Mendocino County Board of Supervisors’ Response to Grand Jury Report Titled:

The HR Department has not had consistent qualified leadership for the last 25 years. Agree

The constant turnover in the HR Director position prevents clear direction or policy objectives and obstructs any possibility of a long-term vision for the department. Partially disagree The hiring of unqualified HR Directors has impacted the direction, policy objectives, and long-term vision for the department. If the County had ensured the HR Directors appointed had actual HR experience and training, the likelihood of a relatively consistent direction and policy objectives would be maintained. The long-term vision may change slightly, but the basis of strategic direction would be grounded in well-established HR practices from an experienced HR professional as Director.

The constant turnover in the HR Director position has led to staff confusion, inefficacy, discouragement, and job attrition within the HR department. Partially disagree Any staff confusion and discouragement would be attributed to the experience level of the HR Director and not knowing what to do, not the mere fact there was constant turnover of the position. The majority of HR staff had experience and/or training in HR and know the standard HR practices for the different areas within HR. When inexperienced HR Directors require staff to do things in conflict of standard HR practices, it generates confusion and discouragement.

The current interim HR director is commended for doing all she can to support the HR department’s day-to-day functionality. However, leading the department forward is beyond her capacity because her time is split between five County departments and multiple other duties. Partially disagree A different model for HR leadership went into effect at the beginning of 2023 in which an Assistant HR Director position was filled to oversee the operations of the HR department, while the Interim HR Director position, was filled by a Deputy CEO who has extensive experience with the HR Department. With HR now receiving leadership from a fully qualified individual who is also a DCEO, all County Departments now have greater input into the workings of the HR Department, as the CEO's Office interacts directly with all “County Departments". Department titles are just labels; it’s the person in the role that influences outcomes. Today, we have someone strong with structural connections across the Executive Office. This model allows the Deputy CEO to support HR while maintaining support to other departments and the CEO.

The HR department employees, particularly the four HR managers, are commended for keeping the HR Department functioning through years of transitory HR Directors (or the lack thereof). However, HR managers are unable to engage in long-term strategic planning or process improvement as their workdays are preoccupied with putting out daily fires and ensuring the basic functions of HR are completed. Partially disagree HR managers are able and have engaged in strategic planning and process improvement. The previous 2020 and current HR strategic plan has process improvement objectives as a main focus and there has been success in improvement of personnel transactions, recruiting, and moving from paper to online forms. Daily “fires” are a part of the HR routine and are expected, as HR does not have control over what personnel issues arise in an organization with 1,100 employees, and when HR must be responsive to personnel needs as they arise.

The challenges faced by the HR Department are likely to continue for the foreseeable future because the BOS and CEO have stopped recruiting a department director and have recently unfunded the position. Wholly Disagree A different model for HR leadership went into effect at the beginning of 2023 in which an Assistant HR Director position was filled to oversee the operations of the HR department, while the Interim HR Director position, which is filled by a fully qualified Deputy CEO, maintains the Director responsibilities. This model allows the Interim HR Director to focus on high-level HR strategies and coordination with department heads and Executive Office while working with the Assistant HR Director who is ensuring the HR department operates smoothly and implements changes/improvements. This model has been working well, because both the Interim HR Director and Assistant HR Director have extensive experience in HR and have set a strategic vision for the HR department and are implementing improvements. Staff are not confused or discouraged, rather they know where the department is going and how they’re going to get there. Performance Management - Performance management strategies are underutilized by the County, and the current performance review process does not promote professional development of employees and does not promote accountability. Specifically:

Performance assessments are based solely on a numeric rating scale, severely limiting opportunities for constructive feedback. The lack of supporting information prevents sufficient accountability or a useful record of employee performance. Partially disagree Although the current performance evaluations have a numeric rating scale for 31 specific factors within nine categories of performance, the entire second page is for supervisors to provide comments and observations of the employee’s performance as rated in those specific factors of performance. Employees with supervision responsibility do have the ability to provide constructive feedback.

There is no process within HR or most County departments to ensure that employee performance assessments are consistent and equitable across workgroups and organizations. Agree Human Resources is working towards an online performance review system that will allow the process to be easily tracked, provide consistency and equitability. Human Resources plans to have implemented in FY 24/25.

HR is unable to consistently ensure all performance assessments are completed, completed on time, and submitted to HR for the records. Wholly disagree HR lacks authority to enforce performance assessments are completed, completed on time, and submitted to HR for the records. It is the responsibility of the department heads to ensure performance assessments adhere to requirements. HR provides reports to all department heads of merit due dates, past due merits, and probation end dates, two indicators of required performance assessments. Departments are able to run reports on performance assessments at any time.

