A diversity hiring case study

(Adapted from The HFS Cultural Pro-Actors Group) 

James, a human resources recruiter, was working with a supervisor, Dave, to fill an assistant manager position.  Maggie, one of the applicants, called James with concerns about the hiring process.  She had not heard anything for more than three weeks and wondered whether she was still being considered for the job.  James assured her that she was qualified and offered to follow up with the hiring supervisor that day and get back with her.  James was concerned that Maggie would not be given full consideration because she is not originally from the United States and her English is not as strong as that of other candidates.

James stopped by to discuss the vacancy with Dave.  Dave said he was glad to see James because it would save him a phone call to report the three candidates he planned to interview.  James asked Dave who the final candidates were.  Dave named Tom Smith, Sally Jones, and Greg Thomas.  James was shocked and asked Dave about Maggie.  Dave found her resume and asked James how to pronounce her last name.  James was frustrated and told Dave it appeared to be a pattern that Dave only seemed interested in people like him, rather than diverse candidates.  Dave said he is not opposed to diversity, but he is in a time crunch and needs to hire someone who can “hit the ground running.”  James pointed out that Maggie had actually performed the job and would take less time to get trained on the job than the other applicants.  Dave responded that he has worked with each of the other three people he named and has confidence in their abilities.

James asked Dave if he was aware of the University’s nondiscrimination policy.  Dave said he had attended all the diversity workshops and understood the importance of being a diverse employer, but he didn’t think it applied in his situation.  James persisted in asking Dave to reconsider his decision not to interview Maggie.  Dave was getting angry and asked James to define his responsibility in the hiring process.  James was confused about the question.  Dave spelled it out, asking if James’s responsibility was to provide a list of qualified applicants and whether James had done that.  James agreed that he had done so.  Dave then pointed out that he was the hiring supervisor, and it was his responsibility to make a hiring decision based on the candidates that James referred.  Dave suggested that if James didn’t want him to consider certain applicants, he shouldn’t have put them on the list.

James continued to try to get Dave to consider giving Maggie an interview.  He thought that after an interview, Dave would be impressed with her qualifications.  Dave insisted interviewing Maggie would be a waste of everyone’s time, especially his.  He was adamant about only interviewing the three candidates he had already contacted.  Dave told James he was very busy and needed to get back to work.  James left and wondered what he would tell Maggie.

Questions to consider

1. What is the problem?

The problem with this scenario is that the supervisor is cutting corners in the hiring process.  He is not giving serious consideration to all the candidates.  He is eliminating candidates based on ethnic heritage because one of them has a foreign-sounding name.

2. What did James, Maggie, and Dave each want?

James wants all candidates that meet qualifications to be given equal consideration.  He also wants Dave to interview Maggie.  Maggie wants information about her status.  Although she also wants a job, her immediate concern is the lack of communication.  Dave wants to hire someone without interference from anyone else.  He wants to take the easy path and hire someone he knows instead of spending time considering other well-qualified applicants.

3. Who was right? Why?

From a diversity standpoint, James is right in wanting all candidates to be given true consideration.  Dave is right that he can hire any qualified candidate, but he is wrong to disregard Maggie as a qualified candidate based on her last name.  Maggie was right to want timely feedback.

4. What could James have done differently?

For the future, James could try a variety of approaches to address Dave’s lack of concern for diversity.  Ultimately, James needs to point out the University’s policies and goals that apply to this situation.  Further, James needs to tell Dave that if he continues to discriminate unfairly, he will be obligated to contact Dave’s manager.  Dave needs to understand the seriousness of his position and how it affects not just his department, but the candidate and the reputation of the University, as well.

Below are Purdue University’s policies regarding this issue.

Reaffirmation of University Policy on Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action (D-1)

Nondiscrimination Policy Statement

- Cindy Brewer and Karen Stahly Hershberger
HR Training and Development

- Dave Jones
HFS Human Resource Office