Beaufort County reports 237 vacancies and plans surveys, audits to reduce turnover

Human Resources Director Catherine Mead told the finance committee that county staffing challenges remain a focus and described steps to improve retention and reporting.

Mead said the HR office recorded 237 vacancies countywide with 14 pending hires and that the county has 1,621 budgeted positions and 1,549 full‑time equivalents. For a one‑year period (11/01/2023–10/31/2024) she reported a voluntary separation (turnover) rate of 14.21% and said short‑window figures for 11/01/2024–12/31/2024 included 33 separations in a workforce averaging 1,383 employees.

Mead reviewed the 2024 personal leave time (PLT) cash‑out program the council approved in November: HR received 496 employee applications, approved 19,296.25 hours for cash‑out and paid a total cash value of $658,475.47 on the Dec. 13 pay date. She said departments covered those payouts through salary budgets and that payroll contingency funds will be used if a department runs short.

To address vacancies and turnover, Mead proposed a FY26 position audit to identify long‑vacant roles and possible reductions, and said the county will roll out a two‑part climate assessment this spring: an open‑ended people's opinion survey followed by a six‑month pulse survey. Exit interviews will continue but remain optional and anonymous. Workforce development staff will analyze survey results and convert findings into immediate, short‑term and long‑term actions.

Committee members asked follow‑up questions about the largest vacancy categories (detention center, EMS, sheriff), onboarding frequency (Mead said new‑hire orientation is weekly) and the optional nature of exit interviews. Mead offered additional departmental breakdowns for future reports.