Is there a Problem with the Pipeline or the Process?
Recruiting and Retaining HigherEd Pros
As I write this, there are over 70,000 jobs listed on the go-to recruiting website, HigherEdJobs.com. Here, in my home state of Massachusetts, where Higher Education is only eclipsed by healthcare as the state’s top employer, there are currently 5,500 open jobs at colleges and universities posted on the website. 5,500 jobs. Woof. As a former hiring manager that number gives me a bit of agita.
The vast majority of these jobs require not only a college degree, but also graduate degrees and a specific amount of experience. With some requiring terminal degrees. Careers in higher education, especially in student services and student affairs can be rewarding. But in the past year of pandemic life where work from home and hybrid employment the ‘old ways’ of doing business on campus have been challenged. Employees are looking for flexibility and higher education does not play well in that sandbox.
The “Great Resignation” has hit campuses hard. Coupled with emerging from under the rubble of furloughs, staffing reductions and lay-offs, it is no wonder that tens of thousands of jobs are open. With campuses competing against each other to find employees to fill these roles, hiring managers and student affairs leadership alike are sharing that there is a shortage of candidates and there is a notable increase in candidates negotiating harder than ever before for higher starting salaries, flexibility of in-person work, and other benefits.
A recent conversation with a long-time colleague, mentor and friend put the focus on a “pipeline problem”. Her concern was that higher education as an industry was failing to create a pipeline to fill positions in student affairs and services. We bantered about why this was the case. Her argument was that professional organizations (NACUBO, AACRAO, ASCA, etc.) need to be more intentional around marketing careers in higher education, so that college graduates see higher education as a career path. NASPA has made Careers in Student Affairs month a focus, but as with anything of this nature, it really falls on the campuses and the membership to be the spokespersons for the effort.
The timing of the conversation with my friend was excellent, as I had recently interviewed Dean of Students, Joel Quintong for the live-pod, “Office Hours with Dr. De Veau”. Dean Quintong has made it a priority that when hiring he is looking at the ‘long game’. He waxed on during the interview about how employees can find community, affinity and belonging at a campus. Campuses are not only employers, they can serve as professional homes. Dean Quintong makes recruitment a key indicator of what the candidate’s experience may be as an employee. He also goes out of his way to find candidates who may not find their way to his institution, either because they are not familiar with the smaller campus, or because they aren’t even in the pipeline to begin with. He does this by utilizing his network and reaching out to individuals who have sent him great candidates in the past. Is this more labor intensive? Yes, but for him it has worked as he has curated his respective teams.
On re-listening to the interview, something stood out. Perhaps it isn’t the pipeline that is the problem, maybe it’s our process. Higher Education is cyclical with the fiscal year typically starting July 1, the academic year starting in August/September, and the “resignation season” beginning in the early spring. But, our Human Resources and Finance areas are often not insync with the needs of the student affairs and services hiring cycle. Higher Education is unique in that we post positions that are “anticipated”, or don’t have a clear start date in the job posting, or worse, the job description is so long it seems like a completely unrealistic set of wants and expectations.
This challenge is one that hiring managers and department heads with the support of executive leadership can address. Get ahead of it, let the HR office know your cycle. Ask them for their input and buy-in to making the hiring process seamless. Maximize the process that is in place - don’t fight against it. Seek out HR officer’s expertise in broadening the visibility of your postings. Ask HR to help perform a salary comparison, using CUPA-HR, but you need to bring to the table what your professional associations may be providing. The data from CUPA-HR may not be in alignment with ACUHO-i or ACHA. This doesn’t mean CUPA-HR doesn’t know what they are doing, it is really about what the JOBS are, and CUPA-HR doesn’t always line up with what is happening in your organization. The professional organizations have a more robust and complete view of the industry. Bottom line - work with HR, make them your ally.
Hiring managers across the campus need to consider creating a process that is about hiring people, not simply filling vacancies. Hiring managers within divisions should learn from one another’s processes, give feedback to colleagues and find common resources. This is not a pitch to unify hiring, but it is a cry to work together to get it right. By working together you may also expand your pool. For instance, the residence life office is in urgent need for a new area manager, their pool has been shallow and they don’t want to settle on a candidate. By sharing the need with other hiring managers in their division, they may come to find a great candidate who is a known quantity from their performance in another search led by a respected colleague. By working together, you may create a process that is not only more efficient, but also highlights the unique qualities of the institution as a place of work.
Something that I have been harping on for some time - and I cannot emphasize enough - is the importance of reviewing the job description as well as the qualifications being listed for the job. The job description needs to be accurate to what the position requires now. Positions that haven’t been truly edited and reviewed in over three years are likely inaccurate. Be sure that the job description describes what the person will be doing, who they are interacting with daily and how their success will be determined. Higher Education needs to take cues from business, healthcare and other fields in producing job descriptions that are clearly written and are clearly current. Coupled with the description, the qualifications should be accurate to the requirements of the job. In my conversation with Dean Quintong, we discussed that terminal degrees are now being preferred for some mid-level positions, such as an area coordinator in residence life, or a Director of New Student programs. While some positions may have a direct link to the academic product of the institution, and it is determined that a PhD or an EdD will better position the successful candidate in working with the faculty, this is not typically the case. Additionally, if the salary is not commensurate with the degree being sought, we need to slow our roll a bit and consider what will benefit the institution more - hiring a person with passion and skills, or hiring a degree credential.
Lastly, the pipeline and the process need to work together. Rather than expect our professional organizations to turn on the faucet, we need to lead people to our fountain. Departments can tap work study and student leaders to consider a career in higher education administration by acknowledging the skills that students have acquired as well as asking them to solve real problems within the service delivery area. Take their advice and ask them to be a part of solution creation. Students will see their value, and their potential in the field. Understand their priorities for the future, if a graduate degree is in the cards, show them how tuition remission may be a way for them to acquire that degree debt free. Nameless associations are not going to speak to the students - campus supervisors will.