HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-10-15 Merit Appeals Board MinutesMERIT BOARD OF APPEALS
Department of Human Resources
101 Pauahi Street, Suite 102
Hilo, Hawai'i
October 15, 2014
CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Merit Appeals Board, County of Hawai'i, was called
Item 1): to order at 11:08 a.m. by Chairperson Jubilee N. Kuewa, at the Department of
Human Resources Conference Room, 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 2, Hilo, Hawai'i,
on Wednesday, October 15, 2014.
ROLL CALL
Present: Mr. Jubilee N. Kuewa, Chair
Ms. June R. Rabago, Vice -Chair
Mr. David K. S. Nahuina, Member
Ms. Ida H. Otake, Member
Also Present: Ms. Sharon Toriano, Director, HR Department
Mr. Nick Hermes, Deputy Director, HR Department
Ms. Diane Noda, Deputy Corporation Counsel, Ofc. of the Corp. Counsel
Ms. Glynis Yamada, Secretary -Reporter, HR Department
ADDENDUM TO The Chair directed the Board to the next order of business, Addendum to
AGENDA Agenda.
Item 2):
(There was none.)
STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business,
FROM THE PUBLIC Statements from the Public.
Item 3):
(There were none.)
APPROVAL OF The Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business,
MINUTES (Item 4): Approval of Minutes.
(There were none.)
COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business,
CATIONS Communications.
Item 5):
(There were none.)
Merit Board of Appeals October 15, 2014
NEW BUSINESS The Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business, New
Item 6): Business.
(There was none.)
UNFINISHED BUSINESSThe Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business,
Item 7): Unfinished Business.
MERIT APPEALS BOARD APPEAL FORM (DEFERRED: SEPTEMBER 17 2014)
Ms. Noda directed the Board's attention to the Merit Appeals Board's appeal form
and proceeded with her recommendations (SEE ATT. A):
On the bottom of Page 2, the word "Commission" has been replaced with
the word "Board." She also inserted the "twenty calendar days" to make it
totally clear.
She pointed out that on the second to the last line, there's still a reference
to the "Department of Civil Service." The Department's Administrative
Rules are in the process of being updated and changed to reflect the name
change to the "Department of Human Resources." Upon adoption of the
Rules, then this appeals form can be updated to reflect the "Department of
Human Resources."
Chair Kuewa directed Ms. Noda's attention to the language "shall be filed within
twenty' calendar "days from a decision rendered at that step in the internal
complaint procedure"...et cetera. Is it twenty calendar days from the date the
decision is completed or from the date of receipt by the employee?
Ms. Noda replied it's usually the date of the decision. Each department has their
own internal complaint procedures, which would usually state the date of receipt of
the Mayor's decision shall be considered the date of the receipt of the notice of the
adverse action.
Chair Kuewa asked if someone filed an appeal or complaint at the lower level, they
would have 20 days to appeal—and the 20 days will begin from the date they
received the decision over the date that the decision was written? Ms. Noda
commented that if the Mayor's decision was dated May 1, we would start counting
the 20 days from May 2.
Chair Kuewa clarified that when calculating the 20 days, would it be from the date
issued or the date received.
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Merit Board of Appeals
October 15, 2014
Ms. Noda replied that it would be the date of when the written decision was issued.
If someone came in and said, "Well, I, didn't file within 20 calendar days because I
was actually in the hospital for 60 days and nobody checked my mail"—there may
be provisions by mutual agreement for the Board to allow continuances or
extensions of time for extenuating circumstances, but she would need to review
the Rules if it would apply to the filing of an appeal.
Ms. Toriano commented that the departments are delegated the authority to write
their own internal complaint procedure, so it makes sense that this language is
used. When our Department's Rules gets updated and adopted, our intent is to
take that authority away from all of the departments and come out with a single
County -wide internal complaint procedure. This would probably be the same time
that we're going to revisit this appeal form by changing the words "Department of
Civil Service" to "Department of Human Resources."
Chair Kuewa inquired whether decisions made at levels below this Board are oral or
written decisions.
