Fall action lab update
November 09, 2022
Submitted on behalf of Equity and Human Rights.
In April, Equity and Human Rights staff working to develop UVic’s new Equity Action Plan invited a group of staff, faculty, and students to participate in a pilot of the Action Lab process. Together, over the course of the two sessions they sought to better understand and explore the question:
How might we create a hiring process where applicants feel supported, heard, valued and that they belong while creating a transparent, accountable, equitable process?
The group brainstormed over 100 ideas for solutions and then chose the top 3 to design prototypes. Prototypes are a way of trying out an idea in the simplest way possible to test all or part of your solution. Here are progress updates on the status of two of these prototypes.
Prototype: Applying equitable hiring criteria
Action Lab participants shared a desire for UVic to hire applicants with a wider range of experiences (including valuing lived experience) as qualifications to increase equity.
With the assistance of Human Resources, EQHR staff developed an assessment tool to be used in the creation or revision of job descriptions to embed equitable hiring criteria based on Tidal Equality’s Equity Sequence. The tool is currently being tested by members of the Human Resources team responsible for developing job description guidelines and hiring manager resources. In January, once feedback has been collected, the team will discuss next steps required to refine and embed the tool into UVic’s hiring process.
Prototype: Collecting applicant demographic data
This idea proposed by Action Lab participants focused on collecting data about who is applying for jobs, who is being hired and who is staying at UVic. Collecting this data as a baseline would allow for future trend analysis of who is being ‘filtered out’ or missed at various points in UVic’s hiring process (e.g., recruitment strategies, job description review, interviews, retention).
In consultation with Human Resources, EQHR staff began exploring and testing the reporting capabilities of UVic Careers (the site used to post and process applications for UVic staff positions) to determine whether this type of project would be possible. They found that UVic Careers offers a powerful, accessible, and reliable foundation for the collection of consistent point-of-application data for all staff postings. With this information in mind, major questions remain about data governance and workflow.
Importantly, the Better Data Project - a project designed to enhance UVic self-ID demographic data collection and management processes - will ensure that these important questions are answered before the tool is adjusted or used to a greater extent. This project will centre community experience and perspectives through the guidance and work of the Subject Matter Expert Group and the Advisory Committee, who will establish a clear data governance framework and outline key ethical principles to guide the collection of self-ID demographic data on campus.