Published to Newsletter on Mar 31, 2021
Shirley Alexander, Sr. Human Resources Consultant, Client Services
The transition to a new way of working has also meant a new way of recruitment and hiring which presented both challenges and opportunities in the midst of a pandemic. While we were limited with community outreach activities, HR took steps to continue to strengthen our diversity efforts to build an inclusive workplace and culture across main campus, Health Science Center and our branch campuses through various virtual campus outreach, community collaborations and trainings.
We particularly remain committed and focused on our goal to recruit Veterans and people with disabilities during this pandemic. Our collaboration with New Mexico Workforce Connection through HR Staffing Services provided recruitment opportunities via Zoom for virtual career fairs, recruiting and assisting Veterans and Service Members reentering the civilian workforce.
Working closely with Employee and Organizational Development we were able to accommodate training requests for virtual diversity and inclusion trainings. Our ongoing collaboration with the New Mexico Governor’s Commission on Disability presented opportunities for awareness with virtual presentations on “Disability Awareness and Employment Perspectives” training specifically for our HR Agents, HR Staff, and department HR administrators and representatives who are directly involved in the hiring of our diverse workforce.
As we prepare for eventually bringing back the pack, our hopes are to extend our diversity initiatives beyond the hiring process and to resume planned in person community and campus outreach activities. We will be looking at new and creative ideas as we adapt to our “new normal” in continuing with our recruitment efforts and diversity initiatives.
We are committed to attracting diverse talents in all forms and creating an inclusive environment with a workforce made up of coworkers with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.
The pandemic may have altered the way we do things but did not alter our commitment to hiring and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce.
Tags: policy
