Consultation Services

A UBC Faculty of Medicine (FoM) research centre wanted to bring a new staff member on board from a historically marginalized community to bring fresh research perspectives and increase innovation. While leadership fully supported hiring candidates with diverse identities, their current process consistently resulted in applicants from very similar backgrounds.

The centre’s leadership approached the REDI Office for support. A REDI team member reviewed the centre’s entire hiring process, including job postings, candidate selection criteria, interview questions, and onboarding practices. They suggested specific structural updates and provided a clear path forward.

Deciding to work closely with the REDI team, the leadership applied these changes to their next candidate search. The REDI team helped them craft an inclusive job posting designed to attract a larger, more diverse pool of talent, and ensured the interview format was accessible and welcoming. They also collaborated on equitable interview questions, objective candidate evaluation structures, and supportive onboarding protocols.

To ensure long-term impact, the leadership documented these key learnings and structural updates to apply to all future hiring committees. Because leadership was initially concerned about how faculty members might view these adjustments, the REDI advisor provided guidance on how to frame the updates and attended the meeting where the new process was presented to the unit’s faculty. Over time, the majority of the unit agreed to fully adopt the new hiring practices.

A department head contacted the REDI Office for support regarding ongoing conflicts between students, as well as between students and faculty members, within a specific course. The tension arose during a class discussion on a core topic that was highly sensitive for individuals with specific lived experiences and identities. Although the instructor attempted to move the curriculum forward, the friction continued to derail subsequent class discussions.

Members of the REDI team met separately with the instructor, department leadership, and learners to better understand the situation and offer tailored guidance. They mapped out several potential paths forward, including helping the instructor establish norms for difficult conversations, implementing trauma-informed teaching practices for challenging topics, facilitating discussions on the boundaries of academic freedom, designating specific times to address the sensitive topic, or conducting a formal restorative circle.

The department head and instructor decided to proceed with a restorative circle. REDI facilitators joined the following class session to lead the circle and foster mutual understanding. While the deeply rooted conflict was not instantly resolved, the immediate tension diminished enough for the class to successfully refocus on the rest of the course material.

Following the session, the department head worked with REDI to create a “lessons learned” resource to help other instructors navigate sensitive subjects. This included new classroom protocols, guidance on content warnings, and educational programming for incoming student orientations. REDI team members also collaborated with unit leadership to establish a faculty-led workshop for new students focused on academic freedom and constructive engagement with controversial topics.

A staff member at a Faculty of Medicine centre wanted to build a more welcoming environment for junior staff and graduate students from historically marginalized communities within their lab. Culturally and anecdotally, they noticed that team members from historically, persistently, and systemically marginalized backgrounds were leaving the unit at a disproportionately high rate.

The staff member recognized that specific workplace behaviors, informal processes, and unwritten protocols were leaving these individuals feeling unsupported. However, they were hesitant to raise these issues because they had not yet built a strong working relationship with their new Principal Investigator and worried about how the feedback would be received.

The staff member reached out to the REDI Office to discuss their concerns in a safe space. A REDI advisor helped them strategize a constructive, professional way to broach the topic and guide the conversation with the PI. Armed with this approach, the staff member met with the PI, who received the feedback positively and shared that they had already begun brainstorming ways to update their lab practices.

The centre’s leadership approached the REDI Office for support. A REDI team member reviewed the centre’s entire hiring process, including job postings, candidate selection criteria, interview questions, and onboarding practices. They suggested specific structural updates and provided a clear path forward.

Deciding to work closely with the REDI team, the leadership applied these changes to their next candidate search. The REDI team helped them craft an inclusive job posting designed to attract a larger, more diverse pool of talent, and ensured the interview format was accessible and welcoming. They also collaborated on equitable interview questions, objective candidate evaluation structures, and supportive onboarding protocols.

To ensure long-term impact, the leadership documented these key learnings and structural updates to apply to all future hiring committees. Because leadership was initially concerned about how faculty members might view these adjustments, the REDI advisor provided guidance on how to frame the updates and attended the meeting where the new process was presented to the unit’s faculty. Over time, the majority of the unit agreed to fully adopt the new hiring practices.