HomeMy WebLinkAboutSubmittal-Memo-Police Dept. Recruitment;Action Items Dated 02-27-13CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA
INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM
To:
and Members of the City Commission
Johnny Martinez, P.
City Manager
Ve
Honorable Chairman Marc D.Semmff February 27,20B
DATE:
uuuJsnT:
FILE :
Police Department Recruitment;
Status ofAction Items tn
Accelerate Recru�tnoent/Hidng
Activities
The hiring ofpersonnel for the Police Department, both sworn and civilian, has been of paramount
concern for several months. As we approach a period of time when m significant number of City
employees will be retiring, concerns regarding the pace of recruitment/hiring is understandably
heightened. The goal of the Administration is to expedite and streamline the hiring process without
jeopardizing the quality nfthe new hire.
The hiring process of personnel in the City is governed largely by union contracts, Civil Service rules
Labor Management Policy, and in the case of police officers and lieutenants, Department of Justice
oversight. The rules and policies are in place to prevent unfair hiring practices; and when if properly
followed may lead to legal and financial risk tothe City. The administration has taken steps to address
the current situation and is continuing to monitor to make more changes as needed.
Immediate Actions Taken:
1' increased number of staff working on Background investigations from four to 13 as of February 15th,
and taking the number to2Ibvthe middle nfMarch 3O13.
3. Authorized 4 positions (HR Generalists) to be hired in the Human Resources Department (HR)to
expedite the process ofscreening applicants and conducting interviews. HRwill produce the Eligible
List of Police Officer recruits in two weeks or |eoa after it conducio its suitable review of the initial
application.
3. Effective April I't, 2013, all applications be accepted only through the on-line system for all classified
positions.
4. The Police Department has axuunnmd the responsibility ofscheduling the employees for the pre-
employment toxicology screens and physical exams effective March
0
Actions under further review:
1. Transition hiring functions of positions that are unique to the Police Department from the HRto
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Submnb±edintothepub|ic
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items DD-6on 02 0113
Todd B.Hannon
City Clerk
Honorable Chairman Marc D.Somnoff
and Members mfthe City Commission
Page 2ot3
3. Authorizing the Police Department to hire four employees (industrial Psychologist, Recruiter, and
two HR Generalists) to conduct the hiring process for classifications that are unique to the Police
Department.
Background of Action items:
Due to the large number of applicants and the limited resources In the HR Department -Recruitment
Division, the process of establishing a police officer register may exceed 30 days from the date of the
close of recruitment. In order tnexpedite the process ofreviewing the 'initial applications for the next
round of police officer recruitment; two additional HRemployees will be tasked with going through the
applications. The HR Department has committed 10 completing the screening process and establishing
the eligible employee register in two weeks from the date of the recruitment closing. The next round of
police officer recruitment will start in early May; the register will be ready by late May, which is in -line
with the time that the Police Department |santicipating finishing with the current active list. The timing
will be modified as needed to ensure that the Police Department always has an active list from which. to
conduct background investigations.
These two employees will also work with the HR department's testing and validation section. As this
process may be time consuming for various civilian positions that require examination, hiring of these
two employees will expedite hiring of positions as this activity increases across all City departments,
The policy for submittal of applications for all recruitment is being changed. Effective April fx 2013^
applications for employment will only be accepted through our on-line application process. Currently,
when recruitment closes, the City allows an additional week for mailed in credentials and/or
applications to be received. Applications are accepted if they have been postmarked by the date of the
recruitment closing, This will no longer be the case; thereby, reducing the initial screening process.
Currently, background investigators in the Police Department are reviewing more than 500 police officer
applications and dozens more for uk/Uion positions. The group that is doing this work has been
increased from four officers to 13, and eight more (inc|udinQm sergeant) will be added in the next two
weeks. This augmentation of resources should m||ovv for the current pool of applicants to be vetted
within three to four months. At the request of the Police Department, when it is anticipated that the
current list mfpolice officer applicants will be exhausted in 30days; o new Police Recruitment will be
opened and closed using the new procedures as noted above (early May as noted above).
In the past schedu|ing.and processing of interviews has resulted in delays. Both the operating
department and HR will need towork closely to move the process along, Since Departments need tn
prepare interview questions with the assistance of HR personnel, this process can be time consuming
and at times difficult to coordinate due to work constraints from the operating department aide and
available staffing in the HR department. To facilitate the process from the HRdepartment side, two
Submitted into the public
record |nconnection
itemyD�67on 92yZ9�/3
Todd B.Hannon
City Clerk
Honorable Chairman Marc O.Sarnoff
and Members ofthe City Commission
Page 3of3
more positions have been approved for this sectior/. These employees will assist in the preparation of
questions and oversight of the Interview process as per the Labor Management Policy (LMP 3-92),
Aanoted above, the third area where the process slows down is in scheduling employees for the second
psychological interview once they have been offered employment and the medical exam. Factors that
may slow this process include the individual applicant's personal life schedule combined with the
availability of the psychological examiner and medical cunm dates at Mt. 5lnn|; additionally, the
coordination ofscheduling psychological exams in one department and the physicals exams in another is
not an efficient process. To avoid confusion, the Police Department will have the responsibility of
scheduling the physicals as well as the psychological exams starting March 4 th as noted above.
in order to further prepare for the increased recruitment activity that the City ofMiami will experience
in the next few years, | have also authorized the augmentation of the HR Section in the Police
Department. This section will take on the recruitment functions for the positions in the Police
Department that are unique to Police after the initial application process is completed, To staff this
section four positions have been identified as a need. These include an Industrial Psychologist, o
Recruiter, and two HRGeneno|ists. This is an intermediate term strategy as it will take few months for
the Police Department to establish clear procedures, areas of responsibility, set up the section, and
transition ongoing recruitments to the new/ staff. | will keep you updated of the progress in this
endeavor.
With the additional staffing in the HR Department and with Police handling a significant portion of its
recruitment, | feel confident that the City will have the resources needed tn recruit/hire inadvance of
the wave ofretirements anticipated in2O14.
C: City Attorney Julie Bmu
City Clerk Todd Hannon
ACM Luis Cabrera
ACM Alice Bravo
ACM Janice Larned
I A total of four full-time Human Resource Generalist positions have been approved by the City Manager
temporarily until further approval by the City Commission is obtained as allowed per resolution Res.12-0361
Section 16.
Submitted into the public
record inconnection with
|temsCZ-5'on
Todd B,Hannon
City Clerk