Ventura County Employee Recruitment and Promotion*

Ventura County uses three methods of employee recruitment: Open Recruitment – open to any applicant · Countywide Recruitment - open to any applicant already employed by Ventura County Agency/Departmental Recruitment – open only to those who are employed in the applicable agency/department. (Personnel Rules Article 3, § 306) Response: Concur

In response to complaints that HR was not sufficiently responsive to countywide recruitment and hiring needs, HR has granted decentralized recruitment and hiring authority to certain county agencies and departments. Response: Partially Concur Due to staff and resource shortages, HR was unable to satisfactorily meet the demands for recruiting and hiring. As a result, some of the larger departments were granted the authority to initiate and perform much of the recruiting and application screening process. However, approval of the recruitment plan and examination process remains with HR.

Personnel Rules §304 states, "Each county agency/department and each major division thereof, as well as each recognized employee organization, shall receive a minimum of one (1) copy of each announcement for distribution and posting." Response: Concur All job announcements are posted on the County website and accessible to both public and county employees. Printed "hard copies" are posted at the Human Resources public counter at the Hall of Administration. Postings are made available at the County's Job and Career Centers as well as within each department by their respective Human Resources representatives. 2006-2007 Grand Jury Response

It was alleged by the complainant that thorough distribution and posting of announcements in accordance with §304 requirements do not occur consistently in decentralized agency/department recruitments. Response: Do not concur The details of the alleged complainant was not filed or shared with the Human Resources department. Therefore, the nature of the complaint is unknown. However, posting and distribution of job announcements are performed in accordance with § 304 of the Personnel Rules and Regulations. F0-5 There is no written guideline "...to insure that a sufficient number of qualified persons apply to meet the employment needs of the County" as specified in §304 of the Personnel Rules. Response: Concur The Personnel Rules and Regulations are sufficient in identifying the approved practices and procedures for posting and recruiting efforts. No further written guidelines are necessary.

Personnel Rules §307 states, "...the Director - Human Resources shall determine whether an agency/department promotional, countywide promotional or open recruitment shall be conducted." Instead, this determination has been delegated to staff Personnel Analysts within HR and also to those in the hiring agencies/departments. Response: Do not concur The Personnel Rules §307 does authorize the Director – Human Resources to determine the type of recruitment to be used. However, as a practical matter, the Director-Human Resources delegates this authority to staff to perform these functions. The authority for the Director – Human Resources to delegate specific authority is found in the Personnel Rules, Article 2 Definitions, Section 242, Director-Human Resources which states: "Director-Human Resources: The title of the Director-Human Resources refers to the person occupying that classification or his designee." {emphasis added}

Personnel Rules §307 further states, "Where a sufficient number of employees holding status in lower positions have the requisite skills, knowledge and abilities for the vacancies, a strong consideration shall be given to conducting a 2006-2007 Grand Jury Response Countywide promotional or agency/departmental promotional recruitment." Personnel Analysts have been determining the type of recruitment to be used. Response: Concur with explanation. The Personnel Analysts appropriately determine the type and scope of any recruitment as delegated by the Director - Human Resources. Please refer to the response for F-06.

In County-only or department-only recruitments, the hiring entity established the number of applicants from which a candidate may be selected. HR prefers at least five candidates. However, no minimum number is required and it could be as few as one. Response: Do not concur All promotional recruitments are to be open for a minimum of ten (10) days, and all eligible applicants who meet the specific job and recruitment criteria will be evaluated and ranked appropriately. The "hiring" entity does not directly set the number of applicants to be solicited, the overall applicant pool is directly related to the number of application submitted. As a result of the posting policies, every potential candidate has an equal opportunity to apply for the opening. It is correct, there is no minimum number of applicants required for internal promotions in order to be a valid promotional opportunity. Each promotional opportunity is unique and has to be individually evaluated as to the appropriateness of the recruitment. Approval to open and proceed with a promotional recruitment has been delegated to the HR Personnel Analyst.

