Recruitment and Hiring Guidelines

The guidelines contained herein have been established to clarify the roles/responsibilities of those involved in the recruiting and hiring process. 

• To establish consistency, fairness, and equity in staffing and hiring processes across all divisions and units.

• To assure that all actions on staffing and hiring comply with all legal and best-practice requirements.

• To ensure the most qualified candidate is placed in each position.

• Consult with the head of Human Resources if you feel that exceptions need to be made to any of the guidelines contained herein.

• Reach out to the head of Human Resources if you need assistance with any of these guidelines.

• Interviews will be conducted during approved work hours.

• Virtual interviews begin as soon as the interviewee and any interviewer are logged into Google Meet.  Face-to-face interviews begin from the time the interviewee walks in the door and ends when the interviewee leaves the building. (There’s no such thing as a “side conversation.”)

• Interviewers are agents of NKY Health and must not make any express or implied promises during the interview.

• All interviews for the same position must be standard (same interviewers, same questions, etc.).

• All interviews must include Human Resources (HR).

• If any applicant fails to complete and sign the electronic “NKY Health’s Application for At-Will Employment” form 24 “business hours” (i.e. one business day) prior to the scheduled interview time, the interview will be cancelled. The interviewing supervisor may work with HR to determine whether to reschedule an interview at a later date/time.

• Notes shall consist of factual information only.  Note what the interviewee says rather than your impressions of what they say.  (For example: “I was fired six times” is better than “Fired too many times.”)

• Follow ups and process-related questions from the interviewee shall be referred to HR. (For example: “I haven’t heard back from you yet”, or “What are you looking for in a candidate?” or “Can you give me feedback on my interview or tell me why I didn’t get the job?”) 

1. Work with the interviewing supervisor to answer any questions about updating the Job Description for the vacant position.

2. Ensure appropriate signatures have been obtained on the "Position Allocation" form as follows:

   • Accounting to certify the funds

   • Head of Human Resources

   • Division Director

   • District Director of Health

3. Prepare the position posting(s) and forward to interviewing supervisor for review and proofing.

   • Internal posting if opportunity is to transfer to exact same position at different location (usually clinics) or different program (usually health education).

   • External posting if opportunity is to move to a different classification.

4. Work with interviewing supervisor to establish pre-screen questions for external postings that will later serve as criteria for the Best Qualified (BQ) List.

1. Post the position on the Job Vacancies page of the HR Site for Employees and notify employees that a vacancy has been posted.

2. Notify others to post and/or post external postings on standard sources including NKY Health’s website, recruiting tool, local governmental job banks and placement agencies (including the KY Office for Vocational Rehabilitation), free public health job boards, diversity partners, and with the portal to distribute to colleges and universities.

3. Remove the posting from HR Site for Employees and notify others to remove it from other sites when it expires (internal postings for transfer usually expire after two (2) working days; other postings vary depending on the applications received but remain posted for at least seven (7) full business days.)

4. End external posting upon request of interviewing supervisor.

1. Save the initial application and resume (if attached) for any applicant who appears to meet the minimum requirements in a drive for the interviewing supervisor to review.  (The folder and it's contents become the official "Eligiblity List" according to Section 2.7.4 of NKY Health's Guide to Personnel Policies.)

2. Ensure the drive is available as “read only” to interested parties.

3. Update the drive with the status of each applicant as the status changes.

• Ensure that all interviewers have acknowledged the “do’s and don’ts” of interviewing.

• Review and archive the Best Qualified List(s) submitted by the interviewing supervisor (and provide suggestions as needed.)

• Review and archive the interview questions submitted by the interviewing supervisor (and provide suggestions as needed) if the questions are different from the template questions.

• Email a packet containing all of the following to each interviewee:

  • general information about NKY Health

  • legal notices

  • the posting for the position

  • the Class Specification for the position

• Verify that all fields in "NKY Health’s Employment Application" form submitted are completed and signed at least 24 “business hours” prior to the interview and make the completed application available in the folder.

1. Initiate the meeting (via the Google Meets that has been scheduled for first interviews and virtual subsequent interviews).

2. Provide an overview of NKY Health (accompanied by a slideshow if first interview).

3. Ensure the same process is followed for and same questions are asked of all interviewees.

4. Take notes.

5. Ask follow up questions as needed.

6. Close the interview (describe next steps in process and include approximate timeline). 

1. Collect notes from the interviewing supervisor and others who participated.

2. Archive the notes available in folder.

3. Thank applicants not selected.

4. Work with the supervisor to establish desired start date.

5. Review and archive the interview Rating Matrix upon receipt from interviewing supervisor (and provide suggestions as needed.)

6. Process interviewee(s) selected.

   • Verify employment.

   • Obtain appropriate signatures (via "Personnel Action" form.)

     • Division Director

     • District Director of Health

   • Extend offer and establish definitive start date.

   • Collect completed "Background Check Authorization" form from each interviewee and use this to check criminal background.

   • Arrange any other post-offer pre-hire verifications (usually takes 1-2 weeks to complete).

   • Initiate onboarding.

   • Notify administration staff of start date, title, and location (Payroll, Deputy Director of Health, Information Systems, Public Information, Support Services Supervisor, Employee Health Nurse.)

(These duties may be delegated but the interviewing supervisor is ultimately responsible for ensuring that they are correctly performed.)

1. When the position is a new position, work with the head of Human Resources to establish the most appropriate classification for the position.

