At Hudson County Community College, Inclusion Drives Recruitment and Retention

The motto at Hudson County Community College is “Hudson is Home,” a saying created by their students that reflects HCCC’s commitment to community across their three New Jersey campuses. Located in one of the densest and most ethnically diverse counties in the country, HCCC uses inclusive strategies to boost employee recruitment and retention.

HCCC’s focus on promoting a culture of care and belonging positions them well to contend with voluntary turnover, which remains on the rise nationally as higher ed employees report feeling overworked and undervalued. HCCC’s inclusion and belonging initiatives, including their new peer-to-peer recognition program, address the top three predictors that employees will seek work elsewhere: recognition for contributions, being valued at work, and having a sense of belonging.

In their recent CUPA-HR webinar, HCCC’s Anna Krupitskiy, vice president for human resources, and Stephanie Sergeant, assistant director of human resources, explained how they use inclusive strategies to engage their approximately 1,000 employees, including:

Prioritizing a Culture of Care

Addressing the needs of parents is one way HCCC creates a culture of care through inclusion. In the past, parents who were employees or students were confronted with unclear and inconsistent guidelines. But the institution’s new parent-friendly children on campus policy makes it clear that children are welcome on HCCC’s three campuses. With the new policy, Krupitskiy says, “we wanted to make sure that there’s a strong message that we do allow children on campus.” HR has also collaborated with campus partners on their Take Your Child to Work Day program, where children of employees engage in a range of campus activities, like participating in science projects or watching a nursing demonstration, before ending the day with an ice cream social.

Using Checkpoints During Recruitment to Ensure Inclusive Hiring

HCCC has created checkpoints to ensure there are meaningful milestones to reflect on inclusion during the recruitment and selection process. The first checkpoint is the composition of the hiring committee itself. Krupitskiy and Sergeant stress that screening committees should be representative of HCCC, not just in terms of demographics, but also such characteristics as how long a person has been employed at HCCC, what role or level of position they hold, what union affiliation they have, etc. They’ve also invited students to participate in searches when appropriate.

Job descriptions are another area they’ve scrutinized, asking if certain minimum qualifications inherently limit a pool of applicants. Might a minimum qualification, like years of experience, be listed as a preferred qualification instead?

Implementing a Peer-to-Peer Recognition Program  

Recognizing employee contributions is a critical retention tool. Only 59% of higher ed employees say they receive regular verbal recognition for doing good work, according to CUPA-HR data. To address recognition, HCCC holds a years-of-service event, with awards for five to 40-plus years of service for both part-time and full-time employees. Their new Hudson is Home employee recognition program allows colleagues to nominate each other for awards ranging from Collaboration and Team Achievement to a Part-Time Spotlight award. Employees receive an email notification when they’ve been nominated, which has driven up participation overall.

To learn more about the programs and initiatives at HCCC — including working to close pay equity gaps and establishing professional development funds — view the recording of Retention Strategies for an Inclusive and Engaged Workforce. For data on higher ed retention challenges and recommendations, see The CUPA-HR 2023 Higher Education Employee Retention Survey.