HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 5.1 - 1195 City Selection and Recruitment Process
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STAFF REPORT
CITY COUNCIL
DATE: November 1, 2016
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM:
Christopher L. Foss, City Manager
SUBJECT:
City Recruitment and Selection Process
Prepared by: Julie Carter, Human Resources Director
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
At the City Council meeting of June 7, 2016, the City Council requested information on
the City’s recruitment and selection practices including tools used to promote applicant -
pool diversity.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive the report.
DESCRIPTION:
At the June 7, 2016 City Council meeting, Staff was directed to provide the City Council
with a report that outlines the City’s general employee recruitment and selection
practices. Additional details can be found in the City’s adopted Personnel System
Rules.
Background:
A well-planned hiring process improves the quality of the City’s workforce by maximizing
the potential for selecting the best-suited applicant for vacancies and at the same time
minimizes the City’s liability exposure.
Both Federal and State law have an influence on the City’s hiring and selection process.
Two important federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate and/or retaliate against
applicants are:
1. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
2. The Americas with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
The State of California adopted the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) which
generally prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, religious creed,
color, national origin, ancestry, disability (mental and physical), medical conditions,
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genetic information, military and veteran status, marital status, sex, gender, gender
identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age (above 40), and pregnancy.
Additionally, California employers are generally prohibited from instituting affirmative
action programs, i.e. any program which gives preference to particular candidates
based upon a protected category. The California Constitution states that “A person may
not be disqualified from entering or pursuing a business, profession, vocation, or
employment because of sex, race, creed, color, or national or ethnic origin.” (Article I §
8)
In fact, the California Constitution was amended in 1996 by Proposition 209 to prohibit
public employers from “discriminating[ing] against, or grant[ing] preferential treatment to,
any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the
operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.” (Article I § 31).
The language has been interpreted to greatly limit a public employer’s ability to engage
in affirmative action; distinctions based on race are considered inherently suspect and
are subjected to strict scrutiny. See Connerly v. State Personnel Board, 92 Cal.App.4th
16 (2001). The law not only prohibits the establishment of traditional affirmative action
hiring quotas, it also prohibits the establishment of goals or timetables designed to
overcome any areas of underutilization of minorities and women by job category and
level. Id. at 55-56.
City of Dublin’s Recruitment and Selection Process
The City’s personnel system ensures a competitive recruitment and selection process
that aligns with the City’s policy to recruit and hire the best qualified candidate. The
Human Resources Director manages the City’s hiring, selection and promotion process.
The City of Dublin is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate because
of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition,
marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran’s status,
pregnancy, sex or age.
Per Dublin Municipal Code Section 2.04.090, the ultimate hiring authority in all cases is
the City Manager.
The City Manager hereby reserves to him/herself to appoint and remove all officers
and department heads, including the City Clerk and the City Treasurer, but excluding
the City Attorney. The City Manager shall either approve the appointment, removal,
promotion or demotion of all other city employees or authorize department heads to
appoint, remove, promote or demote in certain classes of positions subject to all
applicable personnel rules and regulations which may be adopted by ordinance or
resolution by the Council. (Ord. 45-87 § 6 (C): Ord. 7 § 6 (C), 1982)
Whenever a vacancy occurs, the hiring Department submits a request for approval to fill
the vacancy. The approval process includes a review of the vacant position by City
Manager. Ultimately, there must be budget and a resolution authorizing the position
allocation. Once approved, the City will use one of three methods to fill a vacant
position: Promotion, Transfer or Recruitment. Insofar as consistent with the best
interests of the City, all vacancies in the competitive service shall be filled by promotion
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from within the competitive service, after a promotional examination has been given and
a promotional list established. The City will give reasonable notice to all of its
employees concerning the City’s employment opportunities.
