After The Interview - Applicant Feedback

How does your organization communicate the hiring decision to external candidates not selected?

From a HR perspective, an official short and to the point notification is preferred. However, other than offering the news that they did not get the position they interviewed for, these letters are not very helpful to the applicant. If you have ever been on the receiving end of one, they can do very little to build goodwill towards your organization.

Is offering feedback to non-selected applicants something an organization should consider? Yes. We are competing for the best candidates in an already tight job market and for those who take an organization up on it, the personal contact can make a positive difference in the future. I say this knowing that the practice of providing feedback to applicants isn’t widespread because it can give rise to potential legal challenges. So, I caveat it with "proceed with caution" and ensure that if it is offered to one, it is offered to all.

If an organization chooses to consistently offer feedback, where should it come from and is it always feasible or reasonable? My advice is that the offer of face-to-face feedback should be included in the non-selection letter leaving the option to pursue or not up to the applicant. The safest place to leave the responsibility for providing feedback is with HR but there are supervisors who feel that the responsibility is theirs and who really enjoy doing this. For those supervisors, I recommend the organization be flexible and allow it; the feedback can be considered a continuation of the relationship developed during the interview. For those supervisors, I recommend that they talk with HR first to assist them to frame the feedback to focus on job-related facts and ensure it is fair and unbiased and offers recommendations the applicant can do something about. The conversation should not be about defending the selection.

Having said that, I do have to say that in my organization, HR provides the official notifications and we direct the candidates to the supervisors for specific feedback. Am I comfortable with this? No, not completely and frankly I am even less comfortable as I think about it now. So why don’t I change it Monday morning? We have over 1000 employees and fill close to 200 positions externally each year. This does not account for the multitude of internal promotion and reassignment selection processes that occur each day. Right now, my immediate reaction is that I don’t see how my staff could do this and do it well with the current work load but you can bet I will be looking at this from an organizational perspective.

I have been on the receiving or responding end of good intentions gone bad and I am aware that this approach sounds cautious and anything but transformational. I would love to hear what others are doing.

Note: There is an excellent article on SHRM titled "Applicant Feedback: Friendly Gesture or Inviting Flak?" by Pamela Babcock, October 2006 that highlight the decision of City of Troy, Michigan to offer feedback to all applicants.

HR Confession No. 1 - I Like Working With the Union

I enjoy working with the Union, I really do. 

Our interactions come in many shapes and sizes - he is standing at my door staring me down and I must interact, we are discussing an employee issue that has been brought to his attention, I am notifying him of a management decision or action that is being considered or will be taken and we are discussing the implications from both perspectives, and in many cases, we are agreeing to disagree.

I see my relationship with the Union as one that impacts my ability to get my job done on a day to day basis as well as a strategic one for the medical center. Positive union-management relations enable us to get our jobs done collaboratively, to address issues at the lowest level and to reserve the very time consuming "appeal" processes, i.e. grievance, arbitration, unfair labor practice charges, for the times when there is no other option.

I don't receive a grievance, a notice to invoke arbitration, an unfair labor practice charge, or any other form of appeal or response that I was not aware of or did not have an opportunity to address first. We reciprocate by ensuring the Union President does not walk into a meeting unaware of what is happening and that he is kept abreast of decisions, process changes, selections etc that could potentially be an issue for an individual employee or a group of employees. There are required notifications per the statute or Master Agreement we must make to the Union but what I am talking about is beyond that - the courtesies that keep the ship moving forward and the waters calm. There is a time and a place to share information and when I feel it is appropriate, I do. I am not an open book and am very keenly aware that we may have different agendas, although in the end, we want to make it right for employees. In each interaction, I seek to find this common ground.

Yes, to me, the Union can be the annoying "bump in the road " and have what I feel are some pretty absurd positions. They appear to pull interpretations from the Master Agreement that are completely off the wall, and can drive me absolutely crazy with the position/issues they invest their time in. I am sure the feeling go both way some days.

Bottom line is - we have got to work together and it is a balancing act each and every day. Some days it goes better than others but it is a part of my job that I really enjoy.