What do I need to know about hiring staff?
I need to do some hiring. What do I need to know? How can NLLS help me?
Answer
Getting Started
This document was created with hiring a manager in mind, so ideally, you would have two members of the board, and one member of the staff participate in the interview process. If you are viewing it with hiring a front-line staff member in mind, you will be able to simplify the process, and remove board involvement, but we do still recommend an interview committee of at least two leaders. Keep in mind, a LOT of library hiring happens internally, so although you may be hiring for an entry level position like paging—that person will be a candidate for future roles—so you always want to hire with future growth in mind.
The Hiring Committee
The hiring committee is the group responsible for conducting interviews, rating interview answers, and preparing a short list of 2 top candidates for the Board/Hiring manager to consider. No one member of the committee should have final say on any aspect of this process, all ratings should be averaged out for final scores. Who should be included in the process depends on what role you are hiring for.
The Purpose of Interviewing
The purpose of the interview process is not to outsmart the candidates or bamboozle them with tricky questions. The goal is to bring out the best in each candidate and assess whether that “best” is a good fit for the job. Interview questions are created to draw forth past experiences (practical skills) and personal philosophy (theoretical knowledge) of each candidate in order to determine their suitability for the role. A candidate may be a “great guy” or a “nice person” and still not be a good fit for the job.
A Note on having staff participate in the process:
Having a staff member participate is of huge benefit to this process as they are a bring to the process enormous knowledge and insight into operations and staff culture. From a staff management and morale perspective, hiring a new manager can be a VERY stressful time for frontline staff, whose livelihoods and workplace happiness are tied to the outcome. Having a staff representative participate in the process helps to create a sense of security and empowerment in the body of staff, because it’s an opportunity for their needs and concerns to be integrated into the process. It also helps to create buy-in to the final result and reduces the possibility of conflict with the incoming manager.
A break-down of the entire process:
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1. Job Ad is confirmed and posted – must have definite closing date
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2. Hiring Committee is selected
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3. Job Description is updated and approved by the Board
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4. Candidate Applications are reviewed by the hiring committee or a delegate and interviewees are selected
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a. At this stage the Candidates should be provided with the Updated Job Description, and the Salary Range if it hasn’t been included in the original job ad.
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5. Interview Guide is drafted and approved by the Hiring Committee – This should be approximately 10 questions.
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6. Interviews are scheduled and conducted
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a. Each member of the hiring committee participates in the interview, and rates all answers provided, based on pre-determined values and knowledge markers.
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7. Top Candidates are determined based on the combined ratings of the Hiring Committee, Top Two Candidates are presented to the Board Chair or his delegate
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8. A Brief Second Interview is conducted by the Board Chair/ Library Manager to determine fit
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9. The Hiring Committee presents the Top Two Candidates to the Board, discusses their strengths and weaknesses, overall scores (but not specific answers) The Board presents on his experience speaking to the top two candidates, and finally a motion is made by the board to extend an offer to the preferred candidate.
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10. The Board Chair/ Library Manager drafts and presents the offer and negotiates the particulars with the successful candidate.
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