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CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA ❑
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
REPORT ❑ SUCCESSOR AGENCY
❑ BUENA SANITATION DISTRICT
❑ JOINT POWERS FINANCING AUTHORITY
Department: Human Resources Item No: D1
Prepared by: Dolores Gascon, Director Meeting Date: October 27, 2022 Approved by: Amanda Lee, Assistant City Manager Agenda Location: Discussion SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT HEAD HIRING PROCESS
RECOMMENDATION: Discuss a methodology outlining the hiring of Department Directors.
CORRELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS: Routine operational item not directly corresponding to a specific City Council goal.
PRIOR ACTION: On September 13, 2022, approved City Council Ordinance No. 2022-15, amending Chapter 2.20 of the Municipal Code (Vote: 4-1, Ritter opposed).
On August 30, 2022, introduced City Council Ordinance No. 2022-15, amending Chapter 2.20 of the Municipal Code (Vote: 3-2, Ritter and Franklin opposed).
STATEMENT ON THE SUBJECT: The City's personnel practices are guided by the Municipal Code and Personnel Rules. On September 13, 2022, the City Council approved an ordinance changing Municipal Code Section 2.20.030.13 requiring that the City Manager make department head appointments in consultation and agreement with a majority of the City Council. At that time, the City Council directed staff to bring forward a proposal for a City Council policy to govern the hiring of department heads.
Current Process. The hiring of Department Heads has been governed by the City's Personnel Rules (Rules), Section 3.0, "Recruitment and Selection — Competitive Service and in accordance with the Management and Confidential Employee Compensation Plan (MCP). Personnel Rule 2.3 defines Competitive Service as "All positions not designated as exempt from the competitive service by the Municipal Code or by resolution of the City Council." Section 2.2 of the MCP defines Department Directors as "Employees in this group are exempt from the competitive service. Their appointments are at-will and incumbents serve at the pleasure of the City Manager". For these reasons, when there is a vacancy at the Department Head level, a competitive recruitment might be conducted, or the City Manager may directly appoint a candidate to the position. The former process is usually employed when there are no obvious candidates already working within the organization or department. The latter process has been used when the City Manager has identified an appropriate person to step into that role.
The Personnel Rules provide a fair amount of latitude for the personnel officer to develop a recruitment. A typical competitive recruitment would consist of the following steps and take three to four months before the candidate has been onboarded.
ACTION: Discussed a methodology outlining the hiring of Department Directors and provided direction to staff to draft a Council Policy related to hiring process. Consensus Clerk/Seretary
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MEETING DATE: OCTOBER 27, 2022 PAGE 2
SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT HEAD HIRING PROCESS
Recruitment Steps
1. Develop Recruitment
a. Brochure & Mailing
b. Executive Search Firm
c. Advertisement plan
2. Open recruitment (3—6 weeks)
3. Review Applications (1-2 weeks)
4. Oral Board/Technical Interview
a. Virtual or In Person
b. Panel of Technical Experts (Department Head Peers and City Managers) c. Questions evaluate technical skills, training, and knowledge d. Candidates scored and separated into bands
5. Department Level Interview
a. Key Leaders (City Manager, Assistant City Manager) b. Stakeholder panel
i. Department Management Team
ii. Department Director Group
6. Background
a. References
b. Contingent Offer pending Background and Medical
c. Final Offer (Most candidates wait for this, then provide notice to their current employer) The City has also run an abbreviated process that starts at Step 5. In the City's two most recent Department Director vacancies, in Economic Development and Recreation & Community Services (RCS), both processes were used. For the Economic Development Director vacancy, the City opened a formal recruitment. Three Economic Development subject matter experts from southern California cities served as part of the Oral Board that interviewed five candidates. The City Manager and Assistant City Manager met with and interviewed the top candidate. The candidate also met with the Department Director team as part of the Department Level process and the City Manager solicited the team's input. Subsequently, an offer was made to Larry Vaupel, the City's current Economic Development Director.
In March 2022, the City reauthorized funding for the RCS Director position after holding it vacant since the previous incumbent's resignation in 2020. Knowing that a neighboring City would be opening a recruitment for a Parks & Recreation Director soon, the decision was made to enter into the abbreviated process for this vacancy. Two candidates met with the City Manager and Assistant City Manager. One of the candidates was internal, while the second was from a neighboring jurisdiction, well respected within the San Diego County recreation community. In addition to meeting with the Department Directors Group, the candidates met with the RCS Management Team. Ultimately, the successful candidate was Mike Pacheco, the City's current Recreation & Community Services Director.