If the position is not filled through a promotion or transfer, the hiring department
completes a Recruitment Memo and forwards the request to Human Resources. If a
current eligibility list exists for the same or a higher-level position in a related series of
jobs, Human Resources will contact top candidates from an eligibility list and invite them
to be interviewed by the Department having the vacancy. The Department will make the
final selection from among those interviewed. The eligibility list will be kept active for at
least 12 months and may be used to fill future vacancies during that period. Typically, if
three or fewer names are on an eligibility list, the hiring Department may request to
establish a new list.
If no current eligibility list exists, Human Resources will conduct a recruitment, as
directed by the hiring authority (City Manager) or their designee, including the type of
recruitment, use and selection of recruitment media, and duration of the application
period, etc. City recruitments may be “promotional” or “open,” depending on the City’s
needs.
Advertising
Job openings are advertised through job announcements or advertisements, when
appropriate, through publications and associations. The City’s main source for
advertising is Calopps.org. Data collected from the City’s on-line applicant program
(Calopps.org) from year 2015 and 2016 indicates the following top five advertising sites:
I first learned of this job opening through…as their source for City application:
2015: Total Applicants 2,715 2016: Total Applicants 2,131(as of 10/1/2016)
Advertising/Vendor Number Percent Advertising/Vendor Number Percent
Calopps 1,669 61.476% Calopps 1,142 53.590%
City Website 302 11.123% Indeed 288 13.515%
Indeed.com 192 7.072% City Website 148 11.638%
Other/ City Job Bulletin 178 6.525% Other/ City Job Bulletin 133 6.241%
City Employee 139 5.120% City Employee 107 5.021%
All City job announcements may be viewed by using the City’s website a t:
http://www.dublin.ca.gov
The City advertises vacancies on the following sites:
Jobs Available CA Job Journal
Government Jobs Hot Jobs.com
Indeed.com Monster.com
www.Employerpartnerships.org (Military) Glass Door
East Bay Works Tri-Valley Times/Herald
Local City Job Bulletin - email list Craigslist.org
Position Specific (List Serve/websites):
APA (Planning) CSFMO (Finance)
APWA (Public Works) NCCIPMA/CALPELRA (Human Resources)
MMANC Daily Journal
MISAC/DICE (IT) Western City
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CPRS (Parks) ICMA newsletter
A recent survey of Northern California cities regarding recruitment periodicals and
media sources yielded 25 responses. The responding cities paralleled the above
advertising vendors with one addition from four responders; LinkedIn.com. Over the
past few months, City staff added LinkedIn to the above complement, in hopes of
casting a wider “recruitment net” for job applicants.
Recruitment Outreach Efforts
As described above, the City utilizes a variety of recruitment periodicals and media
sources to reach candidates. Of the 2,131 total applicants for the 42 open positions in
2016, the following is the ethnicity and gender breakdown:
Ethnicity Number Percent
White (not Hispanic or Latino) 820 38.48%
Asian (not Hispanic or Latino 444 20.84%
Hispanic or Latino 331 15.53%
Black or African American (Not Hispanic or
Latino)
258 12.11%
Two or More Races (Not Hispanic or Latino) 120 5.63%
No Response 108 5.07%
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacifica Islander (Not
Hispanic or Latino)
35 1.64%
American Indian or Alaska Native (Not Hispanic
or Latino)
15 0.70%
Gender Number Percent
Male 1036 48.62%
Female 1006 47.21%
No Response 89 4.18%
Dublin Human Resources believes current recruitment advertising and outreach efforts
are effectively providing the City with high-quality and diverse applicant pools. The City
does not use any benchmarks or quotas when hiring candidates, but instead strives to
create a diverse applicant pool and hire the best candidate regardless of the candidate’s
race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, disability (mental and physical),
medical conditions, genetic information, military and veteran status, marital status, sex,
gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age (above 40), and
pregnancy. Toward this end, City staff has been exploring the possibility of expanding
its range of advertising sources to attract additional qualified candidates from a variety
of different markets. The City is looking into expanding its existing outreach ef forts to
include job postings on the following networks (which are mostly non-California based):
LinkedIn
WorkplaceDiversity.com
Hispanicdiversity.com
Outandequal.com
Disabilityconnect.com
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Alldiversity.com
World Journal - www.wjads.com (completely written in Chinese)
India West - http://www.indiawest.com
Applications, Screening, Testing and Interview Process
All job applicants are required to submit an application online, on or before the filing
deadline stated in the job announcement. To qualify for competition in a recruitment
selection process, an applicant must meet the minimum qualifications as stated on the
City’s job announcement. Applications submitted on time will be screened to determine
if the applicant meets the minimum requirements for adm ission to the selection process
as specified in the City job announcement. Those applicants that are deemed to be the
best qualified will be invited to the next phase of the selection process. The City’s
competitive selection process may consist of the measurement of a variety of
knowledge and skills through written and/or oral tests (interview panel), work history,
education and experience, training, present job performance, or any combination
thereof. Each applicant whose application has been accepted for any selection process
shall be notified of the date, time, and place of the specific selection process.
