Grand Jury Board of Supervisors Response to Grand Jury Report "New Recruiting Ideas for the Personnel Department..."

Requiring candidates for difficult to fill positions coordinate with Personnel rather than directly with hiring managers in departments slows the hiring process and reduces candidate interest. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE _X_ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): This statement is inaccurate. Once candidates are placed on eligible lists, department hiring supervisors take the lead in managing most aspects of the candidate experience, including interviews, reference checks, and conditional job offers. There are certain portions of the hiring process that must be handled by Personnel, such as the scheduling of medical physicals, in-processing and fingerprints. However, these steps of the hiring process occur after the conditional job offer has been accepted. With the implementation of the Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) system, some coordination points between Personnel and hiring managers will be more streamlined, including but not limited to: • Centralized communication and tracking in which Workday provides a unified platform; • Data visibility and reporting, whereby the platform’s data visibility allows both Personnel and hiring managers to track key hiring metrics, monitor bottlenecks, and identify areas where delays are occurring, enabling proactive adjustments.

The Personnel Department recruiter training does not provide recruiter skills to the hiring managers necessary in today’s job market. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE _X_ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): A recruitment is a collaborative process between Personnel Department recruiters and department hiring managers. Personnel Department recruiters handle key tasks, while hiring managers provide operational expertise and specialized outreach based on their networks and industry connections. Together, Personnel recruiters and departmental hiring managers attend job fairs, informational marketing events, and are available to speak to interested job candidates about all the aspects of the job.

Outdated personnel “candidate pool” rules and Civil Service recruiting policies inadvertently force long term vacancies for supervisory and credentialed positions. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE _X_ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): In June 2023, Personnel implemented a significant Civil Service change, shifting from the “rule of 10” to the “rule of the list,” allowing all candidates to be forwarded to hiring managers in rank order for interviews. This improvement is designed to reduce delays and ensure a more flexible and responsive hiring process.

By not sending candidates for difficult to fill positions directly to hiring managers the chances of hiring well qualified candidates are reduced. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE _X_ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): For many difficult-to-recruit positions, such as Licensed Clinic Physicians and Psychiatrists, systems are already in place for rapid processing. Qualified applicants are forwarded to hiring managers within 24 hours of receipt, allowing immediate screening and expedited interviews. The implementation of Workday will further support this process by automating candidate tracking and reducing manual touchpoints related to the hiring paperwork.

Most county departments lack dedicated hiring managers leading to overloaded administrators. __ AGREE _X_ PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): All departments have hiring managers, supported by administrative staff. Major departments such as the Health Services Agency (HSA), Human Services Department (HSD), Sheriff’s Office, and Community Development and Infrastructure Division of Public Works (DPW) have dedicated recruiting analysts and personnel technicians. The implementation of Workday will further alleviate administrative burdens by automating many routine hiring tasks.

The Personnel Department has not changed policies and procedures in the face of fewer candidates applying for County positions resulting in additional vacancies and slower recruitment and hiring processes. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE _X_ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Recent updates include changing Civil Service Rules from a “rule of 10” to a “rule of the list” and reducing the interview contact notice period from 5 days to 3 days. Additionally, difficult-to-fill positions are now expedited. As soon as they are received, applications are forwarded to the hiring manager and screened for qualifications, which typically takes from one to three days. Recruiting strategies are continuously adjusted to reflect current job market conditions. These strategies include in-person and virtual informational sessions, community workshops, social media outreach, revised outreach plans, varied examination processes, and recruiter events held on both weekdays and weekends.

The Personnel Department’s website advertising continuous open positions without regular updates makes it very difficult for candidates to find opportunities on search engines because the information is stale and not up to date. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE _X_ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Continuous recruitments, which do not have final filing dates, are updated regularly. For difficult-to-fill positions, updates include changes to salary information and adding final filing dates as a marketing strategy to encourage candidates to apply sooner.

Continuous improvement for promoting existing employees in departments with difficult to fill positions can help to maintain effective staffing levels. __ AGREE _X_ PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Departments are encouraged to promote internally when a qualified candidate is available. However, to ensure a fair and equitable recruitment process, the focus remains on selecting the best-qualified candidate based on the entire hiring process, including the application, examination, interview, and reference checks. Hiring managers have the flexibility to choose the recruitment type, including promotional- only recruitments. We agree that recruitment tools to cultivate a promotional environment is important and they already exist.

