Policies & Procedures

The Recruiting System

The Recruiting System

GENERAL: The Executive Director is responsible for ensuring that a fair and equitable hiring process is carried out for each employment position, and that application forms and job descriptions are readily available to all applicants. Job descriptions are the fundamental recruiting document. Job descriptions must include: job title, supervisor, salary range, fringe benefits, hours, general responsibilities, specific duties and minimum qualifications for the position.

POSITIONS OPEN FOR RECRUITING: Positions that are newly-created and unassigned, or that are unassigned or anticipated to be unassigned due to attrition, and that we seek to fill, are considered to be open for recruiting. Additionally, existing positions that undergo revisions such that they make a significant change (for example, temporary to permanent or unrepresented to represented) will be considered “open for recruiting” for internal hire purposes. For already-assigned represented positions, minor adjustments such as shift or FTE changes need not be posted.

INTERNAL POSTING: Actively recruiting permanent positions regularly scheduled for more than 20 hours per week will be posted internally for five days before opening externally and for general recruiting. During these five days, regular full- or part-time employees seeking the position have priority for consideration. In order to become an internal applicant, the employee must submit a letter of interest stating that s/he meets all qualification for the position to the Human Resources Director. Current employees may apply after the five-day internal posting has ended, but in this case will compete with external applicants. Should an internal applicant be selected, the procedures discussed in INTERNAL HIRE, below, preempt those immediately following.

EXTERNAL/GENERAL POSTING: Once internal posting obligations are met, vacancies may be promoted in the community at large by posting on employment websites, placing classified ads, or working with employment networks. The Job Description is the base document from which promotional text is derived.

EXTERNAL APPLICANTS: In order to be considered an applicant, an individual must submit a letter of interest and a resume or Curriculum Vitae to the Human Resources Director. This submission may be paper or electronic. Individuals submitting these materials directly to other managers have not properly applied and may not be considered for employment.

INTERVIEWS: All viable applicants for the position, internal and external, will be interviewed. Each cycle of interviews will use identical questionnaires developed by the hiring manager for the position. Interviewers must record notes (directly on the questionnaire if they wish) on each interview. Panel interviews will be the norm.

FINALIST CANDIDATE: The external applicant (or two or three applicants) achieving the highest score(s) on the initial interview become the finalist candidate(s). They will be asked to complete a Transition Projects application packet, which includes releases and authorization for criminal background checks. Second interviews may be scheduled at the discretion of the program manager concerned.

BACKGROUND CHECKS: Agreeing to and completing necessary authorizations and releases for criminal background checks is an absolute prerequisite to employment at Transition Projects. The Human Resources Director will initiate criminal background checks. Once concluded, the Human Resources Director will advise the program manager either that no disqualifications resulted or that disqualifying results were returned. Should a check reveal disqualifying information, all rights due the applicant under FCRA will be implemented. Background checks are intended solely to determine qualification or disqualification for hire. They are not intended to be used as selection criteria among candidates qualified for hire.

JOB OFFER: The Hiring Manager or Human Resources Director may initiate the job offer. This is normally telephonic as it requires some dialogue with the selection candidate. The elements of the job offer are: the name and category of the position being offered; wage or salary; benefits eligibility; represented or unrepresented; primary duty location; shift; supervisor. Should the candidate accept, the date and time that employment will commence is mutually agreed to.

JOB OFFER LETTER: The Human Resources Director prepares a letter detailing everything agreed to in the job offer as well as in-processing instructions and provides it to the candidate by USPS, e-mail, in person, or a combination of the above, so that it is received prior to commencement of work.

IN-PROCESSING: This is usually the first event of the first day of employment, although if there are scheduling conflicts it may take place anytime during the first three days of employment. At in-processing, the new employee completes all mandatory employment documentation such as I-9 and W-4. The employee receives copies of this Handbook and, if represented, of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Other administrative matters are concluded.

TRIAL PERIOD: All new hires serve a trail period of six full months from date of hire. This is intended as a period during which the employee will receive initial training and orientation, both organizational and department- or job-specific. During this period, the program manager will assess the employee’s suitability. Trail-period employees may be terminated for any reason. Initial trial service employees may not seek voluntary reassignment.

INITIAL TRAINING AND ORIENTATION: This occurs over the trial period, and consists of an array of topics deemed necessary for optimal performance of the job to which assigned. Much of the activity is on-the-job instruction, showing the employee how to do things. The employee will be briefed on organizational policies and procedures and on job-specific skills such as charting. Specific skill training required for the position category (such as first aid and CPR or bloodborne pathogens for some positions) will occur at company expense.

RESTRICTIONS ON HIRING:
Applicants in Recovery: A minimum of one year’s sobriety is required prior to the date of hire for applicants with a history of substance abuse.

Hiring Clients: No person may be an employee and a client of Transition Projects simultaneously. Persons receiving ongoing services of any kind from Transition Projects must be discharged as a client and services discontinued prior to hire. Further, clients who have received residential services are ineligible for employment consideration for a period of six months following the last date of shelter occupancy. Exceptions to this policy may be granted for individuals selected to serve as mentors.

Family Members: No one may be hired into a position that supervises or is supervised by a member of that person’s immediate family. For this paragraph, “immediate family” includes spouse, sibling, children, step-children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, or any of the preceding “in-law”.

CURRENT EMPLOYEES must have served in their present positions for six months before they can be considered for voluntary inter-program reassignment. On-call and temporary staff are exempt from this restriction.

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