Local governments have long faced recruitment challenges even before The Great Resignation. One of the most notable reasons the public sector has faced recruitment challenges is its recruitment process. Public agencies are known for long, slow, often complicated recruitment and selection systems that disincentivize job-seekers who can simply get picked up faster down the road. Fortunately for the County, Human Resources has been working on a solution to this issue. In 2019, Human Resources began in earnest to rebuild our recruitment process in response to our hiring managers’ interest in a recruitment process that was more flexible, less cumbersome and allowed for choice among better-fitting job candidates.
The outcome of the work? A recruitment process that reduces the time to hire from 130 days to 60 or less gives hiring managers more flexibility in candidate selection (while still maintaining merit principles) and appeals to applicants because of the quick turnaround time. More than just a faster process, the new system offers a win-win solution between Human Resources, the hiring department, and the job seeker. It is a model of strategic business partnership. Human Resources partners with the hiring manager and the HR Representative to build a solid recruiting process as soon as the vacancy is approved for recruitment. Not only does this meeting save time down the line by arranging details early on, but shared ownership of the process is reinforced. Between July 1 and November 15, statistics show 78 recruitments initiated; 37 completed; the average time to hire is 45.13 days. By working together, Human Resources has exceeded its own goals.
Interested in how Nevada County Human Resources achieved this reduced timeline? By eliminating concurrent processes and closed time gaps through combined steps, and training key stakeholders on the new timeline. The key steps in the new process are:
- Requisition approved (time to hire clock begins at this step)
- Hiring Manager Meeting, HR Representative, and HR Recruiter one day after step one is completed to set the recruitment plan
- Job Posting one day after step two is completed
- Screening by HR while the job is posted
- List to Hiring Manager one day after posting closes
- First Interview one week after step five
- Optional Second Interview one day after step six
- Fingerprinting clears (time to hire clock ends at this step)
More than just reduced days to hire, Nevada County has improved customer focus, developed more rewarding partnerships, and taken the guesswork out of the process. Candidates are more engaged because they enter the process quicker and don’t get bogged down waiting for answers.