2013-08-29 Special Meeting of the Merit Appeals Board Minutes

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• As a result future County government may face more pressure to hire fewer, less experienced employees who will shoulder greater workload and responsibilities To best position our HR department to contribute to finding solutions to challenges such as these, my core initiative will be to ensure that our HR department has a clear identity that is relevant, yet is basic in concept. A common question that I've seen asked throughout the public sector is - what does central HR do versus HR Offices in departments? The answer to this question varies by jurisdiction and has evolved somewhat since the advent of civil service reform and the subsequent fiscal crisis. I believe the best answer for the County of Hawaii is that the HR department is the central policy making body for the County that outlines and organizes the core procedures for HR management and also serves as the centralized "back room" processing center of personnel actions to ensure correct and uniform application of varying authorities that govern public employment. HR Offices in Departments on the other hand are the front counter, customer service point of contact for their operations, carrying out HR policies developed by the HR Department and submitting actions for standardized processing. While our current design is close to this framework I just described, there are areas of opportunity where we can contribute and thereby provide greater support to the County. Secondly, Ron has done a fantastic job of building relationships throughout our organization, particularly with our administrative counterparts - Office of the Corporation Counsel and the Finance Department. I too am a firm believer that having solid, cooperative relationships between departments is critical to our mutual success and those relationships are fostered with regular communication and information sharing.