A recruitment process that uses tangible and concrete factors for decision making is less likely to be influencedby an employer’s own ideas or biases about candidates’ backgrounds, personal characteristics or personal lives. Once you have a pool of potential candidates short listed, resist the temptation to search for them online. “There was a time when a lot of businesses would visit social media sites to look up candidates or Google their names to find a little more personal or professional information about them,” Koldorf says. “It’s natural to be curious, but it doesn’t respect the privacy of the candidates.” Searching potential candidates online might turn up information, such as a candidate’s race, family status, marital status, or disability, that is protected under human rights legislation. “You don’t want this information to creep into your subconscious and influence your decisions,” Koldorf says. “For example, if the position requires long hours and you see that a candidate has young children, you might assume that they can’t or won’t be willing to do so. But that may not be true.” These scenarios also might open you up to liability. In some jurisdictions in Canada, there is privacy legislation that prohibits this practise outright. Make decisions about who to interview for the position based on the applications from the candidates. “My suggestion is to try to compare apples to apples,” says Koldorf. “Compare each applicant’s education and experience against the job description.” A recruitment process that uses tangible and concrete factors for decision making is less likely to be influenced by an employer’s own ideas or biases about candidates’ backgrounds, personal characteristics or personal lives. Interviewing Keep your interview questions related to the job description and the relevant skill requirements. “Questions that may be suitable in social situations, such as those about age or children or country of origin, are not appropriate in this professional setting,” says Koldorf. It’s also helpful to work from a list of questions that get asked to each candidate. “Again, this helps you to compare apples to apples,” she says. If there is a question that might only come up for a candidate of a certain race, gender or age group, that’s a red flag that it might not be an appropriate interview question. Accommodations should be made for candidates who may need them to participate in the interview process. If a candidate’s disability comes up during the interview process, and it could be accommodated to allow the person to perform the role, then they should continue to be considered for the job. To not make appropriate accommodations for this candidate could be a violation of human rights legislation. If you need to conduct a criminal record check, you need written consent from the candidate. “If a candidate will be working with children or dealing with large sums of money, you’d likely want to get one done,” says Koldorf. “You will also want to get a vulnerable sector check, which includes additional information not included in a criminal record check.” Every jurisdiction in Canada is a little different. “In Ontario, the Human Rights Code protects Recruiting When you begin the recruitment process and create a job listing, include specific skills and characteristics that are directly related to the tasks that will need to be performed. “Stick to what’s relevant as far as education, training and work experience,” says Koldorf. 26 | 2023 | Issue 6 SupportingYour Practice
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