Other Jurisdictions. Other municipalities in the County often conduct Director-level recruitments similar to the City of Vista. Staff surveyed fourteen municipalities in the County, and only one agency, the City of Chula Vista, requires City Council approval of appointments at the Director-level. In the case of Chula Vista, the approval is perfunctory, and included as part of the consent calendar. 10/27/2022 D 1 Page 2 of 4
MEETING DATE: OCTOBER 27, 2022 PAGE 3
SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT HEAD HIRING PROCESS
None of the San Diego County municipalities polled have a formal, written hiring policy for department head level appointments. They may be made by direct appointment, or the agency may conduct an open recruitment. Similar to Vista's current practices, the decision is made based upon the unique circumstances of each vacancy. None of the San Diego County municipalities have a formal, written policy that involves employees in Director-level recruitments. However, in the case of public safety departments, especially those involving law enforcement, community and employee input has been sought.
Following research on municipal government hiring practices, staff was made aware that the City of Beverly Hills requires City Council approval of hiring Department Heads. In the Beverly Hills process, Human Resources conducts a recruitment, usually with a professional Executive Recruitment Firm.
Human Resources, along with the Recruitment Firm, screens the applications. The next step involves conducting panel interviews. Usually, the members of the panel interviews are comprised of City Council Members, current Department Directors and community members. The top candidates meet with each panel. Panelists score the interviews, and the top two candidates advance to an interview with the City Manager and Assistant City Manager. The City Manager meets with the City Council in Closed Session for approval of their top candidate. The City used this process to identify their current Finance, RCS and Public Works directors. The City deviated slightly from this general practice during their recruitment for a new Police Chief in late 2020/early 2021. That process involved an Executive Recruitment firm, mixed employees in the panels and a group consisting of the City Manager, Interim Police Chief and Executive Recruiter even visited the top candidate's place of employment prior to making a final offer. It should also be noted that the process took the better part of nine months.
Staff also reached out to neighboring school districts for input. At the Vista Unified School District, for example, in its Administrator Hiring Process (school principals), Steps 1 —4 run similar to the City's.
Human Resources develops, advertises, and manages the recruitment; then screens the applications to meet the minimum qualifications and selection criteria established prior to opening the recruitment.
However, instead of drawing their technical experts from neighboring school districts, these technical experts are traditionally drawn from within the district. The next step is for the top five candidates to be interviewed by a School Site Panel. This 10-15-member panel usually consists of classified staff, certificated staff, union representation, parents, and Human Resources personnel. The top candidates from this panel interview are advanced to a Cabinet-level interview consisting of the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendents. The governing Board ultimately approves the hire as they do all employees, regardless of position level.
Possible Policy Components. In developing a City Council policy, staff recommends adhering to the current open recruitment process, but with small, yet strategic changes. For example, after the Oral Board/Technical Interview, at Step 5 (the Department Level interview) would instead become a stakeholder interview. Panels would be formed utilizing the following stakeholder groups:
• Community Stakeholders— comprised of select commission members, or key community stakeholders depending on the department head being hired. • Employee Stakeholders - comprised of labor representatives as well as management and confidential employee representatives.
• Director Team Stakeholders - comprised of Department Directors.
Currently, the Oral Board/Technical Interview ranks candidates into one of four bands, based upon their performance in the interview. These bands are: Highly Recommended, Well Recommended, Recommended, and Not Recommended. All the candidates in each band move forward as a group. If there are two in the Highly Recommended band, both candidates would move forward to the Stakeholder Interview step. If no candidates are ranked as Highly Recommended, but four are Well Recommended, all four would move forward to the Stakeholder step. The City Council could recommend a minimum number 10/27/2022 D 1 Page 3 of 4
MEETING DATE: OCTOBER 27, 2022 PAGE 4
SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT HEAD HIRING PROCESS
of candidates to move forward to the Stakeholder step, with the understanding that the number could increase, depending on how many candidates are in each band. Candidates in the Not Recommended band would not move forward at all.
After the Oral Board/Technical Interview, staff does not recommend one large panel as that can become unwieldly and overwhelming for a candidate. Instead, it is recommended that the stakeholder groups be distributed into two or three panels, depending on the number of people involved. Additionally, all participants would be asked to complete and adhere to a non-disclosure/confidentiality agreement. Often, when a candidate is going through a recruitment process, they do not want their current employer to know they may be interviewing elsewhere. It is critical that the City acknowledges the sensitivity of the recruitment process and maintain confidentiality for each candidate as much as possible.
