Gahanna HR outlines hiring, seasonal staffing and new benefits for 2025

Ben Nolan, the city of Gahanna human resources manager, told City Council on May 5 that the HR department is prioritizing seasonal hiring, streamlining civil-service processes and expanding benefits in 2025.

Nolan said the city employs 210 full-time workers and 17 part-time staff, has hired 10 people and promoted eight so far in 2025, and is in the process of recruiting about 269 seasonal employees for pools, camps, events, paddle boats and the golf course. He said the department updated civil-service testing to create year-long eligible lists for roles such as parks maintenance workers and customer service specialists and is developing an onboarding academy for new employees.

The HR update explained changes to employee wellness and benefits: the city added a short-term disability benefit for unclassified employees in the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the Ohio Labor Council (OLC), and moved ancillary benefits — dental, vision and life insurance — to MetLife to provide a single point of contact for employees. Nolan also described a staff-led employee engagement committee that has run four events so far and plans five more this year.

Councilmembers asked for clarification on the timing of the employee engagement survey. Nolan said the initial survey was a one-time engagement led by the management partner Pradco with a planned remeasure the following year. President Bowers thanked Nolan for the update.

The HR manager described ongoing priorities including negotiating a successor collective bargaining agreement with the United Steelworkers later in 2025, expanding professional-development programs (internal and external), and using digital onboarding and rehire workflows to reduce paper and speed processing.

Nolan closed by inviting questions and noting the HR team will continue to use employee feedback to refine recognition and wellness programs.