City of Oakland
Staffing Report
June 27, 2023
1 Finance and Management Committee
Human Resources Management
City of Oakland
Agenda:
2 Vacancy rates
(Encumbered, frozen, and budget vacancy factor)
Regional vacancy rates
Strategies
New technology
Recent hiring activity
Workforce analysis
City of Oakland
Citywide Vacancies
3 Citywide Vacancy Summary
Type All
Positions
Vacant % Vacant
Total Sworn 1553.00 140.00 9.01%
Total Miscellaneous 3454.24 804.01 23.27%
Total 5007.24 944.01 18.85%
• Encumbered Vacancies
• Frozen Vacancies
• Budgeted Vacancy Factor
City of Oakland
Encumbered vacancies
Vacant positions linked to:
o Temporary staffing
o Acting assignments
o Overtime
4 Date FTE
May 2023 140.66
Oct 2022 116.06
May 2022 36
March 2021 10.6
March 2020 68.4
March 2019 88.81
Encumbered History
Citywide Vacancy Summary (Encumbered removed)
Type All
Positions
Vacant % Vacant
Total Sworn 1553.00 93.00 5.98%
Total Miscellaneous 3454.24 710.35 20.56%
Total 5007.24 803.35 16.04%
City of Oakland
Frozen Vacancies
5 140.66 Encumbered only = 16.04% (803.35 vacant)
192.20 Frozen vacancies = 15.02% (751.81 vacant)
332.86 Combined Encumbered and Frozen = 12.2%
(611.15 vacant)
FY 2022/23 Budgeted Vacancy Factor
o Negative percentage applied to all positions
o 4% historically
o 10.25% for most departments
Encumbered Vacancies
Budgeted Vacancy Factor
City of Oakland
Regional Vacancy Rates
6 Most agencies had consistent rates over the last year Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley & Richmond have
similar rates
Table 6: Regional Vacancy Rates May 2023
San
Jose
SF Berk Concord Hayward Fremont Richmond Vallejo Oakland Vacancy
Rate
14.41% 17.73% 18.68% 11.30% 12.82% 12.76% 19.01% N/A 18.62% Regional Rates December 2022
Vacancy
Rate
15.21% 18.32% 17.85% 11.63% 14.16% 12.56% 20.19% 26.75% 19.00% Regional Rates May 2022
Vacancy
Rate 13.20% NA 16.21% 13.69% 14.80% 11.49% 16.15% 28.48% 16.33% City of Oakland
Strategies
Fill HRM positions –
o December 2022: HRM staff numbered 41 with 19 dedicated to recruitment
o May 2023: HRM staff 49 with 27 dedicated to recruitment o Six vacant positions under recruitment
From Stakeholder analysis:
o New job announcement
o Integrated testing software
o Streamlining the planning process
o Reducing and eliminating redundant approvals
o New project management software to better track “time to hire” 7 City of Oakland
Strategies
(continued)
Community-focused hiring:
o Continue to partner with EWD and the Oakland
Forward Program
o Expand job fair presence and marketing material
New Technology:
o Integrated Testing Software
o New project management software
o Video interview platforms
o E-offer letters
8 City of Oakland
Video Interview Platform: Interview Stream
Goals: Reduce time-to-hire and improve the candidate
experience
Live and on-demand interview service
Tailored and flexible experience
Results:
o Broader applicant pool
o Eliminate barriers: time off work, travel, and caregiving demands
o Improve equity outcomes
In-person option available if technology barriers
9 City of Oakland
On
-
Demand Structured Interviews
Candidate
o Applies and receives a link
o Has flexibility to complete the interview within the
timeframe
o Sees interview questions and creates brief videos
responding to each question
o Submit recordings
Assessors review recordings, evaluate the
candidate, and submit ratings to HRM
10 City of Oakland
Live Structured Interviews
Remote, live video interviews
Web-based – no software download needed
Candidates can see questions
Candidates can see evaluation criteria
11 Hiring Interviews
Department hiring interview
Can be done remotely or in-person
City of Oakland
Hires: May 1 to June 16, 2023
Full-time hires: 39
Part-time hires: 75 (mostly OPRYD seasonal hires)
12 City of Oakland
New Hires January 1 to June 16, 2023
Total for all departments: 208 Full-time
13 Focused Departments
Fire 40
Police 27
Public Works 18
Transportation 17
Planning and Building 13
Human resources 9
Information Technology 4
City of Oakland
Promotions since January 1 to June 16, 2023
Total for all departments: 334 Full-time
14 Focused Departments
Police 133
Fire 93
Public Works 27
Transportation 7
Planning and Building 5
Human resources 4
City of Oakland
Challenges:
National and regional market conditions
o Unemployment rate historically low
• US: 3.4%; California: 4.4%; Oakland-Fremont-Hayward area: 3.1% Reduced number of applicants
• Applications per job decreased 21% between 2015 and 2021 • New York Times: “1.7 jobs for every unemployed worker” Non-responsive candidates
The Great Resignation
o Nov 2021 to March 2023: 4 million quits every month
Outlook: Labor market continues to be competitive
15 City of Oakland
Workforce analysis:
16 City of Oakland
Workforce analysis (continue):
Police Department:
o 723 of 741 sworn police positions filled
o 64 of 76 police dispatchers filled
o Reduced resignations:
• 2022/23: 42 (projected)
• 2021/22: 86
• 2020/21: 66
Employee tenure:
o 6.5 years national average public sector
o Oakland: 12.18 years
17 City of Oakland
Summary:
Budgeted, frozen and encumbered positions
increased
Oakland tracks with regional jurisdictions
HRM staffing improving
High competition for public sector talent
Reduced applications (nationally and regionally)
Hires outpace separations
Employee tenure – better than the national
average lower for Oakland
18