Status of the City of Santa Monica’s Vacancies and
Recruitment and Retention Efforts in Calendar Year 2024 Presented by Michael Arnoldus, Human Resources Manager
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2 AB2561 – AN OVERVIEW
PRESENTATION TOPICS
Vacancy Rates as of December
31, 2024
Overview of Recruitment and
Retention Efforts for 2024
Current Recruitment
Challenges and Strategies
Annual
Presentation –
Public Hearing
Employee
Organization
Participation
Status of
Vacancies and
Recruitment &
Retention Efforts
Additional
Reporting > 20%
AB 2561
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# of Vacancies Effective
12/31/24 # of Budgeted FTEs % Vacant
Administrative Team Associates 28 313 8.9%
AFSCME LOCAL 4819, Management Team Association 4 43 9.3% California Teamsters Local 911 34 409.6 8.3%
Confidential Unrepresented Employees 3 30 10%
Executive Pay Plan 1 18 5.6%
Municipal Employees Association 31 440.45 7%
Public Attorneys’ Legal Support Staff Union 0 18 0%
Public Attorneys Union 0 25 0%
Santa Monica Fire Executive Management Association 0 2 0% Santa Monica Firefighters Local 1109 IAFF 0 118 0%
Santa Monica Police Officers Association 7 231 3%
SMART-TD, Local 1785 14 285.5 4.9%
Supervisory Team Associates 2 104 1.9%
City Overall 124 2,037.55 6.1%
VACANCY INFORMATION
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254
Vacancies
Created in
2024
Vacancies Resulting from:
Internal Promotion and Transfer: 105
(41.3%)
Newly Budgeted Positions (includes
add/deletes): 53 (20.8%)
Retirements: 28 (11%)
Involuntary Separations: 21 (8.3%)
Voluntary Separations: 42 (16.5%)
Deaths: 5 (2%)
RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION INFORMATION
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293*
Vacancies
Filled in 2024
Vacancies Filled by Open (External
and Internal) Competitive
Recruitment: 223
Vacancies Filled by Promotional
(Internal-Only) Recruitment: 70
*Excludes Motor Coach Operator vacancies of which 41
were filled by employees promoting from Motor Coach
Operator Trainee.
RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION INFORMATION (CONT.)
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CHALLENGES
A. Continuously evolving labor market
B. Changing perception related to the benefits public sector employment C. Financial constraints impacting salaries and staffing levels
STRATEGIES
A. Collaborating with operating departments to prioritize and plan for upcoming recruitment needs.
B. Monitoring compensation trends and adjusting salaries when appropriate and feasible.
C. Reviewing and refining minimum qualification requirements to ensure they are job-related D. Enhancing data collection and metrics to better inform recruitment strategies.
E. Conducting targeted outreach campaigns to connect with potential candidates who may not be actively seeking new roles.
F. Assessing and streamlining civil service selection practices to reduce hiring cycle times.
G. Implementing a new cloud-based onboarding platform to improve the applicant’s experience.
RECRUITMENT CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES
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7 Thank You
Next: Bargaining Unit
Presentations
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May 27, 2025
Item 12-A
May 27, 2025