1. Purpose

1.1. This policy will ensure that all Students’ Union paid staff hiring is fair, unbiased, and follows clear practices and procedures. 

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2. Definitions

2.1. Employee: A paid worker of the Students’ Union. 

2.2. Executive Leadership Team: This employee group consists of the President and Chief Executive Officer, the Vice President positions, and the Associate Vice-President positions.

2.3. Multi-campus portfolio: A Students’ Union employee or Executive Leadership Team member that holds multi-campus responsibilities. 

2.4. Volunteer: A Wilfrid Laurier University undergraduate student who voluntarily undertakes a service for the Students’ Union. 

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3. Jurisdiction/Scope

4.1. This policy applies to hiring for part-time, full-time, and Executive Leadership Team positions. 

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4. Employee Catergories​

4.1. Hospitality staff positions

4.2. SU Desk staff positions

4.3. Contract employment positions

4.4. Part-time, continuing positions

4.5. Full-time, continuing positions

4.6. Executive Leadership Team positions

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5. Recruitment and Hiring Process for Hospitality Staff Positions

5.1. Hospitality staff positions that are not considered full-time, continuing positions will be hired according to Hospitality Services hiring procedures.  

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6. Recruitment and Hiring Process for Students' Union Desk Staff positions

6.1. SU Desk positions will be hired according to the SU Desk hiring procedures. 

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7. Recruitment Process for Contract, Part-Time, and Full-Time positions

7.1. Position proposals, prepared in consultation with Human Resources, must be approved by the President & Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director. 

7.1.1. The proposal must include a salary grid position. 

7.1.2. The proposal must include whether the position is permanent or on a contract basis. 

7.1.2.1. Contract position proposals must include the intended duration of the contract and renewal provisions, if applicable. 

7.2. A job description must be created or updated prior to any job posting. 

7.2.1. Job descriptions must include compensation, including the salary grid when applicable, and must be approved by the President & Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director. 

7.3. Approved jobs will be posted for a minimum of two (2) weeks. 

7.3.1. Select exemptions may be approved by the Board of Directors.

7.3.2. Job postings must include the required skills outlined in the job description. 

7.3.3. Jobs will be posted to the Students’ Union website and any other job posting web sites at the discretion of the hiring supervisor in consultation with Human Resources. 

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8. Application Vetting for Contract, Part-Time, and Full-Time positions

8.1. Applications will only be vetted if they were received by the submission deadline. 

8.2. Applicants will only be considered for the interview process if they meet the minimum job requirements outlined in the job posting. 

8.3. The hiring supervisor in consultation with Human Resources will determine the pool of applicants moving onto the interview process. 

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9. Hiring Panels for Contract, Part-Time, and Full-Time positions

9.1. The size of the hiring panel will be dependent on whether the job is contract, part-time, or full-time, and its location on the salary grid. 

9.1.1. The hiring panel for the role of Executive Director will be determined by the Board of Directors and President & Chief Executive Officer in consultation with Human Resources. 

9.2. All hiring panels must include Executive Leadership Team representation. 

9.3. The hiring supervisor, the most relevant Executive Leadership Team member, and a Human Resources representative will finalize the membership of the hiring panel. 

9.4. All hiring panels must act in accordance with the Students’ Union’s Conflict of Interest Policy. 

9.5. All hiring panels must ensure reasonable steps are taken to address confidentiality. 

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10. Interview Process for Contract, Part-Time, and Full-Time positions

10.1 The interview process may consist of the following components: 

10.1.1. A one-way video interview where the candidate answers pre-recorded questions. 

10.1.2. A panel interview. 

10.1.3. A second-round interview. 

10.2. The hiring supervisor in consultation with Human Resources will determine which hiring process components are required for each job posting. 

10.2.1. Applicants should be informed that only selected candidates will be advanced to certain interview stages.

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One-Way Interviews

10.3. One-way interview questions must be reviewed by Human Resources in advance and remain consistent for all applicants. 

10.4. All question response time allotments for one-way video must be consistent for all applicants. 

10.5. The hiring supervisor or a Human Resources representative will record the one-way interview questions. 

10.6. A Human Resources representative will contact the applicants eligible for a one-way interview and provide them with instructions to complete that process, including a deadline. 