Ms. Toriano replied that every department would need to render a written
decision, but isn't sure whether it's mailed or hand -delivered personally. Normally,
it's 20 days from the date of the decision from the Mayor's office.
Ms. Noda wanted to clarify her answer concerning if there were extenuating
circumstances that an appellant would have an extension of the 20 calendar day
filing deadline. The language "shall be filed within twenty calendar days"—the
word "shall" makes it mandatory. She doesn't know whether the Board actually
has the authority to do that and will need to look into it further.
Chair Kuewa asked if the Board has the authority to change the wording from
"twenty days from a decision rendered" to "twenty days from the date the
appellant received the decision."
Ms. Rabago stated that she's in favor of leaving the language the way it is because
there are people who will avoid service of receipt. Mr. Hermes confirmed
Ms. Rabago's statement that we can't control when someone receives something,
but we can control when we render a decision. It could almost be an indefinite
process.
Mr. Nahuina inquired whether the appeal's form is available on the internet or
strictly from the department only. Mr. Toriano replied that the form is available on
the internet
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Merit Board of Appeals October 15, 2014
Mr. Nahuina asked whether the form is fillable on the internet. Ms. Toriano replied
that it will be made into a fillable form.
Motion: Ms. Rabago moved to adopt the amended Merit Appeals Board appeal form.
Seconded by Ms. Otake.
The voice vote, was as follows:
AYES:
Board Members Nahuina, Otake, Rabago,
and Chair Kuewa —4.
NOES:
None.
ABSENT:
None.
EXCUSED:
None.
Chair Kuewa proposed to take out of order the "Director's Report" then address the
evaluation performance of the Human Resources Director. It would be useful to
hear what the latest report is, as it may help the Board in setting the performance
standards for the fiscal year.
CONSENT ITEM By general consent, the following item was taken out of order, as requested by
CHANGE ORDER OF Chair Kuewa and with no objections from Board Members.
BUSINESS:
DIRECTOR'S REPORT The Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business,
Item 8): Director's Report.
DIRECTOR'S REPORT: HR QUARTERLY REPORTS/ITEMS OF CURRENT INTEREST
(DEFERRED: SEPTEMBER 17, 2014)
Ms. Toriano presented the following:
Status of Labor Position: We recently closed the second recruitment as far
as advertising and hope to make the job offer shortly and have the position
filled by the end of this year or starting with the new year.
Collective Bargaining: We are beginning the process for negotiations with
HGEA—Units 2, 3, and 4. The fact that the Governor is going to change, it's
not unusual that there is a slow progression, but we anticipate they will gear
up again in the new year. Bargaining Unit 14 is a new bargaining unit. It's
primarily for the County's Water Safety Officers, but it also includes public
safety—sheriffs, et cetera. HGEA is encouraging everyone to still keep the
dialogue going. It's interesting that no one around the table could recall
when a new bargaining unit was brought up.
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Merit Board of Appeals
October 15, 2014
Mr. Hermes added that legally they're called "State Law Enforcement Officers and
County Water Safety Officers." The State Law Enforcement is comprised of sheriffs
in the State Department of Public Safety, a smaller number in the Department of
Land and Natural Resources, and even a smaller number in the Department of
Transportation -Harbors Division. The State may have over 600 positions in this
Bargaining Unit 14, the City and County of Honolulu has close to 100 water safety
officers, and our County may have about 40 water safety officers.
Mr. Hermes stated that this is a statewide initiative. You'll have the law
enforcement component, which is the majority, then you'll have the four counties
who are, basically, lifeguards. He doesn't know how they compare to each other
but they were grouped together.
Mr. Nahuina and Ms. Ota inquired whether the pool lifeguards is separate from
ocean lifeguards.
Mr. Hermes replied that at one time, both operations were under the Department
of Parks and Recreation. About five years ago, the water safety component moved
to the Fire Department. He thinks the same is true for the other counties—Maui,
Kaua'i, and the City and County of Honolulu where they have a department of
emergency management.
