Richmond HR reports falling turnover, expanded training and tuition assistance

Tyrone Alexander, Richmond’s director of Human Resources, told the Governmental Operations Standing Committee that the city’s turnover rate has fallen to about 10.3% and that the department has expanded training, professional-development partnerships and tuition assistance to address recruitment and retention.

Alexander said the department’s engagement work began after a 2023 review intended to make the city an “employer of choice,” and that the city has acted on several recommendations from that review. “The goal of an employer of choice is to attract, innovate, and motivate individuals, respond to concerns of its employees, invest in professional development, and ensure accountability,” Alexander said.

The presentation listed several metrics and programs the human resources office cited as evidence of progress. As of June 30, Alexander reported a projected turnover rate of 10.3%, a separation rate excluding terminations of about 8.1%, and a vacancy rate near 15.3% (the office said that final quarter numbers were still being compiled). He said 537 employees who had previously left the city had returned since January 2024 following benefit and pay changes.

Alexander described expanded training and development work: an employee engagement unit in HR, a new leader orientation, a cohort-style leadership program, a summer policy “boot camp” for supervisors, and the adoption of NEOGOV Learn as the city’s learning management system. The presentation says the city conducted 16 bargaining-unit training sessions and is beta-testing an electronic performance-management module in NEOGOV with a handful of pilot departments.

On tuition assistance and college partnerships, Alexander said the city had 129 participants in tuition assistance or programs with Reynolds Community College as of June 30. He said 109 employees used the tuition assistance program (a city contribution toward course costs), including 66 in public safety—54 in fire and 12 in police. He also noted 10 employees completed commercial driver’s license training and seven completed HVAC training.

Committee members asked how the city’s turnover compares with national benchmarks; Alexander said local government norms are roughly 10–15% and that Richmond’s rate has fallen from about 15.7% during the 2020–22 period to about 10.3% in the current year. He and committee members discussed lower engagement scores for frontline staff compared with managers, and Alexander said the department plans follow-up focus groups and deeper analysis of survey results.

Alexander also updated the committee on open audit items the HR office inherited: he said a set of items has been reduced from 36 to six and that HR and internal audit are working to clear the remaining items. He said vehicle-utilization work remains under review by an interdepartmental team.

The committee asked for quarterly vacancy data and Alexander said HR expects to deliver an updated vacancy report within about a week to meet an ordinance deadline. He also confirmed ongoing employee-engagement events and said officials would invite council members to service-award and Veterans Day events later in the year.

The HR presentation was an informational update; no committee action or vote on HR items was recorded.