10.7. The hiring panel will review and mark all one-way interview submissions. 

10.8. The hiring panel will determine the marking threshold that will qualify applicants for a panel interview. 

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Panel Interviews

10.9. Panel interview questions must be reviewed by Human Resources in advance and remain consistent for all applicants. 

10.10. A Human Resources representative will contact the applicants eligible for panel interviews. 

10.11. Panel interviews may be held in-person or virtually. 

10.12. The hiring panel will debrief each interview and evaluate the applicant’s answers based on their ability to fulfil the job description.  

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Second-Round Interviews

10.13. At the discretion of the hiring supervisor and Human Resources, second-round interviews should be conducted in-person. 

10.14. Qualifying employment category hiring processes may provide compensation for candidates to attend an in-person second-round interview.  

10.14.1. The President and Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director must approve in advance any compensation for second-round interviews. 

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11. Hiring Decisions for Contract, Part-Time, and Full-Time positions

11.1. Hiring decisions must be made in accordance with the Students’ Union’s Conflict of Interest Policy. 

11.2. Hiring decisions should be made by a consensus of the hiring panel.

11.2.1. In the event a consensus is not reached following the panel interview stage, select applicants may be invited back for a second-round interview. 

11.3. The hiring supervisor may make a hiring decision without the consensus of the hiring panel only after second-round interviews are conducted and with the prior approval of the President & Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, in consultation with Human Resources. 

11.4. A Human Resources Representative will contact the successful applicant with an offer of employment and commence the contract negotiation process. 

11.4.1. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified after the successful candidate has accepted their offer of employment and the contract negotiation process is complete.

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12. Recruitment Process for Executive Leadership Team positions

12.1. Positions and associated job descriptions, prepared by or in consultation with the Vice President: Volunteer Operations, must be approved by the President & Chief Executive Officer. 

12.1.1. Job descriptions must include compensation and must be approved by the President & Chief Executive Officer and the Executive Director. 

12.2. Approved jobs will be posted for a minimum of one (1) month. 

12.2.1. Select exemptions may be approved by the President & Chief Executive Officer for roles that are being posted during the year for which they will be appointed. 

12.2.2. Job postings must include the required skills outlined in the job description. 

12.2.3. Jobs will be posted to the Students’ Union website and any other job posting web sites at the discretion of the hiring supervisor in consultation with the Vice President: Volunteer Operations and Human Resources. 

12.3. Applicants to Vice President positions must be registered in an undergraduate program at Wilfrid Laurier University for at least 0.5 credits (or on a cooperative education work term) during the Winter academic term of the year they apply. 

12.3.1. Exceptions may be granted in advance by the President and Chief Executive Officer. 

12.4. Applicants to Associate Vice President positions must be registered in an undergraduate program at Wilfrid Laurier University for at least 0.5 credits for the Fall and Winter terms of their contract. 

12.4.1. Exceptions may be granted in advance by the President and Chief Executive Officer. 

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13. Application Vetting for Executive Leadership Team positions

13.1. Applications will only be vetted if they were received by the submission deadline. 

13.2. Applicants will only be considered for the interview process if they meet the minimum job requirements outlined in the job posting. 

13.3. The following process will be followed for Vice President roles: 

13.3.1. The applicable Vice President and Operations Group member(s) will review and score applications as instructed by the Vice President: Volunteer Operations, in conjunction with Human Resources.  

13.3.2. The President & Chief Executive Officer and President-Elect in consultation with the Vice President: Volunteer Operations will determine the pool of applicants moving onto the interview process.

13.4. The following process will be followed for other Executive Leadership positions: 

13.4.1. The applicable Vice President and the Vice President: Volunteer Operations (or designate) will review and score applications as instructed by the Vice President: Volunteer Operations, in conjunction with Human Resources 

13.4.2. The applicable current and incoming Vice Presidents in consultation with the Vice President: Volunteer Operations will determine the pool of applicants moving onto the interview process. 

