TO: H ONORABLE MAYOR FROM: Jennifer A. Maguire
AND CITY COUNCIL
S
UBJECT: SEE BELOW DATE: October 7, 2024
CO
UNCIL DISTRICT: Citywide
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UBJECT: Adoption of Statement of Policy and City Council Questions for the Prospective Director of Human Resources
RE
COMMENDATION
Adopt a Statement of Policy and City Council Questions related to the selection of a prospective Director of Human Resources as described in this memorandum, in compliance with City Charter Section 411.1.
SUMMARY AND OUTCOME
The results of this action will be City Council input to me regarding the selection of a Director of Human Resources, in compliance with City Charter provisions.
BACKGROUND
In compliance with City Charter Section 411.1, the City Council adopted a process for City Council confirmation of Department Director appointments. The process requires that the City Council, prior to meeting with the City Manager’s recommended candidate for department head positions that are subject to the City Charter’s requirements, adopt a Statement of Policy for the involved department along with proposed questions for the City Council to present to the City Manager’s recommended candidate for the appointment. It should be noted that while this position is a dual position of Director of Human Resources and Director of the City Manager’s Office of Employee Relations, the same process does not exist under the City Charter for the appointment of City Manager’s Office Directors. Therefore, while input is welcome related to the Director of the City Manager’s Office of Employee Relations position and questions may be asked during the Closed Session confirmation meeting, this Statement of Policy focuses solely on the Director of Human Resources role consistent with the City Charter.
COUNCIL AGENDA:
FILE:
10/29/24
24-2124
ITEM: 3.3
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
October 7, 2024
Subject: Adoption of Statement of Policy and City Council Questions for the Prospective Director of Human Resources
At my direction, staff is coordinating nationwide recruitment efforts with the executive search firm, Alliance Resource Consulting, LLC, for the City’s next Director of Human Resources and Director of the City Manager’s Office of Employee Relations. The Administration will conduct an interview process for the position guided by the input provided by the City Council through its adoption of the attached policy and questions, as well as other stakeholder feedback. I will then present my recommended candidate to the City Council for confirmation in a Closed Session meeting, along with the written answers to the questions adopted as part of this action. If the City Council confirms my recommended candidate, the appointment will be formally announced at that afternoon’s City Council meeting.
ANALYSIS
The proposed Statement of Policy (Attachment A) contains the broad goals, objectives, and aspirations for the Human Resources Department as reflected in the department’s mission, core services, performance measures, and resource allocation as approved by the City Council as part of the 2024-2025 Adopted Budget.
The proposed City Council Questions (Attachment B) reflect those adopted for recent Department Director hiring processes, as well as ones specific to this recruitment. The proposed City Council questions reflect input received from stakeholders, including from Senior Staff and Human Resources Department employees. The City Council may modify, add, or subtract from this list of suggested questions at the October 29, 2024, City Council meeting. Feedback received during the stakeholder process related to the Director of the City Manager’s Office of Employee Relations will be incorporated into the interview process and evaluation of the candidates for this dual position. The Mayor and City Council will be able to ask further questions of the recommended candidate for both the Human Resources Department and City Manager’s Office of Employee Relations aspects of the position during the Closed Session meeting.
The City Council’s adoption of a Statement of Policy and City Council Questions for the prospective Director of Human Resources, as described in this memorandum, is in compliance with City Charter Section 411.1 and is an important step in the evaluation and selection process for a new Director. It is anticipated that a recommended candidate will be brought forward for City Council confirmation in December 2024.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
No additional follow-up with the City Council on the Statement of Policy and City Council Questions for the prospective Director of Human Resources is expected at this time. A recommended candidate is currently expected to be brought forward for City Council confirmation at a Closed Session meeting in December 2024, where further discussion will take place.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
October 7, 2024
Subject: Adoption of Statement of Policy and City Council Questions for the Prospective Director of Human Resources
PUBLIC OUTREACH
This memorandum will be posted on the City’s website for the October 29, 2024, City Council agenda. In addition, the Administration convened discussions and a survey with stakeholders to gather feedback on the knowledge, skills, and abilities that should be considered for the selection of the Director of Human Resources and Director of the City Manager’s Office of Employee Relations, as well as an understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the Human Resources Department and the City Manager’s Office of Employee Relations. Those stakeholders included the City’s Senior Staff and Human Resources Department and City Manager’s Office of Employee Relations employees.
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION AND INPUT
No commission recommendation or input is associated with this action.
CEQA
Not a Project, File No. PP17-010, City Organizational and Administrative Activities resulting in no changes to the physical environment.
PUBLIC SUBSIDY REPORTING
This item does not include a public subsidy as defined in section 53083 or 53083.1 of the California Government Code or the City’s Open Government Resolution.
Jennifer A. Maguire
City Manager
For questions, please contact Jennifer Schembri, Deputy City Manager, at (408) 535-
8154.
