Ensuring Applicant Data Can Withstand OFCCP Scrutiny

Federal contractors and subcontractors must comply with many affirmative action obligations surrounding applicant management, job postings, career site statements, and outreach effort evaluations, to name just a few. Here are some tips on putting together robust applicant data for the affirmative action plan so it will be more likely to withstand OFCCP scrutiny in an audit.

• Policies, Practices, Procedures - Before beginning any data capture think about how the organization hires and promotes employees and try to mirror that decision-making process as close as possible. For example, if the organization has an applicant tracking system which captures all types of movements, then it might be appropriate to capture external (hires) and internal (competitive promotions) selections within the applicants file and to prepare the adverse impact analyses accordingly. If there is not confidence in the data tracking for competitive promotions, then it would be more appropriate to only include external (hires) in the applicants file and prepare the adverse impact analyses in that manner.
• Date range - Applicant data is the only affirmative action plan data set that is generated based on a requisition fill date (hire date/promotion date) rather than the prior 12 months from the plan date. Depending on which types of selections/movements will be included in the data capture - either all external (hires) requisitions that were filled during the plan year should be included or internal (competitive promotions) should also be captured as well. Do not include cancelled requisitions, requisitions on hold, or requisitions that are still open.
• New hires - If possible, include the requisition number in the new hire file. This helps to narrow the applicant data included to only those applicants who were considered for the hires in the plan.
• Competitive promotions - If possible, include the requisition number in the promotions file for the employees identified as receiving a competitive promotion. This helps to narrow the applicant data included to only those applicants who were considered for the competitive promotion in the plan.
• Generating applicant data - Pull in as many data points as possible if the organization is using an Applicant Tracking System. If tracking manually, then include all data points in the template. Collecting more information up front saves time as it is easier to filter data out than pull it again. Include the following if applicable to the organization:
  • Applicant ID (if available) and employee ID (if hired)
  • Name, race, gender, disability, and Veteran status
  • Application date, offer date, and hire date
  • Requisition number (helps in determining applicant pools)
  • Job code/Job title
  • Location code/Plan Code (if multi-establishment company)
  • Selection stage step (prescreening, interview, offer)
  • Selection stage status (1^stinterview, withdrawn, rejected, rescinded)
  • Rejection/disposition reason (not able or willing to travel, no work authorization, lacks preferred education)
  • Submission source (name of website, agency, employee that referred the candidate)
  • Recruiter/hiring manager name
• Temporary to regular conversions data points - If the organization is an employer who sometimes fills positions with temporary to permanent conversions, we recommend setting up a requisition system with the temp agency and periodically collect the data points mentioned in the previous bullet from them. Affirmative action obligations surrounding applicant management and job postings are not suspended for employee conversions from temporary to regular. Instead of retroactively seeking data from the temp agency to include in the applicant log, consider proactively collecting the necessary data.  
• Data management techniques - Ensure the organization has documentation of all data management techniques used to manage the applicant pools, for all requisitions.
• Quality checks - Always have the new hire data available. Verify each new hire has a corresponding applicant pool. Remove data associated with requisitions that do not have a corresponding new hire/competitive promotion record. Investigate any areas of 1:1s—where one applicant applied for the job, and the applicant was hired/promoted—in those cases, see if any additional applicant data is available. Verify that self-ID information (race, gender, disability, and Veteran) between the new hire/competitive promotion and applicant record for the same individual match. Check to see if there are applicants with application dates beyond the hire/competitive promotion date noted on the requisition. This might indicate evergreen or open requisitions were not closed in a timely manner. Run a check on the use of disposition codes/reasons. If the majority of applicants are coded to one disposition code/reason, or if everyone who was not hired/promoted is dispositioned as “not best qualified,” consider revisiting the disposition codes/reasons available and training recruiters on the importance of dispositioning applicants with accurate and reflective disposition codes/reasons.

Once these issues have been addressed, the data is ready for further analysis. This will also put the organization in a good starting place in case of an OFCCP audit. Berkshire’s consultants will work with the organization’s applicant data to ensure the correct records are being included/captured. We can also assist with other affirmative action compliance services. You can request more information about that here.