2. Prepare an up-to-date job description for the position.

3. Execute a “Position Allocation” form using the “Position Allocation Form – Supervisor/Manager Initiates” workflow in AdobeSign.  Be sure to include detailed notes for the business reason for the position (e.g.: “Fill position vacated by Jane Doe to keep service levels the same” or “Fill new position created by funding from ABC Grant” and attach the job description.)

4. Review and proof the posting(s) prepared by HR; offer any suggestions for changes.

5. Work with the head of Human Resources to establish any custom screener questions that will help determine which candidates are best-qualified.

1. Send email "Notice to Referral Sources" (found on the Affirmative Action page of the HR Site for Employees) to all referral sources with a cc to hr@nkyhealth.org for any non-standard referral sources. (e.g., you want to send the posting to a particular instructor at a university or to a community partner who may know of some good candidates.)

2. Forward the posting that HR sends to any referral sources that are non-standard.

3. Notify HR when you feel that you have sufficient applicants to fill the vacant position now and should it become vacant again with 90 days and NKY Health can stop accepting applications. (Note:  Every position must be posted and applications accepted for at least seven (7) days.)

1. Block off time on HR’s calendar (and any others you want to include) for the interviews.

2. Contact each highlighted applicant to schedule a first interview.  Remind them that:

   •  They will need to complete "NKY Health's Application for At-Will Employment" form one full business day (ie: 24 “business hours”) prior to the interview.

   • They will need to log in with video ON to Google Meet at the date and time scheduled.

3. As you schedule interviews, replace the blocked off time “chunk” with a specific appointment time for each interviewee with a meeting for interviewers. For the title of the meeting use:

   • The job code 

   • The interviewee’s first name and last name

   • The interviewee's email address

   • The interviewee's phone number

4. Schedule a Google Meet interview for all parties (interviewers and interviewee).  Use “Interview with NKY Health” as the title of the meeting. (You will have two meetings scheduled at the same time, one with details for internal use and one that’s a “Google Meet” for everyone to use.)

5. Initiate an invitation from AdobeSign for the interviewee to complete "NKY Health’s Application for At-Will Employment" form. (Be sure to fill in the correct dates/times in the message.)

6. Verify that the electronic “NKY Health Application for At-Will Employment” form is signed and submitted one full business day (ie: 24 “business hours”) prior to the interview. If it is not, then cancel or reschedule the interview. If any information is missing, then either initiate a new form or cancel the interview.

7. If desired, send a follow-up email or make a follow-up call to remind the interviewee of the logistics of the interview.

• Ensure that you have completed and submitted the "Acknowledgement of Interviewing Do's and Don'ts" form the first time you interview; refresh yourself with this form if you haven’t interviewed within the past year; ensure that other interviewers you invite do the same.

• Submit interview questions that you will ask all interviewees to HR and distribute them to each interviewer. If the questions are different from the standard interview questions, submit them to HR for approval at least seven (7) business days prior to interview and prior to distributing them to interviewers.

1. Provide an overview of work unit and position.

2. Ask all questions on the approved question list and any follow up questions you have.

3. Take notes on the approved interview questions pages.

1. Within 24 business hours (one business day) after the interview, email one .PDF file for each interviewee containing: your notes, and notes from every other interviewer who took notes.

2. Within 24 business hours (one business day) after the interview, ensure that every interviewer who does not submit notes completes and submits the “General Interview Comments” form.

3. Finalize the BQ list by adding any notes about why candidates who were best qualified were not interviewed (eg: declined, no-show, number disconnected, etc.), adding all remaining applicants to the list, then emailing to hr@nkyhealth.org. The more detail you can provide the better. 

4. Complete the Interview Rating Matrix (using the approved template) for all interviewees interviewed and email to hr@nkyhealth.org.  Human Resources will prepare and extend an offer to the candidate with the highest score.

5. Work with Human Resources to establish a desired start date.

6. Prepare and send any announcements after the position is accepted.

7. Guide them through general orientation and complete onboarding.

1. Ensure that you have completed and submitted the "Acknowledgement of Interviewing Do's and Don'ts" form; refresh yourself with this form if you haven’t interviewed recently.

2. Take notes if you are requested to do so and give them to the interviewing supervisor or to Human Resources at the end of each interview (on paper if face-to-face, in a single .PDF if virtual).

3. Within 24 business hours after the interview, complete and submit the “General Interview Comments” form.

1. Review each initial application that NKY Health receives.  (Supervisors can review then as they are added to the folder or all at once.)

2. After the deadline for immediate consideration specified in the posting,  finalize a Best Qualified list in a spreadsheet listing the names of all applicants in the first column, the criteria in the heading row, and the details in intersecting cells. 

3. Highlight the names of the highest scorers who are not disqualified for any reason and email the list to hr@nkyhealth.org for approval prior to scheduling interviews.

NOTE: Supervisors must offer an interview to every candidate who is highlighted on the Best Qualified list .

8/4/2022

• Added Revision Log

• Updated "Posting a Vacant Position" section to list posting places.

5/1/2023 

• Added "1 business day" to clarify "24 business hours."

• Replaced references to "roster" with "eligibility list" to be more consistent with Personnel Policies.

• References to CareerBuilder removed when NKY Health in preparation to change to a different posting and applicant tracking tool.

• Removed language about HR verifying that each applicant meets minimum qualifications.

• Changed instruction for "General Employment Comments form" so that only interviewers who do not submit notes complete the form.

4/12/2024

• Added gender-neutral language

• Replaced Human Resources with email address

• Replaced "folder" with "drive"

• Clarified language