2017-03 Performance Audit Report: County of Hawai'i's Department of Human Resources Hiring Practices

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What did we find We evaluated the hiring process that was in place in 2016 as well as newly implemented changes in 2017. In calendar year 2016, the hiring process began when a department head completed a Request to Fill (RTF) form (Appendix 8). The department submitted this form to the Personnel Review Committee (PRC) for approval to fill the vacancy. The PRC then presented the approved RTF form to the Staffing Review Committee (SRC) to establish the method to fill the position and the selection process. Once approved, the SRC submitted the RTF form to DHR for processing. The Department of Human Resources then initiated the recruitment by posting and advertising the vacant position, screened all applicants to determine who meets the minimum qualifications, and established a referred eligible list of applicants. This referred list was sent to the requesting department to perform the interview and selection process. Using a skill set criteria evaluation, the department determined the number of applicants to be interviewed and conducted the interviews. The interview panel then recommended a potential candidate to the appointing authority (department head). The appointing authority then could approve the selection. Once approved, the appointing authority presented the SRC with their rationale and their recommendation to hire. The SRC approved the selection by writing in the applicants name and signing. The Department of Human Resources then processed the approved RTFs. As a result of these procedures, the SRC had the opportunity to override the appointing authority's selection. In general, the individual hiring department has a better understanding than the SRC, on who would be the best qualified candidate. In early 2017, the SRC was removed from the hiring process and the new Office of the Mayor required all County departments to develop and implement written department -specific interview and selection procedures. Due to the potential interference of the SRC, as well as the fact that the individual hiring departments perform the candidate selection; we determined that we would review individual departmental hiring processes and recruitments. We selected four departments for review based on the high number of recruitments, large referred lists of applicants, and the department's current hiring processes: • Department of Environmental Management (DEM) • Department of Parks and Recreation (P&R) • Department of Public Works (DPW) • Department of Finance (Finance) We narrowed the audit scope to review four different classes of work and tested recruitments in these four departments. Three of these classes of work (Clerk III, Laborer II, and Park Caretaker I) were selected since the positions were open -competitive recruitment on a continuous basis for three years, resulting in a large referred list. The fourth class of work (Scale Attendant) was selected because the SRC did not follow uniform written procedures in at least one instance. Audit Results 11 1 P a g e