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

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Report Highlights September 7, 2017 Hiring Practices at the County of HawaiTs Department of Human Resources What mo-- was the purpose - MEMEM of this audit? Thi is perform an ce a ud it was u ndertak erg to evaluate if the County's hiring practices were ad equ ate to en sure equ itabl ea unifo rm, .a nd transparent selections of civil service candidates and to identify areas for improvement - The audit also looked to see if hiring practices complied with applicable laws, regulations, County policies, procedures, and industry best practices. e evaluated internal controls over hiring practi ces during calend ar year 2016 the reug h January 2017. we also examined 46 new Dire civil service positions in four departments during calendar year 2016- We 0i6- we initiated the audit due to the inherent risk of hiring practices and numerous constituent concerns regarding unfair hiring practices at the cou nty_ I �r�rriy UiU iris 11UPPIVri This situation resulted, in part,- from: A fear of retaliatk n including a lack of a sate mechanism for reporting cera -ceras or corn plaints, I nappropriate involvement by tJe Staffing Review Committee ( FSG)_ which was establishied by the prio r office of the Mayor and D H R i n M arch 2013. The cu rrent offic c of the M ; or el iminated the committee in eady 20171 I nsurfficient mooitcri rig by DH R to ensure departmental compliance, The human resources software (NeoGov) was not fully utilized; Extended open recru itment of riot "d ifficult- te-fill pcsifions, and Unclear guidance of prohibited personnel pr acti ces. According to HaWai riStalelaw, the Department of Human Resources has the u Itimate authority and responsibility of thie human resource function for the County of Hawaii. The Cou nb/s hid ng pr acti ces did not ensure eq uitable, undorrn , and transparent selection~ of candidates and may have resulted i n non -corn pli ance with app li ca ble laws and regulations. I n 42 out of 46 positions,. our and it found nu rn erous questionable hiring practices including how applicants were identified to be interviewed, how applicants were assessed, and how departments were using DH Ft's referred I ist of el igi b le appl i -cants - Management at the office of the Mayor and individual departs ents have generally agreed with the a comments and recornmenclatiuns in this report- Their complete response to this audit can be found on page 20: Department's Comm ent- What did we recommend The re -corp mendabons idem improvements for Off ice of thi e M ayor and D HFA manage ruerd to be#ter admin iste r the e cou rays h id ng pr acti ces. o ur and it re port offers recommendations designed to address these issues thi reug h Ery su ring that h iring selection rests sole Iy with the appointing authority and prevenh preferential treatment of new hire candidates - 1 rn plementi ng an i ndependent whi istleblower program, 1 m menti rig mon itoring and oversig hit proced ures: Regn iring ind Mid ual departments to fu Ily n se thie human resources recruitment software (NeoGov), Hrovidi ng man dated erg -going H H traini rig; Only using continuous open recruitments for "d iffi cul#-to-fillp positions, and Developi rig and impl emeriti ng win poli cies and procedures to clearly define prohibited personnel miring practices at the County and worm with other jurisdictions to update the state law. Thisaudit was conducted in accordance with general accepted government auditing standards.