AB 2561 Presentation
City of Richmond
Vacancies, Recruitment, and
Retention Efforts in 2024
Presented by Sharrone Taylor, Director of Human Resources June 3, 2025
1DRAFT
Agenda
• City-Wide Information
Workforce Information
Recruitment Information
Vacancy Data
Retention Information
Obstacles and Efforts to Address
Recruitment and Retention
2DRAFT
Workforce Information
City Manager City Attorney City Clerk City Council Community Development
Community
Services
(Recreation)
Department of
Children &
Youth
Economic
Development
& Port
Employment &
Training Finance Fire Human
Resources
Information
Technology Library
Mayor
Office of
Neighborhood
Safety
Police Public Works Rent Program
Total Budgeted
Full-Time Positions
as of 12/31/24:
808
3 DRAFT
Applications
Received
Hires
New
Positions
Promotions
Employment
Lists
112 65
6,437 55 902024
Recruitment
Statistics
4 DRAFT
Recruitment
Process
Overview
Vacancy Created
Voluntary Separation,Retirement,
Involuntary Separation, Internal
Movement, Newly Budgeted
Position
Recruitment Requisition
Department submits a recruitment
requisition. Once it is approved
through workflow, HR is notified to
begin the process to fill the vacancy
Determine Recruitment Type
Utilize existing eligibility
list/ongoing recruitment, recruit
external & internal, or recruit
internal only
Job Posting
Advertise job opening and
recruitment on website and
networks. May be specialized based
on classification or job market.
Application Screening
Applications are screened to
determine if the applicants meet
minimum and desired qualifications
5DRAFT
Recruitment
Process
Overview
Examination
Candidates to pass examination
(written, oral interview, practical
skills assessment)
Employment List
Employment list established;
eligible candidates certified to
department in accordance with
Personnel Rules
Interviews Department interviews candidates
that have been certified
Conditional Job Offer
Candidate is extended a conditional
job offer, and completes a pre-
employment background process
Final Job Offer
Candidate successfully completes
the background process and is
extended a final job offer with a
confirmed start date.
6DRAFT
Vacancy Information – General
Average % of Vacancies at the End of Each Month: 18%
Calendar Year 2024 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec # of Hires 24 6 7 9 3 6 8 9 7 7 16 10
# of Promotions 6 0 2 8 12 2 3 2 5 8 5 12
# of Positions Added 0 0 16 0 1 0 2 0 0 23 11 2
# Vacancies 120 121 139 131 141 138 141 139 134 161 163 165 # of Budgeted FTEs 753 752 769 769 770 770 772 772 772 795 806 808 % of Vacancies 16% 16% 18% 17% 18% 18% 18% 18% 17% 20% 20% 20% 7DRAFT
2024 Vacancy Rate – By Bargaining Unit
Bargaining Unit Vacancy Rate
IFPTE Local 21 Executive Management 17.6%
IFPTE Local 21 Mid-Management 24.6%
SEIU Local 1021 General Employees 16.4%
Fire Local 188 7.3%
Richmond Fire Management Association 28.3%
Richmond Police Officers Association 18.9%
Richmond Police Management Association 2.1%
SEIU Local 1021 Part-Time Unit 9.0%
8DRAFT
2024
Vacancies
Created
179 Vacancies Created
• # of Vacancies Created by
Newly Budgeted Positions: 55
• # of Vacancies Created by
Internal Promotion: 38
• # of Vacancies Created by
Internal Transfer: 1
• # of Vacancies Created by
Separation: 85
New
Positions
31%
Internal
Promotion
21%
Transfer
1%
Separation
47%
9DRAFT
2024 Retention Information
85 Separations from City Service
• Retirement – 24
• Resignation – 42
• Involuntary – 16
• Other – 3
Annual Turnover Rate: 13%
Retirement
28%
Resignation
49%
Involuntary
19%
Other
4%
10DRAFT
Historical Context and Identified Obstacles
Recruiting and retaining top talent was a challenge 2024. Attracting qualified candidates in a competitive labor market requires ongoing effort. Some of the challenges are detailed below:
11 Unstable Leadership
In the past seven years, the City has
had five City Managers, five Human
Resources Directors, and the
departure of several department
heads and key personnel. This
instability negatively impacted City
operations, necessitating a focus on
maintaining service to the
community while addressing gaps,
restructuring the organization, and
swiftly recruiting to fill vacancies.