Chair Kuewa commented that with all of the things happening in the Puna area, has
there been a need for emergency hires of County personnel to address these types
of disasters, and whether we have sufficient procedures to meet the emergency
needs in situations like that. Ms. Toriano replied that this was her next report.
Emergency Preparedness Lava Flow – Pahoa: Emergency preparedness is
critical for the County. The Mayor has expressed to the community that
critical County services will be maintained. They've done their best to go
into the community to express what's happening—what we can or cannot
do—and to guide and help prepare them for, inevitably, the lava crossing
Highway 130.
To maintain critical County services, we are talking about creating access
roads to and from what could be an isolated Pahoa area. Building of bypass
roads—we've had to take equipment that was for the Parks and Recreations
Pahoa Complex—a $22 million dollar project, the largest project in the
entire County—and divert the equipment to help cut these roads.
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Merit Board of Appeals
October 15, 2014
Hawai'i Government Road, which fronts the ocean—it's been well published
that we had to seek approval from landowners, as we try to create a bypass
road and cut through there. Are we resourced for this additional workload?
We're not rushing to add new bodies. We're trying to manage it with
people we have in place. Corporation Counsel will be calling landowners
and chasing them down and getting agreements in place. Public Works is
busy doing what they need to do. We have looked at increasing our
resources in staffing with the Fire Department. It hasn't happened, yet, but
in anticipation of Pahoa Village being isolated—we are establishing a fire
station—the old fire station right in Pahoa. So, they're retrofitting it, then
staffing becomes the next concern.
We've consulted with the unions, and they would like to see fire captains
and equipment operators opened up as promotional opportunities—even
though it would be temporary. As far as firemen, we have a recruit class but
they're not going to be ready any time soon. So, we're looking at offering
overtime to man that station—likewise, for Emergency Medical Services
(EMS).
Every department has come out with their own contingency plan based on
the scenario, and if they need help, we'll do what we can. Some are easier
to replace than others—like the firemen—there's not a lot of qualified
people that we can place.
If the transfer station in Pahoa goes down, we're going to create another
transfer station. The theory being that the employees who are dislocated
from that facility would then go to staff the new temporary transfer
station—with extended hours, possibly, at the Kalapana Transfer Station to
accommodate the isolated Pahoa community.
Chair Kuewa commented that it sounds like Ms. Toriano and her department has
been keeping in touch with the different departments for contingency planning,
which is great.
Manning of the "Call Center": Our role in disaster includes manning what
we call the "Call Center"—when a command center is formed, they call
upon the Health and Safety Division Chief, Charmaine Kamaka, who then
finds and provides 24-hour coverage at the call center. Any incoming calls
to the Civil Defense Agency filtering through this call center. Because of our
role and knowing that the lava has been slow moving, we've had a presence
at the Pahoa Community Center, which is open from 8:00 a.m. through 4:30
p.m.
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Merit Board of Appeals October 15, 2014
At the beginning of October, we scaled back and not all departments
needed to be present. Presently, there are seven departments rotating at
the Pahoa Community Center, who are assigned certain dates. Quite
frankly, the community response during the 8:00 a.m. through 4:30 p.m.
timeframe hasn't been overwhelming. The best participation is at the
community meetings in the evenings with the Mayor, Civil Defense
Administrator, and volcano scientists. Flexibility is the key.
(At this time, the Director's Report concluded.)
RETURN TO ORDER The Chair directed the Board to return to the regular order of business and take
OF BUSINESS: up Unfinished Business.
FY 2014-2015 ANNUAL EVALUATION OF THE DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES:
DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES (HR) GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, AND MERIT
APPEALS BOARD'S EVALUATION TOOL FOR THE DIRECTOR OF HR
(DEFERRED: SEPTEMBER 17, 2014)
Chair Kuewa stated that the Board will need to make a determination if the
former HR Director Evaluation form is sufficient "as is' for the current fiscal year
or if the Board would like to incorporate any changes and to develop a
performance plan or standards for the director.
Chair Kuewa stated that it's an important element for the HR office to
communicate and to hold discussions with leaders and department heads such as
new policies and training. He asked Ms. Toriano if this is covered in any of the
performance categories.
Ms. Toriano replied that the last time the evaluation form was developed, they
questioned how would the survey questions fit in with each of the performance
categories. We placed numbers in the form—this survey question goes with that
performance category or factor. If the Board would like to, we could easily put
the numbering back in as a reference.
(At this time, Ms. Toriano proceeded to distribute documents.)
Ms. Toriano informed the Board that the first document is an outline of the
timeframe that was used up to the actual evaluation of the HR director (SEE ATT.
B). The next document is the evaluation, which she thinks would be easier to
place the goals into this form (SEE. ATT. C). The last document is the survey
results for the fiscal year 2011-2012 and 2013-2014 (SEE ATT. D).
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Merit Board of Appeals
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Ms. Toriano stated that the goals were established based on collaboration with
the division heads of the HR Department and, of course, the Merit Appeals Board.
There are a lot of items that we'd like to see done. As an example, survey
question Number 8 states, "How knowledgeable is Human Resources about your
department goals?" (SEE. PREVIOUS ATT. Q. When 1 compared the ratings (2011-
2012 and 2013-2014), I'm not thrilled at the result as it looks like we're moving in
the wrong direction. How are we going to address this? We have quarterly
expectations of our recruitment, classification, and transactions that are going
out into the field to visit the worksites and to learn more about the requirements
of the positions.
Mr. Nahuina mentioned that when he was looking at the comments, about one-
fourth of them talked about understanding communication—they would like to
see HR talk with them and understand what they're going through. He's glad that
she's acknowledging and addressing that issue.
Ms. Toriano commented that along that line, there were discrepancies between
what one employee would say versus another employee would say in another
section. Standardization was put into place and we're hoping to see a more
favorable response.
Ms. Toriano stated that another goal is updating the Department's Rules, which is
still a work -in -progress.
Chair Kuewa stated that those were the things that he looked at. From his point
of view, he considered them to be under the "communications, campaign, or
improvement categories" where she's doing things to improve in all of those
areas for communicating with the departments.
Mr. Nahuina stated that under "comments" he noticed the issue of time where
timeliness was brought up a number of times. He understands that the process
takes time, but was there anything that HR was doing to address that part—
teamwork, timeliness, streamlining—to understand their needs.
Ms. Toriano said that she believes that this may have been predicated on a
process change made to the hiring and recruiting where we have a County -wide
policy that sets one process for all departments. It does involve more steps and
oversight of leadership, which does take more time. We also have oversight at
each step in the recruitment process—how we're going to fill the position and
who are we recommending for hire. This process was requested by our
leadership and it was developed to meet that need.
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Merit Board of Appeals
October 15, 2014
Chair Kuewa asked Ms. Toriano whether she has any suggestions for
improvement—what's working and what's not working.
Ms. Toriano replied that their department has been very specialized in the
assignments that they perform. Making a difference for the various departments
requires our staff to become better -rounded to address questions, whether it is
transactions, classification, recruitment, and examination. Previously, if someone
called this office, they would be referred to the respective section. If that person
wasn't available to assist them, they would need to wait until that person
returned.
Ms. Toriano added that they have pretty much gone through the cross -training,
which was started with a blueprint where it's totally flexible and it's still a
work -in -progress. She gives the greatest amount of credit to Nick as he worked
with them, held their hand, tweaked that blueprint when it required tweaking—
and he's gained the support of all of them to say that they can do this and that it
makes more sense now. We still need to finish this process because not all of the
"specialists" have graduated to become a "generalist" in our processing center.
This concerns timeliness and how we can improve.
Mr. Hermes explained that, previously, they would have sections that would do
certain things. For instance, when someone wants to reorganize their division,
they would talk to a certain section. When that's completed, then they would
want to fill some of those vacancies—and they'd talk to another section. Then,
those people will need to be hired and paid—and they talk to another section He
further explained that it was just a task for before them, and the sections were
just doing it and no one was necessarily in the loop or discussing it. Inherently,
the customer service element and the communications were hindered because of
how our workflow was set-up.
Mr. Hermes stated that we're on our way in what we're trying to achieve. As an
example, if Chair Jube was an employee in our department, we'll tell you that in
these functional areas, you will support these certain three departments. Almost
immediately we saw re -growth in that personal connection. Our employees are
more vested in a smaller group of customers (departments). Those customers
come to rely on one person through the continuum of tasks, and they're all in the
same loop. The have the opportunity to get to know each other and how they
each think. This is something we've never had before. I think we're reaching this
point where we're about to take off. This is something new. We have a sampling
in the field, where the departments really like it.
Chair Kuewa commented that this is a team of all the different specialties
servicing those departments, and each team is an entity.
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Merit Board of Appeals
October 15, 2014
Mr. Hermes replied that's a good way to characterize it. One major tweak that
they recognized this past year is at what level do we think we can operate best
with that concept—as there are many versions out there. An extreme version
would be Maui County where they do not have "specialists." Everyone from top
to bottom do a little bit of everything. His personal opinion is that the problem is
they don't have specialists.
Mr. Hermes stated that we've evolved in our organization where we're still going
to have specialized divisions because there is a need for that. We need to have
the expertise because they're the answer—there's no one else. But, at the same
time, the people who actually process and do the work—that's where we need
the flexibility in that multi -faceted service. 5o, that's where we've really moved
forward.
Ms. Ota commented that he mentioned "generalists" and asked what is expected
of them.
Mr. Hermes replied that this is in the area of the processing. Our experts are
working on meeting the departments' needs. When the work needs to be
cranked out, we have "generalists" who are assigned to that department that will
make it happen.
Ms. Ota asked if the departments are aware of who their specialists are.
Ms. Toriano and Mr. Hermes replied in the affirmative.
Mr. Hermes added we're really getting to a point where we're about to take off.
It's been a number of months of working through this where it's a different
workflow. Our office has communicated more now than ever before because of
that very subject this Board is touching upon.
Chair Kuewa commented that the team is made up of specialists from each
division in HR and if anything should come in from Public Works, then that team
will work on it. They're each specialists in their own right, but they're working
together to respond.
Ms. Toriano said that she wants to be careful that the Board understands that
they're not that robust. When we use the term "team" it's one person from HR,
and the team then becomes the blending with the department.
Chair Kuewa stated that he likes the direction that HR is going. It's
"communication", but there's a customer service factor as well that's all
encompassing.
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Merit Board of Appeals
October 15, 2014
Ms. Toriano stated she thinks that through this process, the communication and
the concerns of the departments would lessen because we're now integrated as
one—from our office to the user department. This is a specific goal that has been
a work -in -progress for a number of months.
Chair Kuewa stated that this would be at least one question of this survey
concerning conflicting opinions by different specialists in the HR office.
Ms. Toriano said that this was why standardization was important. Although
they're developing a relationship with their assigned departments and have
rotations, it's become necessary to constantly look at the individuals assigned to
certain departments because of their different levels of knowledge, skill, and
ability. We cannot have someone in cross -training and taking on the same
amount of workload as other people who have been doing transactions.
Chair Kuewa proposed that another performance category be added to the
evaluation, which is "customer service," and would like to open this proposal for
discussion. There's a whole number of goals that would fall into that category.
He feels for every manager or supervisor there should always be a customer
service element. This category can be filled very easily with different goals,
especially based on survey results for ongoing actions.
Mr. Nahuina added, being a teacher, he knows human resources training and
education is another component, and how large a role it is. He asked Ms. Toriano
whether she receives requests from the departments to provide that or if she's
planning for it. This is something that we may need to make more visible and
apparent.
Ms. Toriano shared that when it comes to training, we're not very good. There'll
see peaks and valleys as it depends upon the event which drives us to that peak.
Instead of having consistent and on-going training, we have one person assigned
to training to serve the entire County. This person cannot be everything for all
the job classes for the departments. One of the courses, based on the feedback
from departments, is for supervisory skill training, which there's a course for it.
What are mandatory that we must do in order to be in compliance are the things
that are tackled. What we're finding and we haven't a solution—after we offer
the trainings—we're not seeing the attendance.
Ms. Ota questioned whether the supervisory training was mandatory.
Ms. Toriano replied that some of the mandatory trainings relate to drug, violence,
reasonable suspicion—but when talking about supervisory skills, which everyone
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Merit Board of Appeals
October 15, 2014
will swear on a stack of bibles that's what we need—it becomes an operations
decision. Can I afford to allow this person to attend versus needing them at
work?
Ms. Ota asked whether the supervisory training can be mandatory.
Ms. Toriano replied that she doesn't see it as being mandatory, but our role is
making it available. She doesn't think that her colleagues or the directors would
appreciate us saying that they'd have to attend, because in their mind operations
hold precedence. As an example, if you have one staff nurse on the floor and
they're scheduled for training and the other staff nurse calls in sick, you need to
put the body where it's needed.
Ms. Ota commented that at the State level, it was mandatory for those in
supervisory positions to attend.
Mr. Hermes replied that there was an academy at one point, but in the fiscal
downturn that entire division doesn't exist now. In speaking from experience, the
State, unfortunately, that function has gone away to a large degree. Business
decisions have put that a low priority in some of those jurisdictions.
Ms. Ota inquired whether HR has the funds to be able to contract out the
services. Ms. Toriano replied that we have a shoestring budget.
Mr. Hermes added that good training will cost, if we're lucky, about $1,000 a day,
but when you factor in travel, lodgings, and so forth—it's like a three-day event to
cover the entire island—so, it would be about $5,000 or greater. We would be
hard pressed to do one event a year—that's the kind of resources we're talking
about. Everyone's budget, the percentage of what salaries and wages are, has
increased.
Chair Kuewa commented that in most organizations whenever there is
downsizing or a decrease in funding, one of the first things to go are the training
and awards.
Mr. Hermes stated that the bread and butter, really, are the compliance matters,
then the processing of things which integrates with compliance.
Mr. Rabago wanted to address the HR evaluation form. She preferred that under
"Leadership" instead of adding a whole new category, to place some verbiage
under this heading to say, "Increased focus on customer service and training."
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Merit Board of Appeals
October 15, 2014
Ms. Toriano replied, "Expand it." Ms. Rabago agreed. Mr. Nahuina added that
that the "training" could go into "planning" or maybe "problem -solving."
Ms. Rabago said what made her think about that was "develop employees" and
"leadership" is a "develop employee"—so, that's why it would be "training."
Either one would be okay. But rather than making it a whole new bullet, she'd
like to expand on what's already there. We have the four (Financial
Management; Planning, Prioritizing and Organizing; Problem Solving/Decision-
Making; and Leadership) and liked her three goals (Goals #1, #2, and #3). This
gives us the goals for 2014-2015. You could expand the "Leadership" or
"Planning", and this document would serve us well going forward.
Mr. Nahuina thought it was a great idea to add the verbiage in.
Ms. Ota stated that she doesn't see "customer service" as being a separate
category. Placing it under "Leadership"—"Maintains a good method of sharing
information with superiors and subordinates." Ms. Rabago added, "and members
of the public."
Chair Kuewa questioned whether it's worth changing the verbiage under
"Leadership" to include "improving customer service."
Ms. Toriano suggested that they could expand it, if the Board doesn't mind, and
that she would work with the Chair.
Motion: Ms. Rabago moved that Ms. Toriano work with the Chair to expand the
verbiage in the "Performance Category" under "Leadership" of the evaluation
form. Seconded by Ms. Ota.
The voice vote, was as follows:
AYES: Board Members Nahuina, Otake, Rabago,
and Chair Kuewa —4.
NOES:
None.
ABSENT:
None.
EXCUSED:
None.
Chair Kuewa confirmed that both he and Ms. Toriano will review the form and
have a proposal for the next meeting.
Ms. Toriano asked that under "Financial Management" that the Board do not hold
anything against their department due to the disasters (legal expenses, et cetera).
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Merit Board of Appeals
October 15, 2014
DIRECTOR'S REPORT The Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business,
Item 8): Directors Report.
(Previously taken out of order.)
