Search and Hiring Process.
Hiring the right people for the right position is the most important part of the hiring process. A well-structured recruitment and selection process is critical to hiring top talent, both effectively and efficiently. The Associate Dean for Administration works with hiring managers to develop a recruitment strategy that outlines recruitment needs and goals, establish an interview process, identify members of the interview panel, and create behavioral interview questions specific to the position.
There are four key elements to a successful hiring process:
- Accurate position classification
- Effective recruitment strategy
- Making a competitive offer
- Successful onboarding
Position Classification
There are several staff categories at Boston University: regular or temporary. Regular staff are categorized as exempt or non-exempt. The majority of SPH staff are regular employees.
All SPH employees are “at-will,” meaning that either the employee or the employer may terminate the employment relationship at any time for any lawful reason. There is no probationary period for new staff.
Regular Employees
Regular employees* are those who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement and who are not members of the faculty. Policy statements only cover regular, full- and part-time employees (those with assignment durations of nine months or more), including exempt administrative staff, exempt research staff, non-exempt administrative support staff, non-exempt research support staff, teachers, and non-faculty instructors.
Exempt Staff. An exempt employee is exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Being paid on a “salary basis” means an employee regularly receives a predetermined amount of compensation each pay period on a weekly, or less frequent, basis. The predetermined amount cannot reduce because of variations in the quality or quantity of the employee’s work. Subject to FLSA exceptions, an exempt employee must receive the full salary for any workweek the employee performs any work, regardless of the number of days or hours worked. If work is not available and an exempt employee is ready, willing, and able to work, deductions may not be made. Exempt employees are not subject to the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Exempt employees are not entitled to overtime pay. For additional details, see the Boston University Employee Handbook, Section 201.6.
Non-Exempt Staff. Compensation for a non-exempt employee for hours worked is as per the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Employees are paid their regular hourly rate for all hours worked up to and including forty (40) hours during the workweek. Employees receive one-and-one-half (1-1/2) times their regular hourly rate for all hours worked over forty (40) hours during the workweek. For computing overtime payment, if an employee does not work on the day of an observed holiday and receives payment for that day, their scheduled hours of work are counted as hours worked. Paid Vacation, Sick, Personal Days, and Intersession Days not worked are not counted as hours worked for computing overtime. As a condition of employment, employees are expected to work overtime as required by the operational needs of the School of Public Health. Overtime must be approved in advance by the employee’s supervisor. Supervisors are required by law to maintain complete and accurate records of the hours worked each day by the non-exempt employees they supervise. They are also responsible for ensuring that employees are properly compensated for all hours worked, including any overtime. Supervisors must also maintain accurate attendance records for the exempt employees they supervise.
*Note: Human Resources only is authorized to issue an offer letter to regular employees paid from unrestricted funds or regular employees with the title of “Research Assistant.”
Temporary Employees
The School of Public Health may hire temporary personnel* to fill a specific need or for a particular short-term project, including:
- Additional/temporary help needed during peak departmental periods
- Special projects or events with clearly defined beginning and end dates
- Temporarily filling in for an “open” staff position
- Temporarily filling in for an employee who is on a short-term leave (less than nine months)
All temporary employee positions must be approved by the Associate Dean for Administration before being posted.
There are three types of temporary personnel:
- Temporary Employees (formerly referred to as “casual employees”) are individuals hired directly by the department and paid through Boston University payroll for a maximum of 8.8 months. The department determines the Temporary Employee’s pay rate and duration of employment (not to exceed 8.8 months).
- Temporary Agency Personnel are individuals hired through an outside employment agency and are considered employees of that agency. TerrierTemps, BU’s Contingent Workforce Management (CWM) program, provides a single source for finding, screening, selecting, and paying for these employees. Temporary Agency Personnel are not paid through the Boston University payroll system; they are paid through their employment agency.
- Independent Contractors are individuals, sole proprietors (including single-member LLCs), partnerships, corporations, etc., that render services to the general public. Independent Contractors are responsible for the means and methods of completing a task based on the specifications of a contract with SPH. Contractors generally have multiple clients and are not supervised or controlled by University employees. For more information on engaging Independent Contractors, please visit the Sourcing & Procurement website.
