Despite the fact that New York has been quarantined the last few months, our Talent Acquisition Team and Trainers are still busy recruiting, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and training new staff while maintaining mandatory social distancing.
Hiring top candidates is one of ADAPT’s highest priorities. We seek to recruit talented staff that exhibit the compassion, reliability, adaptability, and attentiveness needed to enrich the lives of the children and adults that ADAPT supports in all of our programs and initiatives. There are certain attributes that we look for that will help facilitate growth and development for the people we support while simultaneously helping them realize their talent and achieve their personal goals.
Bobbi Jo Yeager, Vice President of Workforce Development leads the department and is always looking for innovative ways to obtain and retain talented staff as well as providing outstanding training to support current employees in continuing to develop their skills and expertise in their respective fields. One of the most recent technologies that Workforce Development has implemented was a Talent Management Platform from the Clear Company, which allows ADAPT to be completely paper-free during the recruiting, hiring, and onboarding process. The implementation of this software couldn’t have come at a more ideal time. The software was purchased in the late fall and set up in the weeks prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through this platform, hiring managers and directors of programs can indicate when they have open positions that need filling by completing a requisition in the system. Tajil Caven, Talent Acquisition Manager, and his team of recruiters then review and approve the requisition, which is then pushed out and posted to several job boards/ websites, including LinkedIn, Indeed, and more. Candidates have the opportunity to apply on these websites, and all of the information is sent back and captured within the platform. This allows hiring managers and directors to monitor who is applying for open positions. The recruitment team has been setting up phone or video interviews so that candidates can continue to social distance and minimize risk for candidates, staff, and people supported during the pandemic.
In addition, Deidre Davis, Talent Acquisition Manager who oversees and manages pre-employment and the onboarding process, worked very closely with the Clear Company to develop the electronic forms that would allow all candidates to complete all the necessary pre-employment paperwork from the comfort of their homes. The system allows for her and her team to send an onboarding packet to candidates who have been offered a position so that they can fill out the required forms online via their phone, laptop, computer or tablet.
Bobbi Jo Yeager stated, “In workforce Development, we strive to make the employee experience a great one. With the COVID 19 virus crisis, our candidates have ever-changing needs. Clear allowed us to adapt to these needs making applying, being hired, and onboarding at ADAPT a good experience which puts the employee in a place for success at ADAPT.”
Pre-Service Orientation has also been modified amidst the COVID-19 lockdown. Newly hired staff are able to maintain appropriate social distancing protocols by remaining 6 feet apart in our training room and using face masks and personal protective equipment to keep everyone healthy and safe. We’ve also been utilizing video conferencing technology so that some trainers or staff can connect remotely. Our Infection Control training is emphasized and prioritized throughout Orientation to ensure staff know exactly how to care for those that we support so that everyone remains healthy during these trying times.
To see job openings and benefits information, please go to: https://adaptcommunitynetwork.org/careers/
