HomeMy WebLinkAbout029 - Centralized Personnel System ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO , 29
TO : All Departments December 31 , 1981
FROM: Lee Kraft , City Manager
SUBJECT: CENTRALIZED PERSONNEL SYSTEM AND RULES AND REGULATIONS ,
AND GUIDELINES RELATING THERETO ,
Effective January I , 1982 , a centralized personnel system goes into effect
with the incumbent of the newly established Personnel/Purchasing Supervisor
in charge of personnel under the general direction of the City Manager ,
through the Finance and Administrative Services Director ,
I . PURPOSE:
A centralized personnel administration in City Hall , under the management
of a Personnel Supervisor , is necessary and required for these principal
reasons :
1 . To provide for a uniform treatment and handling of all employee
personnel matters . Employees have a right to expect fair ,
• consistent and equitable treatment , citywide and by department .
2 . To guarantee quality record keeping for reactive and preventive
reasons . Employment records should provide documentation of
consistent and legal employee treatment . Employee records are a
means for management to analyze the City ' s performance in such
areas as minority recruiting , turnover , application of discipline
standards , etc .
3 . To provide for the introduction and use of aptitude , ability or
proficiency tests to help guarantee the adequate performance of new
employees in accordance with designated job standards .
4 . To assist , in cooperation with department heads , to develop in-
service training programs .
5 . To develop and maintain up-to-date job descriptions and to make
periodic job audits to assure that job descriptions stay in touch with
the dynamics of the job .
6 . To help counsel employees , in cooperation with department heads ,
to tune into concerns before they become deep seated problems .
7 . To develop pay plan studies and recommendations for the City Manager
and City Council , as directed ,
8 . To assist in the collective bargaining process to help develop
management objectives for the bargaining process and to assist in the
contract negotiating process .
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9 . To establish an eligibility list system for all vacant positions
to expedite the hiring process .
II . PROCESS :
To fill a vacant position (caused either by attrition or by action of
the Council in authorizing a new position) the department head will
follow these general steps :
1 . Department Head completes a Personnel Action Form (PAF)
and clearly signifies that the action relates to filling a vacancy ,
gives other details relating to classification and pay , etc .
Signs it and sends it to the Personnel Supervisor .
2 , Personnel Supervisor audits the request . to see :
(a) That it is an authorized position .
(b) That the pay and classification data are correct .
(c) That the job description is adequate 'and to date .
3 . If the foregoing checks out satisfactorily , Personnel Supervisor
checks to see if there is an existing list of eligibles from which
• a list of three candidate names can be submitted to the department
head . If none , proceeds with recruitment .
4 . Personnel Supervisor , after conferring with Department Head ,
places advertisements in appropriate sources , keeping affirmative
action needs in mind , and keeping in mind the "market area " for
the particular job being recruited , and keeping in mind that
advertising is expensive . Advertisements wf11 give full particulars
about the job to be filled and will designate the deadline for the
receipt of applications .
5 . After closing date deadline , Personnel Supervisor will conduct a
preliminary screening and will eliminate all applications that
clearly do not fall within the standards set for the job , and will
develop a notification standard letter form that will go to the
unsuccessful candidates as an automatic standard operating
procedure .
6 . Personnel Supervisor will submit the screened applications to the
Department Head fora second round review, and rejected candidates
will receive the form letter notice as mentioned in 45 above .
Consultation with the Department Head will develop a consensus on
• the number of candidates to be called in for testing and/or
interviews .
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7 , On completion of testing/interview process , Personnel Supervisor ,
based on the passing or eligibility threshold standards previously
established , will evaluate and collate results , and an eligible
roster in descending order of test results will be prepared and
furnished to the Department Head . Names representing candidates
who , if appointed , will help to meet affirmative action goals ,
should be identified by asterisks and appropriate footnotes on the
eligible list .
Be Department Head receives the eligible list . Receives and
reviews the applications of the three top candidates , and attempts
to make an appointment following the4rule of three principle .
Department Head has the right to , reject appointment from the top
three , but must send a written report to the Personnel Supervisor
explaining the reasons for the rejection .
9 . Upon reaching a decision , Department Head completes a Personnel
Action Form (PAF) and has typed a letter of appointment notice on
the City Manager' s letterhead stationery , submits it to the City
Manager through the Personnel Supervisor for approval and
signature . On the return of the signed and approved PAF and the
• letter signed by the City Manager , the to-be-hired employee gets
telephone call from Department Head or his/her designate advising
of employment , start date , rate of pay , etc . , along with notice
that official letter of appointment is in mail .
10 . Personnel Supervisor makes distribution of PAF to payroll ,
department head , etc . , and sets up an official personnel folder for
the employee .
III . NOTICE OF VACANCIES/POSTING:
Posting of job vacancies is encouraged so as to give employees now with
the City equal opportunity to apply for and compete for open positions .
The preparation and posting of job notices is the responsibility of the
Personnel Supervisor . A position vacancy should be given a minimum of
seven days notice from the date of the first advertising before filling the
position .