*Note: It is important to highlight that no offer letters are issued to temporary employees, which is a delineating factor from appointment letters issued to regular full time or regular term positions for research roles.
Job Families
A job family organizes a series of related jobs involving similar types of work with a progressively higher level of skill, competence, responsibility, impact, knowledge, and expertise. A job family model identifies the number of levels within a particular job family, clearly differentiates one level from the next, and describes the work at each level.
Jobs in a job family may be in the same or different departments with the School of Public of Health, and some job families may have more jobs and job levels in them than others. Organizing jobs into job families support salary benchmarking, career progression, and performance management.
Key steps to hiring process
Hiring managers should work with the Associate Dean for Administration and follow the steps below:
- Discuss the need for a new position/backfill for an existing position/augmenting or changing an existing position.
- Complete the SPH Position Request/Staff Justification form after reviewing the guidelines provided therein.
- Complete a Provost Labor Control Request form – this applies only if the request is for a new, centrally funded position resulting in an FTE.
- Upon approval by the Associate Dean for Administration and receipt of the signed Provost Exemption form, submit an online position evaluation request to HR Compensation for new positions/altered positions (where either title or core duties are changed as compared to previous SAP record).
- Pursuant to HR Comp guidelines, process a “create or maintain position” in SAP. If you need assistance with such SAP transactions, please reach out to the Director of People Services.
- Once the position is posted, hiring managers screen resumes received to ensure adherence to position criteria as posted and set up panel interviews for selected candidates.
- Set up an interview matrix of relevant questions (based on position description) for interviewing panel to pose to candidates selected for interviews.
- Rate each candidate based on guidelines highlighted in the interview matrix.
- Run reference checks in SkillSurvey for up to three finalists. Review and consider reference checks received prior to finalizing decision to extend an offer to the finalist.
Please note that internal SPH and BU candidates are not required to undergo a SkillSurvey reference check. However, it is mandatory that a written recommendation (this may be in the form of an email) from their current supervisor be submitted to their future supervisor prior to HR extending an offer. - Discuss salary considerations/potential offer/reference checks with Associate Dean for Administration and Finance. Upon concurrence, fill out offer form online and route to the appropriate Talent Acquisition Specialist assigned to SPH. Upon receipt of the HR e-mail containing Google form offer info confirmation, route the latter via email to Talent Acquisition Specialist, alongside SkillSurvey reference feedback and completed Applicant Flow Log Template.
- Once HR confirms candidate has accepted the offer and start date, reach out to candidate to congratulate them and prepare to follow onboarding checklist.
- Advise the Director of People Services via e-mail of the name, contact info and start date of the new employee.
Tips for a well written position description can be found on the HR Compensation site.
Posting an Open Position
Directors of Administration in academic departments or unit leaders, in close communication with the Associate Dean for Administration, work with BU Human Resources to post all SPH staff positions.
By law, all positions must be posted for a minimum of five business days before extending an employment offer.
Selecting and Interviewing Candidates
Open SPH staff positions are assigned to a Talent Acquisition Specialist in Human Resources. The Talent Acquisition Specialist will provide hiring managers with access to submitted candidate materials in SilkRoad Recruiting. Prior to each position being posted, the Talent Acquisition Specialist meets with the respective supervisor to establish service level parameters. Subsequently, upon receipt of resumes, hiring managers identify 4 -5 candidates to advance to in-person interviews.
Interviews are coordinated by each hiring manager and follow a defined process:
- The hiring manager coordinates the formation of a Selection Panel in collaboration with the Associate Dean for Administration. The panel consists of at least three faculty and/or staff who serve as voting members and the Associate Dean for Administration who serves as a non-voting member.
- The hiring manager coordinates in-person interviews, scheduling all candidates for 60 minutes over the course of one day. Candidates meet with the selection panel for 45 minutes; the panel uses the remaining 15 minutes to deliberate and summarize feedback about each candidate.
- Candidate interviews are facilitated by the respective hiring manager, providing the Selection Panel with a rating matrix and interview questions based on key aspects of the job description. Each candidate is rated by the Selection Panel individually, and the panel as a whole makes a single final rating of (1) finalist, (2) first alternate finalist, (3) second alternate finalist, or (4) not selected.
