OUTRAGED PINK RACOON

Compassionate Hiring Checklist

June 11, 2021  |  hiring, management

This is a quick reference guide based on my blog about how other companies tech hiring processes are costing YOU talent. See how many items your current hiring process meets and use them as a guide if you are reworking it or starting from scratch.

On The Job Ad

  • The requirements asked for are limited to 5 with no ‘nice to have’ items.
  • There is no reference to a degree or X years in Y technology, instead we have listed the behaviours and skills we expect from the candidate.
  • There are no programming skills required that could be taught or grown with minimal impact on productivity of the team or the individual.
  • We know what good looks like in the current team and have modelled the requirements based on this.
  • We have added text that encourages anyone to apply even if they don’t meet the full list of skills OR they have had a career break.
  • There is no reference to a given gender in the content.
  • There are no elitist or gendered terms, we have used a gender decoder to verify this. They have been replaced with skills and behaviours needed.
  • Someone from an underrepresented group has read the job ad and given feedback on it and has been rewarded and acknowledged for spending time on it.

Defining The Process

  • We have used the requirements list from the job ad to come up with the lightest possible process that directly addresses whether a candidate meets them or not.
  • We have challenged ourselves to ask whether a coding test is assessing what we need and discussed compassionate alternatives we could use instead.
  • If there is a code test the pass/fail criteria is as clear as it possibly can be and more than one person is involved in the assessment of it.
  • The entire interview process is under 4 hours (as a guide) including any tests and preparation for them.
  • The interview process is published on our careers page and/or job ads transparently and explain how each step relates to the day to day of the role and what we are looking for.
  • Applicants are exposed to members of the team they will be working with as early as possible and given time to get answers to any questions they have.
  • The interview process and the questions are exactly the same for each person in the pipeline.

Running Interviews

  • A diverse range of people run interviews to maximise the chance that applicants will see someone that looks like them and be more likely to feel at ease.
  • We are mindful of how people are acting in interviews and check those involved are behaving in a kind and respectful manner with applicants and championing our culture and values.
  • We provide support and training for anyone involved in interviews.
  • We reward people for being involved in hiring and create space for those involved to do it well.

References