Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Hiring topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Personnel director urges process review as committee presses to shorten 51-day hiring lag
Summary
Personnel leaders told the Budget committee they are reviewing recruitment processes to reduce the citywide average time-to-hire (about 51 days) and are examining policy, background checks and Talent Acquisition practices; a comprehensive salary study is near completion and will inform bargaining and pay decisions.
The Department of Personnel told the Budget and Public Employees Committee it is reviewing recruiting and onboarding processes to reduce an average citywide time-to-hire that committee members said is hampering recruitment, particularly for operational roles such as street and sanitation workers.
Why it matters: Aldermen said protracted hiring timelines are costing the city qualified applicants who can take jobs elsewhere; personnel staff said process changes and a pending compensation study are central to improving recruitment and retention.
Jamie McGeachan, public information officer for the Department of Personnel, said the department currently employs 55 people and had requested pay authority for 58 positions. John Unnerstall, director of personnel, told aldermen the department is analyzing data from the new Taleo applicant-tracking system and meeting with departments to identify bottlenecks.
Unnerstall said the city is "getting good data" from new systems and is meeting with departments to address delays. On the compensation study, Unnerstall said the consultant's report is "pretty close" and that the results will feed union negotiations and pay-ordinance decisions. He cautioned such changes are likely to be costly but said the study includes comparisons with similar municipal employers.
Aldermen pressed for specifics about reducing the roughly 51-day average from application to hire. "We don't have to just say it's a money issue," Unnerstall said, adding the department is reviewing internal timelines and policies and will propose changes where appropriate. Committee members recommended more direct department-level collaboration and asked Personnel to return with more granular data on segmenting time-to-hire by job type (for example, custodial vs. heavy-equipment positions).
Committee members also discussed background-check and screening requirements for certain roles; Unnerstall said federal and safety-driven checks remain necessary for some jobs, but the city is evaluating whether all current screening steps are required for each position.
Aldermen agreed the board and administration should continue working together on the compensation study results and potential policy or staffing changes to speed hiring.
The committee recessed after the Personnel presentation.
