Henry has just left your office after announcing that he will be retiring at the end of next month after 30 years of dedicated service to the county. During the years you have supervised him, Henry has been the model of efficiency and competence. You will certainly miss him.

Then, little beads of nervous perspiration start to appear on your forehead as the full impact of this situation hits you: you will have to find someone to fill Henry's position!

While seeming to be a fairly simple process on the surface, recruiting and selecting new employees can offer some intimidating challenges. Federal and state laws set certain standards and limitations on how to recruit and what information can obtained from prospective employees. Then there is the problem of determining if an individual is fully qualified for the position. The goal narrows down to finding a qualified individual to fill the opening while not creating a liability for yourself or the county. As with most challenges that face managers and supervisors, these can be successfully met through a little forethought and planning.

Prior to beginning the recruiting process, the employer needs to be aware of certain laws that affect that process. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and later federal and state equal employment opportunity legislation, prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. Discrimination falls into two categories: disparate treatment and disparate impact. Disparate treatment discrimination involves an intent to treat individuals in one or more of the protected groups less favorably than others. Disparate impact discrimination involves practices which, on the surface, appear to be neutral but, in fact, tend to result in limiting the opportunities of individuals in certain protected groups. Disparate impact discrimination can be the result of recruitment advertising, inflated job requirements, or certain types of employment tests. Both disparate treatment and disparate impact discrimination are a violation of equal employment opportunity laws.

The first step in recruiting is to have a clear picture of the open position. This includes the job duties and the needed requirements to perform them. If the county has a good system of job descriptions, this information should be readily available. In the absence of job descriptions, the manager needs to first identify the essential job functions. These are the duties that must be performed in the job as opposed to the marginal duties which an employee may perform but which are not essential to accomplishing the goals of the job. The Americans With Disabilities Act requires that an employer only evaluate a person's ability to perform the essential job functions in determining his or her qualifications to do the job.

Qualifications
Once the essential job functions have been identified, the next step is to identify the requirements necessary to perform those functions. Factors such as education, experience, specific training, and required licenses or certifications may be included in those requirements. The employer needs to be careful to avoid overstating these requirements since doing so could create a situation of disparate impact discrimination. It needs to be remembered that not all jobs require a high school diploma.

Once the essential job duties and requirements have been identified, the actual recruitment process can begin. In preparing recruitment advertising, it is important to avoid using words which could indicate an intent to discriminate. A phrase such as "young, dynamic individual needed" could tend to discourage older qualified applicants, while the phrase "positive Christian work atmosphere" may keep individuals with other religious beliefs from making an application.

Generally, it is advisable to use more than one method to advertise the open position. For example, word of mouth advertising is one approach that can be used, but it is not advisable to use as the only method. Since people tend to recommend individuals of the same gender and ethnic background for jobs, word of mouth advertising could lead to disparate impact discrimination. A good rule to follow is to "get the word out in such a way that a qualified person could, through a reasonable effort on his or her part, find out about the opening." Examples of recruiting tools include newspaper advertisements, the Texas Workforce Commission, private employment agencies, and job listings on bulletin boards.

As resumes and applications come in, a decision must be as to which applicants should be interviewed. If there are only a few applicants and all appear to meet the basic requirements for the position, you may want to interview all of them. If the number of applications is large, a better procedure is to eliminate from consideration those who do not meet the requirements for the job and then select the strongest applicants, as they appear on paper, to be interviewed. Contrary to what some employers believe, there is no requirement to interview all applicants.

Interviews
A little advance preparation can help ensure professional and effective interviews. Some steps that can be taken to achieve this include:

• Determining the agenda for the interview (this would normally be greeting the applicant and telling them about the county and the job; obtaining information from the applicant; allowing the applicant to ask questions; and letting the applicant know when he or she may expect information on the decision);
• Selecting a time and place for the interviews that will minimize the potential for interruptions;
• Reviewing the job duties and requirements prior to the interview to be able to give the applicant an accurate picture of the job and to answer any questions the applicant may have;
• Allowing enough time for the interview to thoroughly explore each applicant's qualifications. Also, there needs to be enough time afterward to record your impressions of the applicant;
• Reviewing the application prior to the interview to prevent delays while looking over the application during the interview or asking questions about information that is obvious on the application; and
• Determining what questions will be asked.

The question and answer phase of the interview is the most important part of the recruitment process. It offers the opportunity to get a good feel of an applicant's qualifications while evaluating how well he or she will fit into the work team. However, the questions may also create a potential claim of discrimination depending on what is asked or how it is asked. Questions that directly relate to an applicant's ability to perform the essential job functions or to meet the requirements for the job are acceptable. Any question that directly or indirectly addresses an individual's status in one of the protected categories, discussed previously, is not acceptable.

Good Questions
Many interviewers prepare a list of questions to be asked of each applicant. This process helps guide the interview, ensures that all applicants will be asked the same questions, and reduces the potential for unacceptable questions.

An interviewer should avoid "closed end" questions which can be answered with a "yes" or "no" since such questions really reveal nothing about the applicant. "Open ended" questions, which require some thought on the part of the applicant, give a much better picture of the applicant. For example, asking an applicant what he liked most and least about his or her previous job reveals much more than asking an applicant whether he liked his last job.

During the interview, the goal is to keep the applicant talking. Some of the tricks that professional interviewers use include:

• Head nodding;
• Encouraging words or phrases such as "yes," "go on," and "that's interesting";
• Silence, as if you are expecting the applicant to say more; and
• Rewording the applicant's statement in a questioning tone.

The interviewer also needs to avoid distracting behavior such as fooling with things on the desk, looking out the window, or interrupting the applicant.

If a certain level of education, license, or certification is required, physically examine proof of its attainment. While most applicants will be truthful about this, first hand knowledge will reduce the employer's liability with some types of jobs.

In describing the job to the applicant, it is important to be truthful and tell the applicant the negative as well as the positive aspects of the job. There may be a tendency to over emphasize the positive side of the job to an applicant whom the interviewer likes. However, if a person fully understands the job before accepting it, there is a better chance of getting a good, long term employee.

Employment at will
The interviewer also needs to avoid making implied contracts which would erode the employer's "employment at will" rights. An implied contract can result from something said in the interview that gives a person reason to believe that there is a guarantee of duration of employment or that the job cannot be taken away without some form of due process. Examples of statements that might create an implied contract are:

• Do a good job and you can work here until you retire.
• This is a permanent position (Some courts have interpreted the word "permanent" to be a lifetime contract).
• No one will be fired without just cause.

After closing the interview, the interviewer needs to take time to make notes about the applicant while the interview is still fresh on his or her mind. It is important that the interviewer be objective and that the impression of the applicant not be colored by personal traits, not related to the individual's ability to perform the job, that the interviewer likes or dislikes.

References
Prior to making a final decision, references should be checked. The most valid references will be from former employers or individuals who have direct knowledge of the person's skills, work habits, etc. The more information we can get on an applicant's background, the better the ability to hire a qualified individual.

After a job offer is made and accepted, documentation on the reason for the choice needs to be prepared. Specific documentation based on job related criteria will be more defensible if challenged later than a broad, subjective statement such as "best qualified applicant."

While there is no way to ensure that the perfect employee will be selected each time there is an opening, a well thought out recruitment process will increase the chance of doing so.