Background Checks
SPH strives to ensure a safe, productive, and inclusive work environment. To that end, before employment with SPH, all candidates being considered for employment in certain designated positions within SPH and the University must authorize background checks, which include, but are not limited to: a criminal history records check; Sexual Offender Registry Information (SORI) check; and verification of academic credentials, as well as the applicant’s social security number. A Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check, credit history, verification of professional license, certification, driver’s license record, healthcare fraud, professional references, and fingerprinting may also be required or apply for certain positions. The applicant must supply accurate information regarding their current and former places of residence. The applicant is entitled to see the results of all background checks and able to correct any inaccurate information contained therein. All information is for employment purposes only and kept in strict confidence by the Human Resources Office. If there is a need-to-know, Human Resources may share this information with the hiring manager.
Immigration
SPH remains in compliance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). Therefore all SPH new hires (employees hired after November 6, 1986) are required to produce proof of their identity and employment eligibility to their hiring managers as a condition of employment; this includes all full- and part-time, regular employees, casual, and temporary employees. All new employees must complete the Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9 Form) within three working days of the first day of work. The School of Public Health’s employment of foreign nationals is restricted to those who are authorized under law to accept employment in the United States. As part of the employment process, all employees, including foreign nationals, are required to complete the federal United States Citizen and Immigration Service Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification Form). This form must be completed at the International Student and Scholars Office (ISSO) no later than the end of the third day of employment. Whenever employees who are on OPT/other type of visa are engaged into a position at SPH, ISSO must be notified as soon as possible. All I-9 verification for such employees is done through ISSO, rather than HR which is the standard route for US citizens/Permanent residents of the US.
Employment of Relatives
SPH employees may refer friends and relatives to Human Resources for possible employment by SPH. Such referrals are processed per the procedures applicable to all applicants. Relatives who are qualified for employment at SPH and the University cannot be employed in positions where a relative or member of the same household has supervisory responsibility for the other or makes employment decisions on the other. Close relatives include the employee’s spouse, parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, brothers, sisters, brothers- or sisters-in-law, sons- or daughters-in-law, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, children, or grandchildren.
If two employees become close relatives by marriage and one has supervisory responsibility for the other or makes employment decisions about the other, one of the individuals will be required to effectuate a transfer or termination within ninety (90) days of the marriage. In compliance with Boston University’s policies, before extending an employment offer, requests for exceptions must be approved by the Provost or the appropriate Vice President and submitted with written justification to the Chief Human Resources Officer.
An offer of full-time employment to a member of the immediate family of a trustee or officer or other selected employee or other representative is subject to prior review and approval by the President of the University.
Making a Job Offer
It is the goal of SPH to attract and recruit talented individuals who are motivated and mission-driven. We strive to provide fair, equitable, and competitive compensation.
Offers of employment can only be made by Human Resources and are contingent upon successful completion of a background check, past employment verification, and academic credential verification. Offers of employment can only be made after the position has been posted for five business days, all required interviews have been conducted, and reference checks are completed.
All offer letters related to academic job family positions must be reviewed, approved, and signed centrally. This includes faculty positions, visiting researchers, visiting fellows, research fellows, postdoctoral fellows, postdoctoral associates, research scientists, research engineers, and academic researchers (including positions at senior ranks). Offer letters for primary faculty positions require approval by the Dean directly. However, offer letters related to all others may be approved by the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Advancement as the Dean’s designee. Absent such approval and signature, offer letters shall be considered invalid. Additionally, any documentation necessitating ISSO processing and inherently Dean signature approval must also be routed to the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Advancement as the Dean’s designee.
Hiring managers should work with the Talent Acquisition Specialist assigned to SPH to complete the Offer Detail Form, Applicant Flow Log, and Reference Check Form.
Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the Talent Acquisition Specialist works with the finalist on the hiring paperwork, including an employment application, Conflict of Interest form, Disclosure and Acknowledgement for background checks, and a Release and Authorization for background checks.
Salary Equity. SPH is committed to salary equity among our employees, both to adhere to legal requirements and good management practices. Salary equity increases efficiency and productivity, helping attract the best candidates, reduce staff turnover, increase commitment, and reduce absenteeism. SPH works closely with HR Compensation to ensure that salary equity is addressed throughout SPH and the University as a whole.