Incorporating Inclusive Core Competencies into Your Job Description
Your Inclusive Person-Centric Hiring Solution
Your Inclusive Recruitment Strategy
An inclusive recruitment strategy builds upon insights from inclusive outreach and introduces new approaches to complement existing best practices for successful recruitment.
- Building on the list of the core tasks generated in the “Your New Hire & Your Organization VMV activity”, FRENCH VMV Activity), you will develop an inclusive job description.
- This job description will be the foundation for creating an inclusive job posting and application process.
The subtle shift from just filling a position to attracting the right “person” with the right skills, knowledge and competencies to be successful in the “role” and contribute to the overall success of your organization is what inclusive recruitment is all about.
What is an Inclusive Job Description?
An inclusive job description clearly defines the knowledge, skills, ability and competencies to successfully perform the assigned responsibilities for a specific role. It does this in a way that no “qualified” candidate feels excluded. Candidates feel comfortable and can see themselves applying for the job regardless of gender, cultural or ethnic origin and background, or disability.
Language creates barriers.
- Job descriptions that contain subtle coded language will “screen out” candidates and affect the overall attractiveness of the position.
- As a result, the right person may not apply.
When you start with an inclusive job description that states the core competencies for the role in an inclusive manner you will create an inclusive job posting that encourages all qualified candidates with different backgrounds, abilities and experiences to apply.
- Establishing a few critical competencies that the new hire requires to be successful in their assigned role and responsibilities is the foundation for a person-centric job description hiring strategy.
Getting Started!
Core Competencies for New Hire Success
This activity will assist in identifying a few basic core competencies that your new hire will require to be successful in the role and contribute to the overall success of your organization.
It includes further exploration of the essential requirements for the role and responsibilities and the assigned routine tasks, activities, interactions or special projects.
- This English list of Generic Core Competencies & Indicators-EN will assist with completing this activity
- This French list of Generic Core Competencies & Indicators-FR will assist with completing this activity
How an Inclusive Job Description Checklist can Help
The job description checklist guides you through a series of questions and topics to identify what you really need the new hire to bring to the organization.
- This activity will improve your chances of attracting the right “person” with the right skills, knowledge and competencies to be successful in the “role” and will make developing a detailed job description and job posting a breeze.
- We encourage you to approach the checklist from a person-centric perspective. This is a subtle but important shift away from focusing on “filling a vacant job or new position”.
Working through the Inclusive Job Description Checklist you will refine what the person requires to be successful in the role by exploring the following topics:
- Knowledge, Skills & Competencies – what the person needs to know and/or specific skills or abilities they need to demonstrate to be successful.
- Roles, Responsibilities & Accountabilities – the results, deliverables or products produced, or services expected to be provided by the role.
- Working Relationships & Decision Making– the internal and external interactions and types of challenges or decision-making required in the role.
- Environmental Conditions – that define the type of work environment and conditions the person will work within.
- Physical, Sensory & Mental Efforts – the amount of physical effort, sensory exposure and mental challenges or stressors encountered in the role.
- Salary & Benefits – the salary range and anticipated benefits
Salary and Benefits and Inclusive Writing Tips
Determining the salary and benefits package that will attract suitable candidates will require the right combination of pay, benefits, professional development and other flexible incentives to engage and retain the talent you need.
This resource provides a number of helpful resources to support incorporating Inclusive Salary and Benefits and Inclusive Writing Tips into your job descriptions.
Sample Job Description - from the Sample Checklist
This Sample Job Description for the Admin-Tech Specialist demonstrates how the content captured in the Job Description Checklist can be converted into an Inclusive Job Description.
Additional Resources
To support the work in this stage of the hiring process, we have listed a few additional resources that will help to bridge the earlier work and be particularly useful as you move on to the inclusive job posting and interview selection steps. Many of these resources are referenced in the Salary, Benefits and Inclusion Tips Summary Document.
For your convenience feel free to explore what is of interest as you need it.
- Promoting Inclusive workspaces
- Objective Assessment by Include-Empower.com
- Recruitment and Retention for Small-to-medium Employers
- Inclusive Recruitment: Optimize Your Recruitment Candidate Pool Include-Empower.com
- HR inclusive Policy Kit-The Canadian Association for Supported Employment
- Sample bias-free job descriptions
- Workforce Development Board (WDB) Labour Market Toolkit
- Inclusive recruitment article and tip sheet by – INCLUDE-EMPOWER.com
Step 3: Completed
In completing this step, we are better prepared to create inclusive person-centric job descriptions. As you move to the next step you will apply the insights gained from increased understanding and developing relationships to promote an engaging and inclusive hiring campaign.
Take What You Need - When you Need it - Come Back Often!
Resources/Links:
See the detailed list of all resources and citations used in the development of this step on the Resource Citations Page.
