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Equity in Hiring Project

PCPC Training

8/2/12

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Background

In 2010, Public Health Human Resources launched the Equity & Social Justice Hiring Quality Improvement project.

The goal of the project is to establish best practices to increase the diversity of our staff at all levels and in all classifications.

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Aim Statements

• Aim 1: To increase the diversity of our staff at all levels of the organization and within all classifications

• Aim 2: To increase the effectiveness and efficiency of our process by developing and incorporating best practices

• Aim 3: To develop and implement a policy to promote accountability for employing a diverse workforce

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MeasuresAim 1: Staff Diversity

• Staff & hires by race/ethnicity

• Staff & hires by classification

• Staff & hires by salary range

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MeasuresAim 2:

Effectiveness & Efficiency

• Diversity of our applicant pools

• Percent of staff turnover in first year of employment

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MeasuresAim 3: Policy

• Development and implementation of a policy utilizing the Policy Review Team process.

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Public Health Staff 1% 14% 8% 9% 63% 0% 5%

King County Population 1% 15% 6% 9% 65% 4% 0%

American Indian/Alaska

Native

Asian/Pacific Islander

African American/Black

Hispanic White 2+ Unknown

Public Health Staff Compared to King County Population by Race/Ethnicity 2010

Public Health Data Source: Peoplesoft 2010King County Data Source: 1990-2008 Population Estimates: Population Estimates from Public Health Assessment, WA State DOH, Vista Partnership, & Krupski Consulting. January 2009

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Applicants & Hires by Race

-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Apps by Race 5.9% 1.0% 14.6% 14.7% 54.4%

Hires by Race 1.9% 2.8% 19.8% 8.5% 67.0%

King Co. working pop. 3.1% 0.6% 14.2% 4.9% 75.0%

2+ Am Ind AsianPI Afr Am Wh

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At the micro level, our workforce is not as diverse as the

communities we serve.

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What’s Going On?

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Schemas

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Interrelatedness of Bias and Institutionalized Racism

Implicit Bias

Explicit Bias

Structures & Policies

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Common Effects of Implicit Bias in Hiring

• Like me

• “Halo” effect

• When we see applicants before finalizing selection criteria, we begin developing selection criteria that favors congruency between candidate gender and job sex-type

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Why Does It Matter

• Hidden bias affects our everyday workplace interactions.

• Bias affects what we notice, remember, and how we interpret behavior

• We notice, remember, and interpret behavior that reinforces our biases

• Small biased judgements have a cumulative effect

“Hidden Gender Bias in the Workplace”, Williams, Joan. UC Hastings College of Law (2010)

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What You Can Do

• Begin to recognize and acknowledge your biases, including your unconscious assumptions

• Have a diverse hiring panel• Allow sufficient time to review each application

thoroughly. Eliminate cognitive diversions.• Allow sufficient time for the interviews• Take thorough notes• Agree on weighted criteria prior to seeing

applications (qualifications)

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What You Can Do

• Develop interview questions and scoring plans, related to the criteria, prior to seeing applications

• Collect information in a systematic manner (i.e. reference checks)

• Do not draw conclusions until you have scored all applicants

• Watch for evidence of a “halo effect”• Simply having the intention to evaluate fairly

and accurately can reverse the effects of stereotypes (priming)

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QI Strategies for Divisions

• Notify your hiring managers of the need to schedule just-in-time interview panel training

• Insure your interview panels are diverse• Ask hiring managers to develop selection tools

before they see any candidate application materials

• Insure qualifications match job duties, require licenses only when required for the successful completion of work, use plain language on job announcements

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QI Strategies for Human Resources

• Provide countering bias training

• Arrange for ET to receive Micro-Aggressions Training

• Complete disparate impact analysis

• Prepare metrics on classifications and sections by race and gender

• Begin developing library of interview questions

• Best practices in hiring handbook

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Thank you!

Any questions?

Tina M. Abbott, Sr. HR AnalystPublic Health-Seattle & King County

263-8402