Rapid Employee
Turnover
Over recent years, the
Human Resources
department underwent
significant changes due to
the loss of essential roles
in labor management,
benefits administration,
training, and recruitment
caused by resignations,
layoffs, and retirements.
Covid-19 Pandemic Impacts
Under previous City
Administration recruitment
efforts were paused for at least
one year and gradually resumed
over the subsequent years,
prioritizing the filling of critical
positions.
Highly Competitive Market
The highly competitive
market made it challenging to
fill many vacancies, but it is
especially difficult to recruit
for specialized positions, such
as professional engineers.
Additionally, societal impacts
have led to a considerable
reduction in the law
enforcement profession,
complicating the backfilling
of vacant public safety
positions.
The Great Resignation
Following the
pandemic, there was an
unexpected and
significant loss of
experienced employees,
many of whom retired,
changed careers, or left
for various other
reasons.
DRAFT
Policies, Procedures, and Recruitment Enhancements
• Digital Media Campaigns for Police, Fire, and Communications Dispatchers: Focused outreach aimed at attracting a diverse applicant pool, particularly targeting residents of the City of Richmond.
• Onboarding Resources: Introduced new tools to improve the experience for new hires and a Recruitment and Onboarding website was launched to give hiring managers centralized access to all resources.
• Efficiency: Began the rollout of NEOGOV as an all-encompassing system to simplify onboarding, training, and evaluation processes, thereby enhancing efficiency throughout the employee lifecycle.
• Policies: Enhanced parental leave benefits and updated essential policies, including Family, Medical, and Pregnancy Leave, reasonable accommodation, and equal opportunity, to improve compliance, accessibility, and support for employees.
• Hiring Pipelines: Created partnerships with CivicSpark, Richmond Promise through the City’s Youth Works Program to hire students to provide mentorship with the goal r employment. • Inclusive Hiring Practices: Assessed and revised job descriptions to remove barriers, and expanded minimum qualifications for most roles, thereby increasing opportunities.
The City routinely evaluates relevant policies, procedures, and recruitment efforts to pinpoint any possible barriers within its hiring process. Some modifications implemented to tackle these obstacles consist of:
DRAFT 12
Retention Strategies
• Comprehensive Training Initiative:Initiated a comprehensive training initiative aimed at improving soft skills, promoting professional development, and facilitating growth, thus enabling opportunities for career advancement. • Promotional Opportunities: The City of Richmond opened 19 promotional only recruitments, effectively providing opportunities for advancement and tapping into internal talent which preserves institutional knowledge and fosters a sense of satisfaction.
• Supportive Leadership: Organized facilitation and team-building activities across various departments to foster a supportive and unified atmosphere within our teams.
• Revitalized Wellness Program:Renewed emphasis on employee wellness, which featured wellness seminars, fitness challenges, access to complimentary wellness applications, and the establishment of a peer support and critical incident debriefing program for sworn and sworn adjacent personnel. • Employee Engagement and Appreciation:Launched employee engagement activities to cultivate a positive workplace culture and enhance overall satisfaction, including introducing the Rosie Gram, and the reinstatement of the service award program to honor employees' milestone anniversaries at the All-Employee Recognition Event.
Our employees represent our most valuable asset. Retaining talent remains a priority as we focus on employee engagement, wellness, professional development, recognition, and transparent communication. These approaches are integral to our wider initiative aimed at fostering a supportive and engaging workplace. 13DRAFT
Employee Appreciation Events
• Throughout the year, we have organized
several employee appreciation events,
including:
• Italian Ice Truck
• Holiday Sweater Coffee Cart
• Valentine’s Day Coffee Cart
14DRAFT
Thank You
15DRAFT