helping to streamline the recruitment process: 

• The Job Posting Template has been incorporated into the Job Posting Request Form. This simplifies the hiring process for managers. 
• A new recruitment folder management process to organize and manage records is available for recruitments supported by the Shared Services Talent Acquisition, Immigration & Records team. More information can be found here.
• The new Careers page, launched on April 3, seamlessly connects prospective applicants to essential resources, including insights into the university’s culture, key initiatives and benefits of joining the university.
• The Career Portal was updated to create a more streamlined and user-friendly experience for candidates.
• Oracle Recruitment will replace the Recruitment and Advertising Database (RAD) within the next 12 months. RAD has been in place for over 20 years, originally built on technology that is no longer sustainable.

Stay connected with CASIP 
Visit the University Initiatives Office website to stay apprised of ongoing projects being advanced through the CASIP program. You may also email the University Initiatives Office uio@ualberta.ca with your questions or suggestions.

Note: The employee types that are currently “in scope” for the pilot are Grade 9 level positions for AASUA (APO; TLAPO; TRAS (greater than 12 months), NASA (Operating and Trust Grade 9 - and higher, greater than 12 months in duration), and MAPS. The HR Partnership team continues to support recruitment activities for positions that are “out of scope” of the recruitment pilot.