Once employees reach step 5 of the salary schedule, they often no longer receive performance assessments, which limits opportunities for growth and accountability for their work. Agree

Managers do not receive sufficient training from HR or departmental leadership on effective performance assessment strategies. Neither HR nor departmental leadership participate in supervisor assessments of lower-level employees to evaluate supervisor’s performance management and assessment skills. Agree

The County PM process does not facilitate performance management strategies like SMART goal setting, continuous coaching, or 180- or 360-degree assessments. Workplace Culture - A fair and healthy workplace environment is critical to employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity. Agree Workplace culture issues are significantly impairing the County’s functionality. Specifically:

Workplace culture issues are a significant concern among employees and these issues have led directly to attrition. Agree

Employees feel that County leadership has not done enough to address workplace culture issues in some departments. Agree

Employees do not trust the existing process for reporting harassment and discrimination. Partially disagree The County maintains an effective policy against discrimination and harassment consistent with Government Code 12940(k) and section 11203 of Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations. Under Mendocino County Policies 10 and 23, any employee can report harassment or discrimination to any manager, supervisor, or department head, regardless of whether they are in the same department as the reporting employee. Reports may be verbal or in writing and can also be made directly to Human Resources. Investigations are conducted independently by Human Resources or an outside investigator, and may include interim protective measures to avoid retaliation, prevent harassment, and protect witnesses. Complaints are kept confidential, to the extent possible. The Board agrees that some employees have expressed distrust of the existing process but believes that Finding 15 is worded too broadly. The Board is committed to maintaining an effective policy and supports efforts to improve employee trust in the reporting process.

There is no formal protected process for employees to report other types of workplace culture issues, which contributes to limited reporting due to fear of retaliation. Agree

There is no formal process for employees to report other types of workplace culture issues, therefor employees state they do not report because they see no meaningful change as a result. Agree

Workplace culture and management issues cause attrition across departments and reduce applicants for County jobs. Partially disagree Workplace culture and management issues may be things that internal County applicants are aware of and may impact their decision whether to apply for County jobs. However, external applicants would more likely be unaware of management issues and workplace culture. Number of applicants for County jobs have maintained relatively consistent with the exception of COVID’s impact. Since the workplace culture and management issues have been chronic for years, it’s not been established that an increase in applicants would occur with better culture and less management issues. Understaffing is an ongoing issue with ripple effects throughout the County. Many of these issues were reported in the 2013 GJ “Human Resources” report. Specifically:

Understaffing across departments has caused underperformance, slow progress, and service failures at the County. Partially disagree This may be true for some departments, but it may not be the major cause. Some departments are close to being fully staffed and still have issues with underperformance, slow progress, and service failures. Although understaffing can be a major contributor, there are multiple factors to consider as to the cause.

The County has a 27.5% vacancy rate overall, with some departments experiencing vacancy rates as high as 49%. Partially disagree The vacancy data was accurate at the time information was provided to Grand Jury but had yet to be defined down to funded/unfunded status of vacant positions. Unfunded vacant positions should not be used in calculations for vacancy rate because it is not possible to fill due to lack of funding. The vacancy rate has been updated since and with consideration of counting only funded vacant positions, the County vacancy rate is at approximately 15%. When the budget was approved for Fiscal Year 23/24 the positions authorized for funding was for 1,100 with a 15% vacancy rate. The adopted budget, with a $7 million structural deficit, did not assume all these positions would be filled and funded for the entire fiscal year.

The hiring process is reported to average 2-4 months before an applicant is notified of a job offer, sometimes up to 6 months, resulting in the loss of qualified applicants. Agree After a recruitment (minimum of two-weeks posted) closes, Human Resources provides a referral list of candidates to departments. Departments then receive the referral and have 30 days to schedule interviews, interview, and extend an offer to candidates and they then need to onboard their new hires. Referral lists are typically sent to a department within 72 hours pending other factors such as they are still interviewing from a previous referral.

Hiring managers average over a month to interview the approximately 10 people on the list of qualified candidates received from HR. Agree

The County is experiencing major challenges retaining employees. Average turnover rate in the County was 30.6% in 2022, with turnover among some job classifications up to 120% in a year. Agree

Understaffing issues have been exacerbated by the instability within HR. Consistent turnover in HR leadership has impaired HR’s ability to effectively handle recruitment and on-boarding duties for other County departments. Wholly disagree There has been no instability in HR Recruitment staffing regardless of the consistent turnover in HR leadership. There have been occasions when there has been a surge in recruitment activity which have delayed candidate lists to department. HR has in the past and currently adjusts staffing to address processing of recruitment activity. HR conducts new employee orientation every two weeks to onboard staff to the County. Departments, not HR, are responsible for onboarding of staff in their respective departments.

The County as an employer has suffered due to the workplace culture, which makes the County less attractive to potential applicants. Partially disagree The County’s workplace culture varies by department and a challenging workplace culture is not consistent throughout the County. The County recognizes there are some departments with challenging workplace cultures due to varied reasons such as vacant management and leadership positions, lack of trained supervisors and managers, lack of accountability, and challenges in filling vacant positions. Depending upon the current or previous department employee the potential applicants talk to, the applicant could be influenced equally as to whether they apply for County employment in certain departments due to concerns of workplace culture. Response to Recommendations: The Mendocino Civil GJ recommends that the BOS and CEO: