HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0346.007 1996-1998
From~.luh~ha~IF!rltilveooa iaa:I~~a1~~3~dESVoitt~80BJ¢~3AGES To~.AaronChung Pagt1ofdTuestlay,JUr~11,1991920"~9~',1
Mike McIlvenna
PO Bos 384557
Waikoloa, HI 96738-4557 r.-"
June 17; 1997 ~ 9 i y 17 ail 9 ° 7
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To: Couuncilman Aaron Chung COUN ~ ~ ~~-~-~~~`~;1!!
From: Fire Equipment Operator Mike McIl~~enna
Subject: Testimon}- regarding `'Oral Intenzerv" for Ci~~il Ser~zce Promotions
Aloha Councilman Chung:
I cannot appear in person today to submit my recommendations
regarding the promotion inter~2e~e problem so I would like to submit the
following «ritten testimom~. I am also faxing a cop}~ of it to my
Councilperson John Ray; and would appreciate it if you would distribute it o
the other members of the Council.
Please call me to confirm receipt and submission to the Council of
this.
Mahalo.
Sincerely,
,y~ ~,~i ,~?~~,~..r....rn~
Mike McIlvenna
Phone: USA 808-883-8485 a-mail: mmci~~+~ei'a interpac.net3~ 07
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o_I T,.,.e .iuN 1 7 1997 _
from:I,ll:haoli.R9dluenoa Fay:~808~8838dfiSVoi~e~808~883AC66 To~~AarooChung 'age2otGTu~stlay.Jco~11,199)92t'~2~~1
Mike McIh~enna
PO Boy 384557 _ ,
Waikoloa, HI 96738-4557 " -
i ~L'~ i7 i=,9 9 35
June 17; 1997
CC
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To: Ha~~•aii Count}' Council
From: Fire Equipment Operator Mike McII~•enna
Subject: Testimony regarding "Oral Inten•ie«'~ for Ci~•il Sen•ice Promotions
Aloha:
I ha~•e been ad~•ised by the Ha«•aii Firefighters Association
representati~•e that you are seeking input on the promotion inten•ie~e process.
I ~~ould like to make some suggestions of ~eays to impro~•e the inten~e~~~s
and minimize the possibility of and e~•en the appearance of unfairness or
fa~•oritism being a part of the process.
I haee been employed by the Ha~~•aii Count} Fire Department for o~•er
tr~•eh•e years and ha~•e participated in a number of promotion «Titten exams
and oral inten•ie~es. I am currently a Fire Equipment Operator and am on the
promotion list for Fire Captain so I do ha~•e an interest in seeing the
promotion process be made as fair and equitable as possible from the point of
~1er~~ of ci~zl sen•ice employees.
Besides my experience as a counh employee, I ha~•e a Masters Degree
in Business Management from the Uni~•ersitt of Ha«•aii at Manoa and I
understand a good deal about the legal. sociological, and personnel
management aspects and the process of organizational leadership
de~•elopment and selection. I also acti~•ely participate in politics as a
Democrat Part}• member and acti~•eh• campaign for the candidates I feel are
best qualified to lead and manage our island go~•enunent so I ha~•e a
thorough understanding of the political process and ho`~~ it r~ orks in day to
da}• practice. including the `~•ay it influences ci~21 sen•ice job selection and
promotions.
The main problem I see ith the cun-ent promotion system is the
opportunit} the process permits for abuse. Unfortunately, it reall} doesn't
Phone: USA 808-883-8485 a-maiL• mmci~i~ei
a.interpac.net
From~,tdl:hadf.lddlveona fax:~808JEF3~a66'voue~£U£~£638~£6 To.AarooChuog Pago3o(4Tuastlay,Juoa1i.199)921:C6A~~1
Mike McIlvenna
PO Box 384557 ' - -
Waikoloa, HI 96738-4557
~i-
matter if the system is in fact abused or not, as long at the opportunity ~ ~ 9 S
for impropriety exists, Eris fact alone Neill cause employee dissatis~ ~en.
and give rise to and lend credence to reports of abuse; ~ehether true or n t~' ' %
This in turn Neill lead to to«'ered employee morale and be cause for suspicion
and distrust of the leadership of the county's various ci~21 sen2ce
departments. In cases rehere there is more than just suspicion of impropriety
it is also likely to give rise to litigation designed to both correct the alleged
abuse and to compensate those employees ~eho feel they have been ~~ronged.
Unfortunately; the Keay our legal system ~eorks the main beneficiaries of this
process are usually the attorneys ~eho represent both sides of the dispute and
neither the employees; nor citizens of our county ~eho pay our n•ages see
much benefit.
What I reould suggest is that the promotion process be reformed to
remove even the possibilit} of abuse. I would like to suggest the follo~eing as
apolitically neutral promotion process.
First; an inten~ie~e question bank should be developed with a
substantial number of questions; lets say more than 100 that can form the
basis for the inten•ie~e. A neutral party, comparable to a real estate escro~e
company; ~eould be designated as custodian of the question bank. On the day
of the inten~ie~e the custodian ~eould select by random number dra~eing a
subset of the questions and pro~Rde these to the inter~~iew panel no more than
thirty minutes before the inten~iew. The board would be sequestered from
that time on until the intenie~e was finished. All the questions in the
question bank should be common knowledge so all candidates could prepare
for the inten2e«• on even ground. This ~eould minimize the possibility that
favored candidates could be "given the questions" before the inten~ie~e.
Second, to avoid the possibility that an inten~e~e board would simply
give favored candidates higher scores all intenzeres should be ~~ideotaped for
the record. These ~•ideotape records could be made available for re~ne~e by
any candidate `eho felt that the process yeas unfair or discriminatot~ .
Third. to insure that the inten2e~eers are fair, the members of the
panel should consist of independent personnel management professionals.
such as private industt}• human resources managers, universit, management
or fire science instructors not affiliated «•ith county- government or political
Phone: USA 808-883-8485 eanail: tnmci~i•e a,interpac.net
From:lvlichaalf.lvlcllvmna Faa,j806)E83b466Voitt:~606)663A466 To: Aaron Chung Pa~a4of4Tuestla}.Jana 11,1991927.26Aw1
Mike McIlvenna
PO Boy 384557 o `;,5
Waikoloa, HI 96738-4557 ~ ~s~ „`u~~ 1~ J
,
parties; or other neutral parties who could not be influenced by v;~~~s
leadership o* the department conducting the inten2ew. The Fir v~!ef or
Deputy Chief and a union representative should attend the inten~ie~as as
observers but should not be permitted to interrupt the process. The members
of the board could be selected from an eligible list by the concurrence of both
the department head and union representative.
For many years symphony orchestras conducted hiring auditions b}~
ha~'ing a prospective musician play in full ~~iew of the selection committee.
The result. whether by conscious or subconscious process; ~~~as that friends.
children of friends; relatives of existing orchestra members; and ver}' few
ne`~~ and different faces appeared in these institutions. Ho«~ever. now this
practice has generall}~ been replaced by a blind audition process «•here a
prospective hire plays out of sight. As a result orchestras these days are much
more colorful and very few music lovers ~rould dispute that the result has
been good for orchestral performances; music; and audiences.
Adopting a similar process should help eliminate the problem of
favoritism in the ci~21 ser«ce promotion process.
Sincerer .
Michael F McIlvenna
Phone: USA 808-883-8485 a-mail: mmci~~~ei
n,interpac.net