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14. Hiring Panels for Executive Leadership Team positions

14.1. All hiring panels must act in accordance with the Students’ Union’s Conflict of Interest Policy. 

14.2. All hiring panels must ensure reasonable steps are taken to address confidentiality. 

14.3. For Vice President roles, the hiring panel will consist of: 

14.3.1. The President-Elect (Hiring Supervisor). 

14.3.2. The President & Chief Executive Officer. 

14.3.3. The current Vice President in the role for which the panel is hiring (for the panel interview stage only). 

14.3.4. The Vice President: Volunteer Operations.

14.4. For Associate Vice President positions, the hiring panel will consist of: 

14.4.1. The incoming Vice President for the department (Hiring Supervisor). 

14.4.2. The current Vice President for the department. 

14.4.3. The Vice President: Volunteer Operations.

14.5. An applicable Operations Group member may be substituted for a current Vice President if deemed necessary due to a conflict of interest or other circumstances, at the discretion of the hiring supervisor and the Vice President: Volunteer Operations. 

14.6. Any other changes to the composition of a hiring panel must be reviewed and approved by the President & Chief Executive Officer, the Vice President: Volunteer Operations, and Human Resources. 

14.6.1. Should the President & Chief Executive Officer need to be removed from a panel, the Executive Director should be consulted in place of the President. 

14.7. If an Executive Leadership position must be hired for at a time where there is no President-Elect or incoming Vice President, the panel may be augmented by an applicable Operations Group member, or other staff member as approved by the Vice President: Volunteer Operations. 

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15. Interview Process for Executive Leadership Team positions

15.1. The interview process will consist of the following components: 

15.1.1. A one-way video interview where the candidate answers pre-recorded questions. 

15.1.2. A panel interview. 

15.2. Any deviation from this process, or additional components, must be approved by the President & Chief Executive Officer and the Vice President: Volunteer Operations. 

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One-Way Interviews

15.3. One-way interview questions must be reviewed by the Vice President: Volunteer Operations in advance and remain consistent for all applicants. 

15.4. All question response time allotments for one-way video must be consistent for all applicants.

15.5. The Vice President: Volunteer Operations will record the one-way interview questions. 

15.6.The Vice President: Volunteer Operations will contact the applicants eligible for a one-way interview and provide them with instructions to complete that process, including a deadline. 

15.6.1. All applicants who meet the minimum requirements of the role will be contacted to complete a one-way interview, however based on the results of the application vetting process, not all one-way interviews will be reviewed by the hiring panel. 

15.7. The hiring panel will review and mark all one-way interview submissions for applicants that pass the application vetting process. 

15.8. The hiring panel will determine the marking threshold that will qualify applicants for a panel interview. 

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Panel Interviews

15.9. Panel interview questions must be reviewed by the Vice President: Volunteer Operations in conjunction with Human Resources in advance and remain consistent for all applicants. 

15.10. The Vice President: Volunteer Operations will contact the applicants eligible for panel interviews. 

15.11. Panel interviews may be held in-person or virtually, at the discretion of the President-Elect, with consultation from the Vice President: Volunteer Operations. 

15.11.1. The mode of interview must be consistent for all applicants, unless otherwise approved by the Vice President: Volunteer Operations and Human Resources. 

15.11.2. If there is no President-Elect, this decision is made at the discretion of the President & Chief Executive Officer. 

15.12. The hiring panel will debrief each interview and evaluate the applicant’s answers based on their ability to fulfil the job description.

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16. Hiring Decisions for Executive Leadership Team positions

16.1. Hiring decisions must be made in accordance with the Students’ Union’s Conflict of Interest Policy. 

16.2. Hiring decisions should be made by a consensus of the hiring panel. 

16.2.1. In the event a consensus is not reached following the panel interview stage, the hiring supervisor may make a hiring decision without the consensus of the hiring panel only after consulting with Human Resources. 

16.2.1.1. The President-Elect and President & Chief Executive Officer must also be consulted for any positions for which they do not serve on the hiring panel. 

16.3. The hiring supervisor will contact the successful applicant with an offer of employment, once approved to do so by the Vice President: Volunteer Operations. 

16.3.1. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified after the successful candidate has accepted their offer of employment.