ORS promotes from within and seeks organizational changes to ease workload and succession gaps

ORS told trustees it has promoted an internal staff member and wants to modify the benefits division staffing pattern to reduce workloads and create clearer succession paths. John Flynn announced Tara’s promotion to benefits senior analyst. Tara joined ORS in April 2022 and moved to the pension team in June 2024, staff said.

Flynn and other staff described persistent workload pressures and turnover across benefits and analyst positions since the pandemic and cited climate-survey feedback and exit interviews. To address that, staff requested approval to convert an open full-time staff specialist position to an analyst and asked the board to authorize creation of an overstrength program manager position in the benefits division as a pathway for management development and to lead key initiatives such as the member-portal rollout. Trustees approved the staff-specialist-to-analyst reclassification and the program-manager overstrength request on the board floor; staff said they expect to fund the hires from existing vacancies in the near term and would seek a permanent budgeted position in the next budget cycle if the trial succeeds.

Trustees expressed support for the staffing change and stressed the need to maintain continuity in benefits service delivery while the new roles are phased in.