Form a HERC

Form a HERC

Frequently Asked Questions about Forming a HERC

Q. What is a HERC?

A. HERC stands for Higher Education Recruitment Consortium. Founded in 2000 by the University of California, Santa Cruz, the Northern California HERC was the first to be established. Now HERCs have developed in several regions throughout the U.S. Regional HERCs were formed in order to advance the efforts of their member institutions to recruit and retain outstanding and diverse faculty and staff and to assist dual career couples. A core aspect of each regional HERC is a website that is free to jobseekers and features comprehensive, searchable staff and faculty job listings, email job alerts, dual career searches and resources, and regional diversity and relocation information. Additionally, regional HERCs convene on a regular basis to share best practices and information about recruitment and retention issues.

The regional HERCs are given support, consultation, web and print templates, and other materials and know-how by the National Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC), a project of the Tides Center a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The mission of the National HERC is to facilitate national strategic initiatives that help the regional HERCs accomplish their goals and to promote HERC-wide visibility.

Q. What are the benefits of forming a HERC in our region?

A. There are several benefits to forming and belonging to a HERC, including:

  • Becoming featured on the most comprehensive higher education employment website in your region
  • Having access to a tremendous dual career resource for faculty, staff, and students
  • Receiving unlimited access to posting staff and faculty jobs
  • Reaching job seekers directly with e-mail job alerts
  • Broadening your institution’s applicant pool
  • Gaining coverage in press releases, media events, and marketing and advertising efforts
  • Networking with other institutions at members-only meetings
  • Exchanging information on best practices in recruitment and retention
Q. How do we know that HERC works? How do regional HERCs measure success?

A. Data collection and evaluation are important to the National HERC and the regional HERCs. While several measures have been devised, this receives ongoing development. Here are some key ways the regional HERCs measure success:

  • Website statistics – Each member institution from a regional HERC can view the number of visitors, job searches, job views, and emails sent to users, top referring websites, user registration survey results, and exit survey results. The number of visitors, searches, registered users, and emails sent have increased over time for each regional HERC.
  • Member institution reporting – Some regional HERCs require or suggest that member institutions add the regional HERC website to their employment application so that they can track the applicants and hires they make as a result of HERC.
  • Membership rates – Each regional HERC can track the number of members that belong to their regional HERC and how that number changes from year to year. The majority of the regional HERC have seen their membership numbers increase over time.
  • Meeting attendance – Each regional HERC can track the number of members that attend the regular membership meetings. For most regional HERCs this number has increased over time.
  • Anecdotal reports – Sometimes jobseekers, dual career couples, faculty or staff at member institutions, or others will write to a regional HERC Director or member institution representative with a success story about ways in which HERC has helped them with a job search, a difficult recruitment, or by providing a forum to network and share ideas with colleagues.
"As a faculty spouse coming from the east coast and unfamiliar with campuses in California, NorCal HERC played an essential role in helping me locate colleges and universities with positions in my discipline. My wife accepted a faculty position and in a matter of weeks I secured a temporary teaching assignment at a state university and then a tenure track position at a community college. It's not easy being a 'trailing spouse' and I thank Nor Cal HERC for the significant role it plays in helping faculty spouses and partners with important career transitions." —From accompanying spouse helped by HERC
Q. Who can I speak with about forming a HERC in our region? Can I get references from existing regional HERC Directors or members about their experience?

A. The National HERC Director is the founding Director of the first HERC in Northern California and has eight years of experience managing a regional HERC and helping HERCs launch in other regions. She is available to answer your questions, provide information, and attend your first HERC meeting. This is her contact information:

Nancy Aebersold
Director
National HERC, a project of the Tides Center
849 Almar Avenue, Suite C, PMB 260
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
t) 831.426.1316
e) nancy@nationalherc.org

You might also find it helpful to speak with HERC Directors in other regions. If you are interested in hearing about HERC from the perspective of a member institution, feel free ask the National HERC Director for the contact information of a member.
Q. What does it cost to form and operate a HERC? How much does each member institution contribute?

A. During the period of evaluating whether to form a HERC, there are two primary expenses. Firstly, the travel expenses for the National HERC Director to come present at an initial meeting of member institutions ($1,000 – $2,000 depending on meeting location) and secondly, the cost of the initial meeting ($1,500 – $2,500).

Once a decision is made by regional institutions to form a HERC, regional HERCs are funded through membership dues from the participating institutions. There are core annual program expenses of approximately $95,000 - $120,000 plus a fee of $400 per institution to HERC’s software partner (a sample budget can be provided by the National HERC Director). The core program expenses include a 50% time director’s salary and benefits, affiliation dues to the National HERC, marketing, and other overhead expenses. Some regional HERCs have decided to increase certain budget line items such as advertising, printing, and equipment which increased the size of their overall operating budget.

Costs per member institution will vary depending on the how many members your HERC has, because core program costs are divided among the members. Based on the costs projections outlined above, the fees per institution in year one would fall into the following ranges if your regional HERC had one membership tier:

  • 20 member HERC — $5,250 – $6,225
  • 30 member HERC — $3,633 – $4,283
  • 40 member HERC — $2,825 – $3,312

All regional HERCs have created a tiered membership structure to allow institutions with fewer financial resources, such as Community Colleges, to pay at a lower tier and those with more financial resources such as Research One institutions to pay at a higher tier. For example, in a 30 member HERC with three tiers, the lowest tier may pay $2,500, the middle tier may pay $4,000, and the highest tier may pay $6,000 in order to cover the regional HERC program expenses. Some HERCs base tiers on enrollment size, while others base the tiers on a more complex set of criteria. Decisions about setting tiers are made at the regional HERC level and the National HERC Director is happy to consult with you during your budget development process.