IV . PROMOTIONS FROM WITHIN :
The City shall always attempt to promote from its own ranks providing
that the individuals seeking to be considered for promotion , in fact ,
have all of the requisite skills to meet the job requirements for the
• higher level position .
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i V . INTERVIEW PANELS :
e The Personnel Supervisor shall utilize interview panels for the purpose
i of testing and evaluating job candidates for particular position .
Individuals chosen for such a panel, whether from within or outside
the City organization , shall have some standing because of experience
or professional background , to know to a reasonable degree what the
job requires and what it takes to successfully fill the job .
VI . ELIGIBLE LISTS :
Eligible lists shall be valid for one year, or until any particular list
has less than three names on it , whichever comes first .
VII . PASSING SCORE:
The Personnel Supervisor shall use the concept of a floating passing
score which is based on the nature of the position , the degree of
skills required , and the number of candidates to be provided in order
to provide a competitive process . Generally , however , the passing
score will be set at 70 . In any case , the Personnel Supervisor shall
set the passing score and announce it before any job applications are
• received .
VIII . TESTING PROCEDURES :
The Personnel Supervisor shall utilize tests to assist in the process of
getting the best qualified person into the position to be filled . When
properly used , tests can contribute substantially to effective and non-
discriminating personnel selection . The information gained from the
tests , however , has to be relevant to the job to be filled . Typical of
the tests to be used would be (1) Clerical Aptitudes; (2) Computer
Operator Aptitudes; (3) Computer Programmer Aptitudes ; (4) Mechanical
Aptitudes; (5) Office Skills Tests; (6) Supervisory Aptitudes;
(7) Typing Proficiency Tests; (8) Reading and Arithmetic Proficiency
Tests , and soon .
IX . PERSONNEL RECORDS :
Maintaining a good system of central personnel files is crucial , and
this means keeping employment data in a LtandardjQ ma which assures
confidentiality and accuracy of information . The reasons for keeping
good employment records is reactive and preventive . Concerning the
reactive mode , the City wants its employment records to provide
• documentation in the event of complaints filed against the City .
About the preventive mode , good records are the means by which the
City can analyze its performance in such areas as minority recruiting ,
turnover and retention of personnel , etc .
The basic record for each employee shall consist of: ( 1) the employment
application; (2) resume , if any; (3) date of hire ; (4 ) Social Security
number; (5) address; (6) salary history; (7) job title with a position
' description: and (8) chronologic history of all actions concerning the
s employee . Additional items to be included , if appropriate , are:
( 1 ) educational certificates , including records relating to attendance of
educational conferences and workshops; (2 ) letters of commendation;
(3) promotion actions; (4) performance evaluations; and (5) letters of
reprimand or other disciplinary records . EEO statistics for federal
reporting purposes shall also be maintained by the Personnel Supervisor ,
but shall be maintained separate and apart from the individual employee
files .
The Personnel Supervisor shall , in regard to position openings , retain
all relevant papers for a period of six months after the job is filled .
This includes job announcement , all applications , copy of test or
interview questions , selection criteria , scoring sheets , etc . This is
to assure documentation should any applicant challenge the selection
process or the selection decision .
X . CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS :
. Every piece of information in the, individual personnel file is confidential
and is available only to the individual employee , his/her department
head , the Personnel Supervisor , and the City Manager as the appointing
authority . The only data which is to be available for public
consumption is limited to the employee ' s name , job title , department
where he/she works , date of hire , and the authorized salary range .
Nothing else should be divulged without a signed authorization from the
employee indicating the specific items of information the employee is
willing to release and to whom it should be released . Any doubts or
issues about release of information , should be referred to the City
Attorney for scrutiny and decision .
No information of any kind should go into an employee ' s file without that
employee ' s knowledge and without that employee getting a copy for his/
her own files .
XI . EMPLOYEE PERSONNEL HANDBOOK:
The Personnel Supervisor will , within six months of the effective date of
this regulation , prepare and publish an employee personnel handbook ,
giving general information about the rules and regulations relating to
personnel administration , and setting out the benefits provided by the
City . Copies of this handbook shall go to all employees .
• XII . TOB DESCRIPTIONS :
The Personnel Supervisor will stay in touch with the need to keep job
descriptions up-to-date , and will consult with the employee and his/her
department head in revising the job description . A loose leaf binder of
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job descriptions , by department , shall be maintained in 'the Personnel
Office . Periodic job audits shall be undertaken to assure that the
job descriptions remain oirrent .
XIII . IN-SERVICE TRAINING:
The Personnel Supervisor shall consult with the Department Heads
about in- service training programs and shall make recommendations
thereon to the City Manager ,
XIV . PAY PLAN 'STUDIES :
The Personnel Supervisor shall take the lead in conducting pay and
classification studies , and shall make appropriate recommendations to
the City Manager . This is particularly significant with respect to the
collective negotiations with the unions representing city employees .
XV . COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:
The Personnel Supervisor plays a key role in furnishing vital information
to the management bargaining team during the time of collective
negotiations relating to pay and benefit considerations . Whenever
• possible , the Personnel Supervisor shall sit with the management
bargaining team as a resource input in the area of personnel administration .
LFK: pt
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