The How To's for Recruiting and Retaining Staff
A Course for Staff who have responsibility (or interest)
for
recruiting, selecting, and retaining staff in their organization
Spring 2003, Course 7
Instructor: Tom Ellett
Course Overview:
Over the past few years recruiting quality staff in many areas of student affairs has become increasingly difficult, as fewer candidates appear to be entering the profession. This course will provide participants with concepts, strategies, and proven techniques to help organizations look at recruitment as a yearlong activity. Additionally, participants will review selection and retention strategies. This course is designed to expose participants to a variety of topics in a short amount of time. It will give participants an overview and better understanding of five topic areas: (1) Creating jobs with "meaning" (2) Current trends in the candidate population (in one realm of student affairs - housing and residence life) (3) Overview of a recruitment plan (4) Elements for a comprehensive selection process (5) Retention Issues.
This course is presented in conjunction with Reslife.net.
Course Outline:
During the first week of this course participants will have the opportunity to exchange introductions and become acquainted with course participants enrolled in the course. We will explore positions that enhance the organization in moving forward. We will also discuss the current employment landscape in higher education, in specific review the trend in one area of student affairs, housing and residence life. Information will be shared on the creation of job descriptions and ensuring the jobs in your department are competitive to those among other institutions.
The second week will provide participants with strategies for creating a recruitment / selection plan. Participants will learn ways, in which they can build, develop, and maintain a solid plan for recruiting and selecting staff, such as how to market, determining your "ideal market" and getting the most qualified and "best-fit" candidates to look at the opportunities at your institution.
In the final week, participants will review the to the basics of "closing the deal" and how to retain your staff. We will discuss how to utilize other staff, students, and outside staff in the process.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course participants will be able to:
- Identify jobs / organizations that offer meaningful employment
- Understand the current landscape for positions within student affairs (specifically housing and residence life)
- Define elements for the creation of a comprehensive selection process
- Create a recruitment plan for their department
- Prepare a comprehensive selection process (assign a selection/search team, plan interview day, administrative preparation, etc.)
- Develop ideas for retaining staff through reflective practices
Participant Expectations:
Participants should plan to spend approximately 4 to 5 hours per week in this course. This will include time to read materials, complete on-line exercises and surveys and participate in asynchronous on-line discussions. Participants will need to log on for course content that will be posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In addition participants will need to respond to questions posted on the discussion board each week. As the discussion board is asynchronous, students may check in and post at their convenience. This learning tool will be an important part of participant's learning experience.
Individuals registering for CEUs will receive 1.0 CEU upon successful
completion of the course.
Instructor Bios:
Tom Ellett currently serves as the Executive Director of Housing and Residence Life at New York University. In his current position he has oversight for a comprehensive housing program that includes: housing administration, facilities, residence life, budget and finance, and greek life. Prior to that he served as the Director of Residence Life at Syracuse University for five years. His main focus at SU within residence life was assessment, creation of learning communities, and organizational restructuring. Previous to working at Syracuse University, he served in four residence life positions at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Tom is involved in various professional organizations for housing officers and was a co-founder of the Regional Entry Level Institute for Entry-Level Housing Professionals and currently served as ACUHO-I's Eastern District Representative. He received his M.F.A. from Catholic University and a B.A. in English from Fordham University. He is in his first full year of doctoral work at his undergraduate alma mater, Fordham University in the Educational Leadership and Administration. Tom's wife, Gladys, is a former Director of Residence Life, and they have two children, Christian and Alexander. In his spare time Tom serves as the Sponsorship Chair for Greenwich Village Little League and relaxes by working out at the gym.
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