Attachments
• Attachment A: Statement of Policy ‒ Human Resources Department • Attachment B: City Council Questions ‒ Director of Human Resources
Attachment A
STATEMENT OF POLICY
HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT
Human Resources
Mission: Our Human Resources team recognizes that our employees power the City of San José and our success as a City is dependent on our ability to create a dynamic and engaged workforce. Our employees’ ability to provide excellent service is strengthened when we invest in attracting talent, providing opportunities for career growth, enabling an environment focused on health, safety, and wellness, and retaining a diverse workforce in a workplace that is equitable and inclusive.
Core Services
• Employee Benefits ‒ Provide benefit programs that best meet the needs of employees, retirees, their dependents, and the City and assist participants in effectively utilizing their plans.
• Employment Services ‒ Facilitate the City’s ability to attract and hire a diverse and talented workforce.
• Health and Safety ‒ Provide services that promote employee health, safety, and well-being.
• Training and Development ‒ Provide Citywide employee training and pipeline development programs that support employee recruitment, growth, engagement, and retention.
• Strategic Support ‒ Citywide Human Resources Systems Management and Records Management, Departmental Administration, Customer Service, Personnel Management, Financial Management, and Emergency Response and Recovery.
Department Performance Goals, Resource Allocation, and Service Delivery Framework
Department performance goals are reflected in the Human Resources Department performance measures and its resource allocation in the 2024-2025 Adopted Budget.
The department’s Service Delivery Framework is also outlined in the Adopted Budget.
Attachment B
CITY COUNCIL QUESTIONS
DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES
The following is a core set of suggested questions the City Council may use in the confirmation process for the new Director of Human Resources. The City Council may add or subtract from this list of questions.
1. Please describe your education, experience, and accomplishments and explain how they have prepared you for this position. What are your strengths and areas for growth?
2. What drives you to seek this position and motivates you to be in public service?
3. Describe your specific experience in the Human Resources Department’s five core services: 1) Employee Benefits, 2) Employment Services, 3) Health and Safety, 4) Training and Development , and 5) Strategic Support. How would you approach achieving the performance goals in each of these areas?
4. What are the most important challenges you see for San José’s Human Resources Department over the next five years? Please describe your approach to addressing them, including what actions you would prioritize in your first 12 months.
5. This position requires that the Director of Human Resources navigate relationships with both internal and external stakeholders. Who do you see as the department’s primary customers? Please describe an example of a significant project you have handled where multiple stakeholders were involved with competing or conflicting goals and how you helped achieve a satisfactory resolution.
6. It is essential that City of San José executives demonstrate the City Manager’s One Team Leadership Values and Expectations in their work. What are your commitments and practices for exceptional work in a One Team environment in a large, complex organization? Provide a strong example of how you developed and sustained key relationships, managed priorities and change across groups, administered resources, ensured performance, and delivered on the shared outcomes your organization defined as important.
7. Provide insight into how you have built and sustained strong teams. What are the practices you use to hire, develop, actively coach, manage performance, and maintain a high service and high-performance culture? Share how you measure your success as a leader of people. Share how you use compassion and humility to build trust with your teams.
8. Describe your experience in modernizing and streamlining work processes, including implementing automated workflows . Describe how these updates increased productivity or improved processes and how you used data to drive further streamlining improvements and measure program success.
9. This position requires guiding the city -wide recruitment and retention of City employees, including the recruitment of difficult to fill positions , such as specialty trades. What is your experience with recruiting for and your approach to difficult to fill positions?
10. Describe your experience in administering and managing medical, dental, workers’ compensation, and other voluntary and non- voluntary benefit plans and their corresponding funding. What factors do you consider in determining the value of the benefits offered to employees?
11. A comprehensive city-wide safety program is important to ensure employees are safe when performing their job functions. Explain what elements of an employee safety program are most critical to consider in its implementation.
12. The City offers ongoing training and development for its employees to support employee retention and advancement . What trainings/development opportunities have you implemented and what value did these bring to the organization? How did you assess their effectiveness and how did you adjust them based upon feedback?
13. What is your plan for maintaining good communication with the Mayor , City Council, and the City Manager? What is your approach to communicating well with department employees, customers, and peer City departments? How do you develop credibility when establishing working relationships?
14. The City has launched a Customer Service Vision and Standards i nitiative aimed at improving person-to-person experiences with City residents and businesses as well as staff -to-staff experiences across City departments. As the Director of Human Resources how will you participate in this initiative and how will you approach and prioritize future recommendations?
15. In a complex organization like the City, we have many competing priorities and not enough resources to accomplish all that our community, employees, and policy leaders’ desire. Describe how you manage priority setting and manage expectations to achieve a c lear work plan and quality, timely results . How have you used constraints to breed resourcefulness, novel approaches, and self - sufficiency?
16. What else should the City Council know about you?