Policy in Practice
The City will have a Fire Chief vacancy due to the recently announced retirement of the incumbent. The City Council has stated in previous meetings that they wish to recruit the best and brightest for department head positions. For this reason, staff would recommend that an Executive Search firm be engaged to conduct a nationwide recruitment for this vacancy. Such firms typically provide a first level screening of candidates based upon the criteria set out by the agency and organize the Oral Board/Technical Interview process. That would not affect the City's subsequent steps. Under this scenario, staff suggests the following stakeholder for each group:
• Community Stakeholder—Vista Public Safety Commissioner, Vista Fire Protection District Board Representative, Vista Sheriff's Station Captain
• Employee Stakeholders—An employee representative from both the VCEA & VFFA as well as a management level employee. This way, all employee constituent groups are represented. • Director Team Stakeholders — Ideally drawn from those departments that the Fire Chief would have the most interaction with such as Finance, Human Resources and Public Works.
Like the Beverly Hills process, staff recommends mixing the stakeholders amongst the groups.
Regardless of each panel's composition, a Human Resources staff member would serve as the panel's facilitator (a practice employed by both VUSD and Beverly Hills). The top two candidates would be referred to the City Manager for interview and selection.
City Council Approval. The City Council could choose to approve the City Manager's recommendation in either a closed or open meeting. Given the novelty of this process, and the need for discretion and confidentiality, staff recommends having the discussions in a closed session meeting, pending the acceptance of a final offer.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no direct fiscal impact in the proposed policy suggestions unless the City Council elects to engage an executive search firm. The cost of such an agreement is usually $25,000- 30,000. The Human Resources Department does have enough funding in the Professional/Consulting Services Account (No. 0010120-521000) to cover such an expense.
EXHIBITS: None
10/27/2022 D 1 Page 4 of 4
ADD TO PACKET
Mayor Ritter, City Council, and staff.
My name is Garry Garretson, and I am a 30-year resident of South Vista.
I stand in opposition to the change that would take hiring decisions from future City Managers and getting committees too involved. My recommendation is based on my experience in hiring over 2000 personnel as Director of Talent Acquisition and leading over 1000 personnel as District Manager with a Fortune 500 Corporation. This experience includes hiring many positions equivalent to Vista department heads, in the private and public sector.
When any of Vistas key positions become vacant in the future, I suggest you develop a protocol for the City Manager to notify City Council members and the mayor immediately. Then establish a council "calibration meeting" in executive session, to discuss the requirements for the next person to achieve (experience, skills, education,job description, present department priorities, etc.)to get everyone expecting similar performance outcomes. To become more inclusionary, get public input before the meet.
Have the City HR Director and the City Manager come to the session and explain the hiring process (ads, screening process, timing expectations).
The City Manager and HR Manager then would do their search and screen. The candidates could be narrowed to three resumes presented in closed session to the Council and Mayor for"input only".
The City Manager then decides who the best candidate is through interviewing and background checking.
He/She then informs the Council and Mayor of the decision.
My reasons for these suggestions include:
-Who has experience hiring this level individual?A simple gut reaction during interviews is not sufficient.
A gut feel with no real expertise and experience in hiring is not sufficient to hire the best. -Department employees, the public, and union officials typically have even less experience in hiring for this level personnel. However, they could provide inclusionary input during calibration.
If the proposed change is approved, many great candidates will not apply:
-Great city manager candidates need to know they make hiring decisions that impact their success.
Committee decisions are usually confusing and create uncertainty. When candidates at this level make a commitment to leave their present employer, they must be confident in future decision making that impacts themselves.
-If you eliminate the responsibility of building their team, future city manager candidates will be cautious and screen themselves out of the process when they discover the micromanagement policy. You could see only second level or desperate candidates, as top candidates could be reluctant to work in an environment where they have little control and authority for the most important responsibility they have. -Candidates will also be reluctant to apply, fearful their application will be discovered by their present employer in a Vista system with too many hands in the process.
Please continue to focus on excellent policy establishment, decision making, oversight, hiring a great city manager, letting them build their teams, and let them manage a loyal team they are confident of and in whom they trust.
CITY OF VISTA r. A L I F 0 R Ff I A D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
October 27 , 2022
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
• Background
• Cityls Current Process
• Other Jurisdictions
• Recommended Policy Components
• Practical Application of Policy
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
• Background
• Municipal Code Change Chapter 2 . 20
• Took effect on October 141 2022 .
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Current Recruitment Process
• Guided by Personnel Rules & Management and Confidential Employee Compensation Plan .
• Designed to reduce a large number of applicants to few top recommended candidate(s) [ 1-3] .
• Utilizes classification specification (job
description ) .