HR recognized there may be a problem in an open recruitment if there is only one applicant and it has been determined that there are multiple qualified and capable employees. The concern is that an adequate number of people did not have the opportunity to apply. However, HR has not acted on such concerns. Response: Do not concur All recruitments are posted and opened in accordance with the Personnel Rules and Regulations that provide for equal access to all potential applicants, see response to F-03. The goal of HR is to reach the most qualified applicants to secure the best candidate for employment. If a recruitment yields a small number of 2006-2007 Grand Jury Response applicants (e.g., one applicant), it would be prudent to assess the recruiting methods, the advertising approach, the job screening questions, etc. to determine if the best effort was made given the final outcome. However, the mere fact that only one applicant applied does not by itself invalidate the recruitment. There are many reasons why qualified applicants may not apply, such as compensation, work location, work environment, hours to be worked, assignments and duties, etc... Therefore, it is at the discretion of the HR Personnel Analyst, or by request of the hiring department to extend a recruitment if it is perceived that a greater number of applicants would be generated.

HR does not consider it to be a problem if the recruitment is department-only and for a special period, and only one or two candidates apply. Response: Do not concur Department-only promotions may only have one or two eligible candidates and considered an appropriate recruitment. However, it is unclear the reference to a "special period". All County and departmental promotional recruitments are opened for a ten (10) workday in accordance with §304 of the Personnel Rules.

The complainant testified that a new position was created and an individual was pre-selected prior to any official posting of the opening. HR agrees that there have been allegations of "wired" (pre-determined) appointments but states that they have never been proven. Response: Do not concur HR was not involved in reviewing the allegations made by the complainant and cannot fully respond to the issues being identified by the Grand Jury report. However, from time to time we do receive various types of complaints and/or grievances regarding a recruitment and promotional opportunity. As a matter of practice, we review any complaint or filed grievance, and depending on the nature of the protest there may be subsequent steps or processes required as outlined in the Personnel Rules. However, HR does not support or condone any practice of recruiting, promoting or hiring of employees that is contrary to the established Personnel Rules and Regulations. 2006-2007 Grand Jury Response

The hiring entity and the assigned Personnel Analyst determined the appropriate amount of work experience or education required for a position; however, the Personnel Analyst is responsible for developing minimum qualifications. Normally one year of experience equals one year of education. Response: Do not concur All job positions must be approved and authorized by the Board of Supervisors before they can be used for employment opportunities. Job specifications are developed by the HR Personnel Analyst with departmental input. The job specifications detail the job description, the job duties, the overall responsibilities, and the minimum qualifications for that job title. Each job announcement will list the minimum qualifications required to be considered eligible for that position as provided on the approved Job Specification. However, on occasion, the hiring entity may require more stringent qualifying standards than those listed in as the minimum qualifications. Nevertheless, in no case should the qualifying standards be less than the minimum qualifications listed on the job specification. Any change to the minimum qualifications requires approval from Human Resources. In general, one year of experience equates to one year of education.

The Personnel Analyst screens applications to determine which applicants meet minimum position requirements. Response: Partially concur The Personnel Analysts are responsible for those departments where the authority to perform recruitment activities have not been delegated or decentralized. Decentralized departments have their own staff performing the minimum qualification screening of applicants. The typical recruitment is open for a minimum ten-day period. Some particularly

difficult recruitments (i.e., law enforcement officers, nurses, or those positions with high turnover, such as entry-level clerical staff) are open for continuous recruitment in order to establish lists of prospective candidates. Response: Concur

Personnel Rules §510 states, "Whenever an employee is filling a position in a classification lower that that of the authorized allocation, an underfill situation 2006-2007 Grand Jury Response exists." To be eligible for promotion to a higher classification a candidate must participate in a formal recruitment. Response: Do not concur Personnel Rule §510 states in its entirety: "Promotion in an Underfill Situation: Whenever an employee is filling a position in a classification lower than that of the authorized allocation, an underfill situation exits. To be eligible for promotion to a higher allocation level, the employee must have either originally competed for appointment to the underfill position or must successfully compete with other candidates for the promotion to the higher allocation classification. In no chase shall an employee in an underfill situation be promoted without a competition as described above. If a position which is being underfilled is allocated at a higher level and if the employee in the underfill situation is satisfactorily and substantially performing the duties of the higher classification, and if the employee in the underfill situation meets the established minimum employment standards for the higher classification, then such employee shall be promoted, provided that the other provisions of this section are met" Consistent with section §510, there are two ways an employee can promote from an underfill position. First, if the employee already competed for the position (as an underfill) and is performing and meets the requirements of the higher position, then they may be promoted without a "formal" recruitment process. Secondly, the underfill promotion may be filled through a regular examination process. The later methodology is most commonly followed within the County. The determination and appropriateness to allow for an underfill to occur resides with the HR Personnel Analyst.

