FAYETTEVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY

HIRING PROCESS

 

Authority:                 Chancellor, Office of State Personnel

Category:                 General University Policies

Applies to:                All Faculty and Staff 

History:                      Issued – 03/21/01

Related Policies:    Office of State Personnel Policies on Recruitment and Selection
Section 2, pgs 1-11

Contact for Info:     The Office of Human Resources (910) 672-1455

POSTING VACANCIES

Any University Permanent Staff employment vacancy occurring at the executive, administrative, managerial, or professional level is posted campus-wide for five days.  (A listing of these positions is maintained in the Personnel Office.)

Campus Posting:
The Human Resources Office posts vacancies as they occur.  All vacancies must be posted before they can be filled.

Department Responsibility:
The Announcement of Position Vacancy at Fayetteville State University is sent to each department, and each department is responsible for posting the announcement so that every employee has an opportunity to review the jobs posted.

ADVERTISING VACANCIES 

Due to the nature of particular positions, qualified applicants may not be on file in the Personnel Office to fill certain vacancies.  In this case the need for advertisement for applicants is determined between the department where the vacancy exists and the Human Resources Office.  The Human Resources Office assembles the necessary information and submits the advertisement to selected newspapers, radio stations, etc.  The statements, “Equal Opportunity Employer” and “please contact the Human Resources Office at Fayetteville State University if interested in the advertised position,” must be included on each job advertisement.

APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT 

1.                    INTERNAL APPLICATIONS:
Any present employee who meets the qualifications for a posted vacancy, if interested, may make application by contacting the Human Resources to have the individual submit a new application for that particular position.

The Human Resources Office screens internal applications, and all who fall under the QUALIFIED/MOST QUALIFIED pool are forwarded to the supervisor of the vacant position.  The employee is not required to tell his/her supervisor about an interest in another job unless he/she is to be interviewed.

The hiring supervisor should consider interested qualified University employees before considering outside applicants; the supervisor is not required to hire a present University employee, but should consider them before going to outside applicants.

2.                    EXTERNAL APPLICATIONS: 
Any person interested in staff (SPA) employment with the University must have a complete application form, Form PD107 - STATE APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT, on file in the Human Resources Office.  Application forms can be obtained from the Human Resources, website  or the Employment Security Commission.  Upon completion of the application, applicants must file the application with the Human Resources Office before the closing date.

Applications for employment are filed alphabetically and remain on file for six months. 

When a vacancy occurs, the active application file is checked to seek out a pool of MOST QUALIFIED applicants.  These applications are sent to the department where the vacancy exists for review and selection of interviewees.

3.            REFERENCE CHECK
The supervisor is required to make two reference checks of past employment as soon as a selection is made.

In all cases when the final selection has been determined, the employment references must be checked on that applicant before the RECOMMENDATION FOR EMPLOYMENT can be finally approved.

The reference check has proved to be a useful tool in the hiring process and should be considered a very important step.

INTERVIEWING

Once a vacancy has been posted for the required time period, the supervisor may begin interviewing applicants for the position.  The supervisor is required to interview at least three (3) applicants dependent upon the number of qualified applicants.

EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCE FOR VETERANS 

The University’s policy on employment preference for veterans and their wives or widows is expressed in the North Carolina General statutes, Chapter 128.  It provides that all departments, or institutions of the State or their agencies, shall give preference in appointments and promotional appointments to qualified veteran applicants in filling vacant positions under the supervision of the State.

Definition:
Qualified veterans are citizens of the State who served the United States honorably in any of the armed services in time of war and all citizens of the State who served in any of the armed services at any time between January 31, 1955, and the end of hostilities in Vietnam in which the United States was involved.

These provisions are further extended to the windows of veterans and to the wives of disabled veterans.

EMPLOYMENT OF THE HANDICAPPED

Federal Regulation:
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which applies to all recipients of federal assistance from Department of Health, Education and Welfare, forbids discrimination on the basis of a mental or physical handicap.  As a recipient of federal assistance, the University is subject to all aspects of this regulation.

Non-Discrimination:
The regulation covers and defines nondiscrimination in several different areas, one of which is employment practices.  The provisions of the regulation apply to recruitment, hiring, promotion, rates of pay, job assignments, fringe benefits and a variety of other employment practices.  The University is under an obligation to make “reasonable accommodations” in order to hire and promote handicapped workers unless such accommodations can be shown to create an “undue hardship” on the operation of the program.

Reasonable accommodations include modification of work schedules and job restructuring.  Pre-employment inquiries of applicants are limited to inquiries concerning an applicant’s ability to perform job-related tasks.  Also, an employer may condition offers of employment to handicapped persons on the results of medical examinations, as long as the examinations are administered to all employees in a nondiscriminatory manner.

