Albemarle HR reports falling vacancies, plans employee clinic as turnover drops

Jessica Rice, Albemarle County’s director of human resources, told the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 6 that the county had reduced its vacancy rate from roughly 15% prior to FY23 to 6.4% by the end of FY24 and recorded a turnover rate of 0.9% for the same period. Rice said the changes followed an aggressive compensation and classification implementation and a July 2023 cost‑of‑living adjustment that together helped fill hard‑to‑staff roles.

Rice credited cross‑departmental collaboration and new hiring incentives for the improvement. “By the end of FY24 our vacancy rate was 6.4% — this is a huge win for the organization,” Rice said, adding that 112 sign‑on incentives were awarded to help staff parks, recreation and public safety vacancies. Assistant HR Director Ryan Lipscomb described new onboarding and supervisor training aimed at improving retention, noting the department has rolled out a performance management curriculum and 90% of benefits‑eligible staff are enrolled in county medical plans.

Rice laid out FY25 priorities that include launching an on‑site employee health clinic in early 2025 and continuing targeted outreach to increase applicant diversity. “The health clinic is scheduled to be launched in early 2025. We have partnered with CareATC to manage that facility,” Rice said. She also told the board the HR department will continue analyzing competitive pay markets and expand recruitment partnerships with colleges and workforce centers.

Supervisors asked for follow‑up data on frozen positions, the extent of remote work and department‑level staffing challenges. Rice said the team would provide counts and more detailed analyses as requested, and that some frozen posts had been re‑engineered to meet higher priority needs. The board did not take formal action beyond receiving the report.