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Pinellas County details career-path pay steps and two-day remote-work policy
Summary
Workforce Relations staff described structured career paths and ladders that give pay increases for completed training, and outlined a county remote-work policy limiting eligible positions to two remote days per week; leaders said departments can budget for ladder-related pay changes during regular budget cycles.
Pinellas County’s director of workforce relations told commissioners Aug. 28 that the county uses structured ‘‘career paths’’ and ‘‘career ladders’’ to boost recruitment and retention, and described the county’s formal remote-work policy that allows qualified employees up to two days of remote work per week.
Amanda Smith, director of workforce relations, said career paths are training programs that let employees improve skills within the same classification while career ladders are structured programs that make employees ‘‘most eligible’’ or automatically eligible for promotion after meeting licensure, training and experience requirements. Smith gave a utilities maintenance specialist as an example: employees enter at pay grade C14, can complete three training levels, and receive modest 2% increases when they meet designated benchmarks.
Why it matters: Commissioners said the programs address turnover and create retainable pathways for trades and service positions that otherwise lose staff to the private sector. Smith said about 1,000 of approximately 2,031 county positions under the county administrator meet criteria for career paths and about 50 meet the criteria for ladders.
Budget process and timing: The workforce office told commissioners career paths and ladders are entered in a SharePoint system and typically take three to five years to complete. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) staff said departments must project anticipated ladder completions during the budget process so wage impacts are budgeted the year salary changes occur. OMB staff said analysts use vacancy and turnover assumptions (for example, budgeting payroll at 92% or 98% depending on department historical turnover) to smooth costs.
Remote-work policy: Smith described a countywide remote-work policy that requires supervisor approval, VPN registration, satisfactory performance and appropriate job duties. The policy caps remote work at two days per week for eligible positions; supervisors must be able to demonstrate remote productivity via work orders, project plans or call-handling metrics. Remote work cannot be used for childcare or unrelated personal needs and can be revoked at any time.
Market pressure and next steps: Commissioners asked whether two days is competitive with private-sector and other government employers; Smith and county staff said finance, IT and administrative positions raise the most remote-work requests and that many private employers offer more remote time. Staff said they will provide commissioners a breakdown of how many employees currently work remotely, by department.
Ending: Commissioners supported further study of career ladders’ budget impact and asked staff to return with data on remote workers by department to assess retention risks.
