Vote: approved

Item Text

36. HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT REQUEST FOR REVIEW OVER THRESHOLD Per the Board approved FY 2015 Budget Guidelines and Priorities, approve allowing the Office of Management & Budget to review the following request(s) over threshold: •Additional funding to conduct a comprehensive job analysis and related training for department staff to become certified in job analysis. The comprehensive job analysis and staff certification is a one-time expense (estimated $391,000 non-recurring expenditure, priority level 3). •Funding to conduct comprehensive, professional background screenings on new hires, rehires and transferring employees (estimated $70,000 operating expense, priority level 4). •Procuring and implementing an effective performance management system (2012 County analysis identified Cornerstone Performance Management System (PMP) as the preferred solution) (non-recurring expenditure $50,000, estimated operating costs in the first year of implementation $114,325, estimated operating costs at full-implementation $241,380, priority level 3). •Procuring and implementing a compatible learning management system (2012 County analysis identified Cornerstone Learning Management System (LMS) as the preferred solution) (non-recurring expenditure $70,000, estimated operating costs in the first year of implementation $178,800, estimated operating costs at full-implementation $241,380, priority level 2). This request is a separate but related issue with regard to Cornerstone Performance Management System. •Create one Business Systems Analyst Senior/Lead position within Department 310 – Human Resources (estimated operating cost of $94,556, priority level 3). JOB ANALYSIS Additional funding is needed to conduct the comprehensive job analysis required to develop valid class specifications, minimum qualifications, job descriptions, and assessment/testing procedures. To begin the analysis, assistance from outside of Maricopa County, such as consultants or contractors, may be necessary to: 1) establish the processes for the analysis to ensure best practices are adopted and; 2) complete the analysis to minimize delays in addressing these critical deficiencies. Once the process is complete, additional staff may be necessary to keep position information current and training and/or certification will be necessary for some department staff to keep the job analyses updated going forward. BACKGROUND CHECKS To ensure that a comprehensive, professional background screening is conducted on all new hires, rehires and current employees (when transferring to a position that requires a background screening), it is recommended that the Human Resources Department assume ownership of the background screening process in order to maintain consistency and confidentiality. In addition, it is recommended that Maricopa County utilize a third party vendor to perform background screening functions. The Employment Services Division of Human Resources processed 2,955 hire actions in 2013. Using an outside vendor to screen hire actions (excluding actions of departments that do their own screening) would likely involve approximately 2,000 screenings per year. CORNERSTONE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT (PMP) & LEARNING MANAGEMENT (LMS) The County needs an effective performance management system in order to: 1) measure employee performance against strategic goals and results, and 2) use that information to enhance employee performance via a system of performance improvement strategies and rewards, including compensation. The inability to accurately and consistently identify and reward top performers results in diminished services, higher labor costs, and increased turnover. An analysis from 2012 conducted by various County stakeholders identified Cornerstone as the preferred performance management solution. The LMS component of the system integrates with the PMP, allowing the training and performance improvement aspect of performance to be identified and tracked in a single location. The LMS piece unlocks the maximum functionality of the PMP system. BUSINESS/SYSTEMS ANALYST SENIOR/LEAD (ANALYTIC AND HRIS NEEDS) The HR Department currently does not have the requisite technical expertise to manipulate HRIS and deliver information. This prevents the adequate analysis of HR data, which results in decision-makers being less than fully informed. Additionally, the current HRIS requires basic ongoing maintenance and periodic updates, which are currently delivered by the HRIS consultant and highly-compensated subject matter experts (SMEs). The HRIS consultant and SMEs are better utilized for major projects, system improvements or other high-level tasks. A less expensive, though highly-skilled analyst could deliver the ongoing maintenance, freeing the more highly compensated staff to manage the annual, one-time, and ongoing projects that are expected to be implemented. The addition of a Business/Systems Analyst Sr-Ld would satisfy the technical gaps of the department. (C-31-14-024-2-00)