EMPLOYMENT OF RELATIVES 

It is the policy of State government and the University that persons considered for employment or promotion will be selected on the basis of training and experience and other characteristics which best suit the individual to the job to be performed.

If conditions are such that it is necessary for relatives to be considered, the following will apply

Two members of an immediate family shall not be employed within the same agency if such employment will result in one supervising a member of his immediate family, or where one member occupies a position that has influence over the other’s employment, promotion, salary administration and other related management or personnel consideration.

The term “immediate family” shall be understood to refer to that degree of closeness of relationship that would suggest:

1.        That problems might be created within the work unit, or

2.        That the public’s philosophy of fair play in providing equal opportunity for employment to    all qualified individuals would be violated.

Immediate Family:
In general, this would include wife, husband, mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, grandmother, grandfather, grandson, granddaughter.  Also included are the steps, half and in-law relationships as appropriate based on the above listing.  It might also include others living within the same household or otherwise so closely identified with each other as to suggest difficulty.

If a member of the immediate family of an employee is hired within the same department, justification must be made to the Human Resources Office, and it must be shown that supervision or control over either of the individual’s position does not occur between the two members of the immediate family.

OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT

After approval of RECOMMENDATION FOR EMPLOYMENT, the Human Resources Office will contact the selected applicant and make the official offer of employment. This is to be done verbally followed by a written letter.  The individual will be informed in writing by the Human Resources Office of Salary, effective date of employment and when and where to report for work.

SIGN UP REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW EMPLOYEES 

On the first day of employment, the employee must report to the Human Resources Office to complete and sign necessary forms:

1.            Payroll Forms;

2.           Tax Forms, both State and Federal;

3.            Retirement System Forms;

4.            Insurance Forms; and

5.            Other forms for Fringe Benefits and miscellaneous payroll deductions.

Various miscellaneous deductions may be made from the employee’s payroll check; however, they must be requested and authorized by the employee.  (See Policy 14, Insurance and Retirement Benefits, and Policy 16, Services to Employees)

NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION

An orientation program is held on the first and third Monday of each month for all new full-time employees.  Employment policies, procedures, and benefits are covered thoroughly at this session. This is a required orientation for all full-time employees.

PROBATIONARY EMPLOYMENT PERIOD

All individuals receiving original appointments to permanent positions with Fayetteville State University must serve a probationary employment period of not less than three (3) months nor more than nine (9) months.  Normally the length of the probationary period is: 

1.         Six calendar months for those positions determined to be administrative,                  managerial, professional or supervisory; and

2.          Three calendar months for all other positions.

The probationary period is an extension of the selection process, and provides the time for an effective adjustment for the person.  Depending upon the progress of the employee and the recommendation of the supervisor, the period may be adjusted, but in all cases the three-month minimum must be met.  If an adjustment is desired, written justification must be made to the Director of Human Resources for approval.  The change would then be communicated to the employee.

After serving the appropriate probationary employment period, the employee assumes regular employee status including all rights to the employee grievance procedure.  That person whose performance does not meet acceptable standards during the probationary period is terminated from employment with the University.

In most unusual cases it may be necessary to hire a person above the “hiring rate” of the salary range.  This employee will also be required to satisfy an appropriate probationary period.

TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES 

A temporary employee who later is appointed to permanent status initially serves a probationary period after being given the original appointment. 

NOTIFICATION TO NEW EMPLOYEE 

1.           The letter describing the application procedure that is given to each new applicant includes a statement explaining the probationary employment period.

2.           The letter of appointment to each new employee includes a statement explaining the probationary employment period.

3.           On the first day of employment the employee must sign a new hire letter that states the position, salary information, starting date, and probationary period.  By signing this letter, the employee states that he/she accepts and understands the position and the probationary employment period.

4.           The probationary employment period is discussed in detail during the orientation session with and for new employees.

CONTINUATION OF EMPLOYMENT 

Prior to the normal ending date of the probationary period, the supervisor receives an Evaluation form from the Human Resources Office stating that the employee will satisfy the appropriate probationary period on a stated date.  The employee is automatically given regular employee status on the indicated date. 

At the end of the probationary period, a meeting is held between the employee and the supervisor outlining the employee’s progress.  The appropriate evaluation form should be completed on the employee and returned to the Human Resources Office at this time.  The Human Resources Office then notifies the employee in writing.

TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT 

During the probationary employment period the employee and the supervisor should mutually discuss any problems that occur.  If it is determined by the supervisor that during this period the employee should be terminated from employment with the University, a detailed discussion should be held with the Director of Human Resources before final action is taken.  The supervisor should provide supporting information, and the employee should be notified in writing of the terminations.