Q. What do the affiliation dues that the regional HERCs pay to the National HERC cover? What kinds of support and assistance does the National HERC provide to the regional HERCs?

A. The affiliation dues are included in the core annual program expenses for each regional HERC described above and entitle regional HERCs to consultation as needed from the National HERC Director; use of the HERC name, logo, print and web design templates; inclusion in all National HERC advertising and marketing campaigns; inclusion on the www.nationalherc.org website; inclusion in all National HERC conference participation; inclusion in the National HERC Advisory Board; access to all website software and design upgrades; and invitations to participate in regional HERC Directors meetings.

The National HERC serves as the holder HERCs intellectual property and acts as the custodian of the brand; collects program assessment data; initiates national advertising, marketing, and partnerships to benefit the regional HERCs; provides cost savings for regional HERCs; acts as a singular point of contact for new HERCs, vendors, and partners; serves as a mechanism for streamlining regional efforts and communication; is the institutional home for National HERC contracts; works toward becoming the primary higher education job board; and is a repository of best practices.

Affiliation dues contribute to supporting all of the above activities. Affiliation dues are set by the National HERC Advisory Board and the combined affiliation dues from all of the regional HERCs provide the total program income that supports the National HERC. In year one, affiliation dues are estimated at $35,000; in year two, $30,00; and in year three and thereafter they are $25,000. Dues are structured to be higher in years one and two because, based on past experience, the need for consultation from the National HERC is higher in the first two years of a regional HERCs operation.

Q. What is the timeline for forming a HERC and launching a website in our region?

A. Based on experience, early fall is the best time to launch a regional HERC website because of the academic recruitment cycle. It is important to have the website loaded with jobs when the site is announced to the public. Your region can consider the following as a loose timeline:

Month 1
Get approvals from lead institution(s) to move forward with a HERC and define your HERC region, purchase your domain name(s)

Month 1-2
Develop list of institutions and individuals to invite to inaugural meeting and send invites

Month 1-2
Host regional HERC inaugural meeting

Month 3
Follow-up with membership packets to institutions that express interest in joining HERC

Month 3
Hire your HERC Director

Month 4
Create a regional HERC Advisory Board and vote for a National HERC Advisory Board representative and alternate

Month 3-4
Review and sign affiliation agreements with the National HERC and software vendor

Month 4-5
Bill regional HERC members

Month 4-6
Develop website and associated marketing materials with design team and solicit appropriate photography and links from member institutions

Month 6
Pay National HERC affiliation dues

Month 6-8
Soft launch of website, training of administrators on job entry, data migration protocols

Month 9-10
Hard launch website

Month 10
Media event, press releases, advertising campaign, internal marketing of HERC to member institutions

Ongoing
Membership development, on going marketing efforts, quarterly meetings, development and maintenance of new initiatives, participation in National HERC Advisory Board, and participation in regional HERC Director’s meetings

Q. What are some of the initial steps for forming a HERC in our region?

A. Some of the initial steps for moving forward the formation of a regional HERC are:

  • Identifying the lead institution(s) – HERCs are initiated by one or more prominent institutions in a region. The lead institution(s) are responsible for early start-up expenses, initial meeting coordination, hiring and managing a HERC Director, signing agreements, and hosting the initial HERC regional kickoff meeting. The lead institution(s) should get the support of their Provost’s Office and Human Resources Office to move forward with the HERC initiative. This may mean getting a commitment for seed money, approval for hiring a HERC Director, signing agreements, and having letters of invitation go out under their signature. Regions that choose to have multiple lead institutions may find it helpful to develop a MOU that outlines the roles and responsibilities of the lead institutions. The National HERC Director can provide a sample MOU that can be used for this purpose.
  • Defining the region – HERC regions typically are divided along state or regional lines in order to create a name and identity that will resonate with jobseekers (e.g. Northern California, New England, Upstate New York). Within each HERC region, there are sub-regions divided by state, county, or area lines. Each sub-region should have institutions that are within a commutable distance (typically 2 hours maximum commute time). You can visit the regional HERC websites for examples. Domain names should be purchased early on to avoid another entity purchasing the name.
  • Conducting initial member institution research – Compile a list of potential member institutions. Being as inclusive as possible in terms of campus types and sizes is strongly encouraged. The following websites www.ipeds.org and www.50states.com have comprehensive listings of colleges and universities of all types by state. When compiling an a list, it is helpful to have the names of the President/Chancellor, Provost, VP of Human Resources, Human Resources Director, and VP of Faculty Affairs. These are the individuals that will receive the initial communication about HERC and be asked to assign the appropriate individuals to attend the inaugural HERC meeting.
  • Hosting an informational meeting – The informational HERC meeting is the single most important communication vehicle for developing your regions’ founding HERC member institutions. The meeting is typically held from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at one of the lead institutions. The meeting includes presentations by representatives from the lead institutions, the National HERC Director, Q & A, a networking lunch, and an overview about nuts and bolts of membership including timeline, membership dues, membership benefits, and expectations of members. A membership deadline should be set for no longer than one month following the inaugural HERC meeting.

The National HERC Director is available throughout your HERC start-up process to provide consultation and materials to ensure the success of your HERC.