Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Human Resources topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County to review human resources practices across elected offices
Summary
County officials said they will work with contracted HR support to standardize job descriptions, salary postings and other HR best practices across elected offices to reduce liability and ensure compliance with statutes.
Effingham County officials told the committee they will begin a countywide review of human resources practices to standardize job descriptions, job analyses, salary structures and organizational charts across elected offices.
Josh, a county board member who introduced the discussion, said the county does not have a single human resources director and that many elected offices currently manage HR functions independently. He said the county contracts with an HR support vendor, Bush Hughes, and that staff will meet individually with elected officials and department heads to develop consistent documents such as job descriptions, job analyses and salary‑range disclosures.
Josh said the goal is to reduce liability related to hiring, firing and other employment actions and to ensure compliance with statutes requiring salary‑range postings on job announcements. “We wanna make sure that each office is following HR best practices so we don't open the county up to liability for improper hiring, firing, termination,” he said.
Members discussed differences between county and city structures and noted some offices, such as the sheriff’s office, already have job descriptions in place. Sandy, a committee member, said the city has job descriptions and organizational charts but that those cannot simply be copy‑and‑pasted into the county system because county elected offices are organized differently.
Josh said the county will share example materials with board members and schedule one‑on‑one meetings with elected officials and department heads over the coming months. No formal vote was taken; the committee was informed of the planned process and asked to expect follow‑up materials and meetings.
Committee members said they preferred the proposed approach of individualized meetings with elected officials before any countywide policy is finalized. Officials also reminded staff to include considerations mandated by state statute, such as required posting of salary ranges for job openings.