Promoting employees within departments with many difficult to fill positions can limit the damage caused by attrition, especially at more senior levels. __ AGREE _X_ PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Departments have the flexibility to open recruitments to both non-County employees and internal candidates. Even when recruitments are open to external candidates, departments can request promotional-only lists if they prefer to prioritize internal candidates. We agree that recruitment tools to cultivate a promotional environment is important and they already exist.

The months-long hiring process is frustrating to candidates and jeopardizes the County’s chances of hiring good candidates. __ AGREE _X_ PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): While candidate experiences vary—some finding the process expedient while others perceive it as lengthy—the duration and type of recruitment are factors carefully considered by hiring departments during the planning and stages to meet their specific needs. The Personnel Department has been continuously working on process improvements to reduce delays, but numerous factors influence the timeline, including: • Civil service rules and mandatory examinations • Noticing requirements • Department availability for interviews • Reference checks • Compensation modifications requiring approval • Candidate availability • Candidates notice to current employer • Fingerprinting, Driver’s License clearance, and physical clearances

The time required for complex paper processes steals time from creative recruitment and ongoing contact with candidates. __ AGREE X PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): The Personnel Department continuously seeks ways to streamline and improve processes, including reducing the reliance on paper-based workflows. While there are ongoing opportunities for improvement, some departments already have effective systems in place that allow them to make quick hires despite the existing processes. The transition to Workday will eliminate much of the paperwork and enable more creative and proactive recruitment strategies.

Despite the finding in F9, having leadership in Personnel Department positions filled by long-time employees that have spent most of their career in the department has led to limited acceptance of ideas that have worked elsewhere in hiring for difficult to fill positions. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE _X_ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Leadership consistently promotes and implements innovative recruitment strategies for difficult-to-fill positions, such as hosting information sessions, organizing annual career fairs, offering new hiring and retention incentives, conducting community workshops, partnering with local agencies like Your Future is Our Business (YFIOB), and building talent pipelines by engaging with local students. However, some suggested strategies conflict with the principles of merit-based systems governed by Civil Service Rules. The perceived resistance to change is often a result of maintaining these principles, which necessitate certain checks and balances.

The 8-county salary comparison in place since 2002 is no longer a useful benchmark for wages and salaries given the high cost of living in Santa Cruz County resulting in many vacancies. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE _X_ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): The 8-county salary comparison remains a valuable tool as it considers total compensation, including county retirement contributions, base salary, FICA, cash compensation, and contributions for health, dental, life, vision, and long-term disability benefits. These comprehensive comparisons provide a well-rounded basis for setting salaries based on comparable elements such as geography, size of Counties, demographics, and service models.

To attract a wider pool of candidates for difficult to fill positions, pay needs to be at least 90% of what Santa Clara County offers. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE _X_ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): Santa Clara County benefits from a significantly larger property tax allocation, which allows them to provide higher compensation. They serve a small unincorporated population (4% of the county) while receiving California’s highest per capita property tax allocation (over $10,000 per unincorporated). In contrast, Santa Cruz County has one of the lowest per capita property tax rates (under $500), with tax dollars spread to directly serve 50% of our population living in unincorporated areas. Given these financial realities, it is not feasible to match Santa Clara County’s pay scales while maintaining our service levels.

The County Personnel Department was consistently unable to provide comprehensive hiring statistics. Without accurate data, Personnel and other departments cannot make sound judgements on how to measure improvements in the hiring process for difficult to fill positions. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE _X_ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): The Grand Jury was provided with requested data on turnover, retention, and vacancies. Recruitment timeline data related to Personnel Department activities was available and offered, but it was not requested. The Grand Jury’s request focused on hiring data that is the responsibility of individual departments, such as interviews, reference checks, and job offers. These stages occur after eligibility lists are forwarded and are not tracked directly by the Personnel Department.

The Personnel Department expects the department units themselves to track hiring and recruitment metrics and keep important data such as turnover statistics and vacancy rates. This leaves the Personnel Department and oversight bodies without a clear picture of the situation and depth of the problem. __ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE _X_ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree): As noted in F15, the Personnel Department already tracks key recruitment metrics, while departments are responsible for metrics related to their specific hiring activities, such as interviews, reference checks, and job offers. This division of responsibilities is intentional to ensure that department-specific data is managed by those directly involved in the hiring process. With the implementation of Workday, tracking and reporting on hiring, turnover, and vacancy rates will be enhanced.

By not filling essential positions for months at a time, services for residents suffer harm when vacancies persist. _X_ AGREE __ PARTIALLY DISAGREE __ DISAGREE Response explanation (required for a response other than Agree):