Valid and proven measurements techniques and procedures are used in rating the
results of a selection process and in determining relative standings. T he final outcome
in the selection process will be based on specific factors including educational
requirements, experience, and job qualifications.
Applicants who are successful in the selection process are notified and placed on an
eligibility list. The City often conducts second or final interviews as part of recruitment
and selection process from the list of eligible candidates.
Background Checking and On-Boarding
Prior to notifying Human Resources of a final selection, the hiring authority is consul ted
(City Manager or designee) and the hiring Department coordinates with Human
Resource to conduct pre-employment screenings and reference checks to verify
accuracy of the applicants work history and job knowledge; this includes a criminal
background check via the Department of Justice LIVESCAN process. Candidates must
also provide proof of any educational claims. In most cases, a California Driver’s license
and proof of insurance is required. Additional vocational licenses may also be required.
Before beginning employment or on the date of hire, new employees undergo a check -
in procedure (new hire orientation) with Human Resources to brief the employee on
pertinent matters including terms of employment, City policies, and completion of
required health and welfare paperwork, etc.
Upon completion of the new hire orientation, the newly appointed employee reports to
its designated City Department. The designated Supervisor and/or Department Head
completed the Department Orientation Checklist to ensure that the employee has the
best opportunity to successfully complete the City’s twelve-month probationary period.
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At-Will/Management Selection and Appointment
Section 2.20.040E of the City’s Municipal Code exempts Department Heads and other
designated Management positions from the City’s competitive service which also
exempts these same classifications from the City’s Personnel System Rules. The
recruitment and selection process describe in this informational report does not officially
apply to At-Will and designated Management positions. These positions serve at the
pleasure of the City Manager who has authority to appoint and remove At -Will and
Management positions.
The City has a practice of conducting recruitments to fill At-Will and Management
positions in the same or like fashion as those recruitment and selection processes
describe above. It is not uncommon for the City Manager to request the services of an
executive search firm to conduct key executive leadership positions such as:
Parks and Community Services Director
Administrative Services Director
Community Development Director
The City Manager can also request the services of an executive search firm for those
management positions that do not yield a level of acceptable candidates based o n an
initial City recruitment effort.
Executive Search Firms offer the City a larger scope of recruitment. Recruiters spend
much of their time cultivating a client or applicant list of viable and interest candidates
for potential position. They network and meet people to fill hundreds of jobs, in many
discipline areas, throughout the year. Recruiters have access to candidates that the
City’s local advertising efforts might not. Executive Search Firm will often conduct
nationwide searches to reach candidates from other States. In cases where executive
search firm services are utilized, all applicants are screened and interviewed remotely.
Top candidates are brought to the City Manager by the recruiter for consideration and
interview. Upon candidate selection, background checks are done remotely by the firm
and applicant demographic information is limited until date of hire.
Conclusion
The City makes the building of its workforce of qualified professionals a top priority. The
City’s recruitment process is predicated on the idea that the City hires the best
employee. The methods used in the recruitment and selection of City employees is fair,
competitive, impartial and of a relevant nature so as to fairly measure the ability of
applicants to perform the duties and responsibility of the position which they seek
appointment.
NOTICING REQUIEMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Noticing not required.
ATTACHMENTS:
None
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