CITY OF VISTA
' ' ' 0-1-4--D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Current Process — Comprised of 6 Steps
1. Recruitment and Selection Plan
2. Open the Recruitment
3. Application Review
4. Oral Board — Technical Interview
5. Department Level Interview
6. Selection and Background
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Current Process — Recruitment Steps
1 . Develop the Recruitment & Selection Process a) Draft Job Announcement
b) Develop Advertisement Plan
c) Design Brochure
d) Hire an Executive Search Firm — Average cost $25,000
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Current Process — Recruitment — Step 2
2. Open the Recruitment
a) Determine hard deadline or post on a continuous basis b) Usually keep open for 3-6 weeks. Those posted on a continuous basis include a first review of application(s) date or timeframe
c) Also include dates for the 15t round of interviews (aka oral board) and 2nd round department level interview
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Current Process — Recruitment — Step 3
3. Review Applications
a) HR Review
b) SME/Hiring Authority Review (City
Manager, Incumbent)
c) Further screening necessary? Assessment of
Written Exam
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Current Process — Recruitment — Step 4
4. Oral Board/Technical Interview
a) Virtual or In-Person
b) Panel of Technical Experts - Comprised of Department Head Peers/City Managers from other Municipalities
c) Questions evaluate technical skills, training, and
knowledge
d) Forced Ranking Matrix
e) Creates Ranked Eligibility List
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
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CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Current Process — Step 4 (Continued )
Ranked Eligibility List Bands
— Highly Recommended (90-100)
— Well Recommended (80-89)
— Recommended (70-79)
— Not Recommended (69 and below)
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Current Process — Recruitment — Step 5
5 . Department Level Interview
a) Key Leaders (City Manager, Asst. City Manager, departing incumbent)
b) Stakeholder Panel
i) Department Manager Group
ii) Department Director Team
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Current Process — Recruitment — Step 6
6. Background Process
a) Reference Check (requires signed waiver/release)
b) Contingent Offer Pending Background
i) LiveScan Fingerprints
ii) Pre-employment Medical
c) Final Offer — Most candidates wait until a final offer if made before giving notice to their current employer.
CITY OF VISTA
C A l I f 0 R N I A
D 1 . Department Head Hiring PolicyRecruitment Steps — 1-6 ANY QUESTIONS1 • far
CITY OF VISTA
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Other Jurisdictions - Municipalities
• 14 County Agencies Other Than City of San
Diego Surveyed
• Only Chula Vista requires Council approval of City Manager's Department Head appointments.
— In City Charter
— Approved on Consent Calendar
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Other Jurisdictions - Municipalities
• City of Beverly Hills
— Hiring of Department Heads is in Municipal Code — Established in 2016
— General Process not Written Policy
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Other Jurisdictions — City of Beverly Hills
• General Process
— Used most recently for Finance, Public Works and RCS Director vacancies. — HR conducts recruitment and screens applications
— Three Panel Process
• Council Members
• Department Heads
• Community Members
• Technical Experts
CITY OF VISTA
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Other Jurisdictions — City of Beverly Hills
• General Process (continued )
— Top Two Candidates Go to Next Step
— CM/ACM Interview
— CM meets in Closed Session with City Council
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Other Jurisdictions — VUSD
• Administrator ( Principal ) Hiring Process
— HR Conducts Recruitment & Screens Applications
— Technical Panel (Other principals)
— Site Panel (certificated & classified staff, parents, HR facilitator)
— Cabinet Panel (Superintendent and Asst.
Superintendents)
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Recommended Council Policy Components
• Keep Steps 1-4
• Advance Candidates by Ranked Bands
• Create Multiple Panels comprised of Stakeholders — Community Stakeholders — Recommend each group identifies its own representative. — Employee Stakeholders — Recommend keeping involvement voluntary. — Director Team Stakeholders — Recommend those whose departments interact the most frequently.
• Top Candidates Meet with City Manager and/or Assistant City Manager • City Manager makes recommendation to City Council in Closed Session
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Practical Application — Fire Chief Vacancy
• Hire and Executive Search Firm
• Recruiter & HR Screens Applications
• Conduct Oral Board/Technical Interview
• Advance Candidates by Band w/ Maximum of Five Candidates to Stakeholder Panels
• Stakeholder Panel Interviews Facilitated by HR Staff • Stakeholder Panels Produces Ranked list
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Practical Application — Fire Chief Vacancy
• Community Stakeholders
— San Diego County Sheriff - Vista Station Captain — Vista Fire Protection District Board
Representative
— Vista Community Safety Commissioner
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Practical Application — Fire Chief Vacancy
• Employee Stakeholders
— VCEA Member
— VFFA Member
— Senior ( by rank) Management Employee in
Department
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Practical Application — Fire Chief Vacancy
• Director Team Stakeholders
— Finance Director
— HR Director
— Public Works Director
CITY OF VISTA
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Practical Application — Fire Chief Vacancy
• Top 2 Candidates Meet with City Manager
• Closed Session Meeting Approval
• City Manager Makes Contingent Offer
— Accepted : Candidate Starts Background Process
— Declined : City Manager Moves to Next Candidate
CITY OF VISTA
C A l I f 0 R N I A
D 1 . Department Head Hiring Policy
Questions,
CITY OF VISTA