Personnel Rules §511 provides for a selection interview rather than the normal examination process when, upon written justification by the hiring agency/department and approval by the Director - Human Resources, there are three or fewer applicants for a position. Response: Concur

It is an unwritten County policy to promote from within and then conduct an open recruitment if the internal recruitment is unsuccessful. Response: Partially concur 2006-2007 Grand Jury Response It is a common practice, but not necessarily an "unwritten" policy to promote from within before seeking an open recruitment. The Personnel Rules and Regulations support the concept of promoting from "within" before opening up the recruitments to outside candidates. Personnel Rule §307 states in part: "...the Director-Human Resources shall determine whether an agency/department promotional, Countywide promotional or open recruitment shall be conducted. Such determination shall be in accord with the best interests of the County. Where a sufficient number of employees hold status in lower positions have the requisite skills, knowledge and abilities for the vacancies, a strong consideration shall be given to conducting a Countywide promotional or agency/departmental promotional recruitment." {emphasis added}

An employee who perceives that there has been an unfair recruitment may file a complaint either with his or her supervisor, HR, the Civil Service Commission, his or her union representative, or with the Auditor-Controller's Waste and Abuse Hotline. Response: Partially concur There is nothing to prevent someone who feels there has been unfair recruitment from complaining to the persons indicated in F-18, however, the appeal process and authority for remedy resides with the Human Resources Department. In some circumstances as outlined in the Personnel Rules and Regulations, the appeal will involve the Civil Service Commission.

Exit interviews, held upon the separation of an employee regarding their reason for leaving, have not been consistently conducted. Response: Concur The development of a new policy and procedure is being reviewed To ensure countywide consistency and uniformity, new policy is being developed

by HR for decentralized departments to outline completely their written recruitment process and obtain HR's approval in advance before opening the recruitment. Response: Concur 2006-2007 Grand Jury Response On February 22, 2007 a policy regarding documentation and approval process for recruitments was developed and subsequently introduced to all the decentralized departments. The recruitment policy provides the decentralized departments with a written format to complete a recruitment plan that is fully compliant with County policy and the Personnel Rules and Regulations. The recruitment plan as outlined in the policy provide the HR Personnel Analyst with all the necessary documentation to adequately review and approve the opening of the recruitment. The recruitment plan includes documentation regarding, the job announcements, screening and selection criteria, types of recruitment, etc. All requisitions to open a recruitment are to be submitted to HR with a completed "recruitment plan" in accordance with the policy and must be approved by the HR Personnel Analyst prior to the opening of the recruitment. This policy applies to all departments/agencies conducting recruitments. With the advent of this recruitment policy, all recruitment efforts should be consistently developed, reviewed and performed. Report Conclusions C-01 Adherence to the Personnel Rules has become inconsistent and inequitable as a consequence of decentralizing HR functions (F-02, F-04 through F-07) C-02 As an additional result of decentralization, HR's control and oversight have been compromised. (F-04 through F-07) C-03 Recruitment announcements are not always posted in accordance with Personnel Rules, which has resulted in allegations that not all potential applicants are aware of recruitments. (F-03, F-04, F-09, F-11) C-04 Delegation of authority by the HR Director to Personnel Analyst for determining which type of recruitment is appropriate (open, county, or agency/departmental) appears to be contrary to §306 of the Personnel Rules. (F-06, F-07) C-05 In Countywide or agency/departmental recruitments where there is only one applicant, there is a perception of favoritism. (F-04, F-05, F-09, F-11) 2006-2007 Grand Jury Response C-06 Policies regarding internal promotion and recruitment should be made part of the written Personnel Rules in order to prevent misinterpretation or misuse. (F-17) C-07 Using the ambiguous term "sufficient" instead of a specific number in §304 of the Personnel Rules creates the opportunity for "pre-selected" appointments. (F-05,