HR on 'The Ice': in the extreme conditions of Antarctica, there is no place for weak HR practices

HR Magazine, June, 2004 by Ann Pomeroy

The Screening Process

Candidates for the polar program must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and have a valid passport. Other than about 300 permanent employees who work primarily in Denver, most program participants are contract employees who must pass stringent medical and dental exams to qualify.

In addition, those who winter over on The Ice are required to pass a psychological assessment.

Dr. Ron Shemenski, RPSC's medical director, says the company contracts the psychological testing out to a Denver firm that conducts a similar program for the city's fire and police departments. The test company administers the MMPI-II (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) and the 16PF Questionnaire from the Institute for Personality and Ability Testing, followed by a personal interview with each candidate.

Drug and alcohol screenings are also required, since drugs and alcohol are the biggest problems associated with the Antarctic jobs. "A couple of DUIs will keep someone out of the program," says Shemenski.

His office receives a pass/fail notice for each candidate, but no other details. NSF and RPSC refer any questions they may get from candidates who fail the exam directly to the test company. NSF sets the guidelines for the medical, dental and psychological screening programs, and reserves the right to audit the polar program, but is not involved in the details. Shemenski works hand in hand with an NSF contact to keep the agency informed about the program.

About 95 percent of those who took the psychological test this year passed. "This year, 17 people flunked out of a total of about 350 applicants," says Shemenski. The failure rate used to be higher, and he attributes the improvement to the fact that RPSC now conducts background checks on all applicants before they reach the psychological testing stage.

Candidates who fail the medical or dental exams can apply to NSF for a waiver; if it is approved, they may be allowed to work on The Ice. However, "There is no waiver for the psych exam. Sometimes a candidate is found to be suitable to go for the austral summer season, but not in the winter," says Shemenski.

Employees headed to South Pole Station must undergo an even more rigorous process, starting with a team-building course in the mountains around Denver before deploying. After a couple of months on The Ice, a team of psychologists goes in and re-evaluates the employees. "The psych team makes several trips to The Ice and conducts a debriefing after the season ends," Shemenski says.

RPSC tries to hire on a year's contract, especially for South Pole Station positions. Although they sometimes have to hire at the end of the austral summer season, this is not ideal, says Shemenski, because "people haven't been able to bond."

Alternates are selected for most positions, and, in some cases, more than one alternate is lined up, since each job is vital to the program's success. "We're always processing applications," says Boruch, who stresses that polar employees are "passionate about the science that we are supporting. Everybody realizes that, whether their work touches a scientist or not, they are there in support of science."