SCHEDULE NEXT The Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business, Schedule
MEETING DATE Next Meeting Date.
Item 9):
Chair Kuewa announced that the next meeting date will be scheduled on
Wednesday, November 19, 2014, at 11:00 a.m.
ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, at 12:17 p.m., the Chair declared the meeting
Item 10): adjourned.
RECONVENE: The Chair reconvened the meeting at 12:21 p.m.
Chair Kuewa asked Ms. Noda to provide an opinion concerning the "performance
standards" concerning the HR Director evaluation.
Ms. Noda stated that for the record, the following: If the director is informed that
this is the tool that will be used, but it cannot be finalized until we have the last
section in—but as long as she is of the understanding that is a tool being used for
this current fiscal year. And after we have the final wording on "customer service"
inserted, then the Board will move to formally approve the tool.
Ms. Ota inquired whether it meant that the Board wouldn't finalize the evaluation
today. Ms. Rabago clarified that the Board already evaluated the HR Director about
two meetings ago, and this evaluation would be for the fiscal year 2014-2015.
Motion: Ms. Rabago moved to approve the HR Director fiscal year Evaluation and
Objectives for July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015 as presented by the HR Director
Sharon Toriano, inclusive of Goals 1, 2, and 3 with the caveat that the verbiage
regarding customer service improvement and training will be added to the
"Leadership" category. Seconded by Ms. Ota.
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Merit Board of Appeals October 15, 2014
The voice vote, was as follows:
AYES:
Board Members Nahuina, Otake, Rabago,
and Chair Kuewa — 4.
NOES:
None.
ABSENT:
None.
EXCUSED:
None.
SCHEDULE NEXT The Chair directed the Board to proceed to the next order of business, Schedule
MEETING DATE Next Meeting Date.
Item 9):
Chair Kuewa announced that the next meeting date will be scheduled on
Wednesday, November 19, 2014, at 11:00 a.m. unless there is a reason that it be
cancelled.
ADJOURNMENT There being no other business, at 12:27 p.m., the Chair declared the meeting
Item 10): adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Glynis Yamada
Secretary
APPROVED:
Ab
.ilee Ku wa
Chair
ST/gy
Page 15
Date received:
Appeal to the
Merit Appeals Board
101 Pauahi Street, Suite 2
Hilo, Hawaii 96720-4224
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Use black ink or a typewriter to complete this form. Use additional pages as necessary.
1.
Name, address, and telephone number of the
2. Name, address, and telephone number of
appellant:
appellant's authorized representative (if
any):
Is the appellant a County employee? ❑Yes ❑No
3.
Name of the mayor, the director of human
4. Pursuant to §76-14, this appeal is being
resources, or appointing authority or a designee
filed for an action under the following
acting on behalf of one of these individuals
category (check all applicable):
whose action is being appealed:
❑ Recruitment and Examination
❑ Classification or reclassification of a
particular position
5. Date action taken:
❑ Initial pricing of class (of work)
❑ Employment action taken under
Chapter 76, HRS (appellant must be a
6. Date notice of action was received by appellant:
civil service employee excluded from
collective bargaining)
7.
Statement of the legal wrong caused by the action
of the mayor, director of human
resources, or an appointing authority, or a designee acting on behalf of one of these
individuals, or a statement as to how such action
has adversely affected or aggrieved the
appellant. Include a concise statement of the
facts pertinent to this appeal.
Page 1 ATT. A
8. Other facts relevant to this appeal:
9. Remedy requested with reasons and explanation of the legal basis by which remedy should be
granted:
10. I would like to have my appeal heard in a meeting: ❑ open to the public [or] ❑ closed to the public
This is to certify that to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief, every statement contained
herein is true, and no statement is misleading nor interposed for delay.
Signature of appellant Date
If appellant has a representative:
Signature of appellant's representative Date
Submit original and eight (8) copies of this appeal form to:
Merit Appeals Board
101 Pauahi Street, Suite 2
Hilo, Hawaii 96720-4224
Nete-11 Rules of the Givil Serviee CemmissieWMerit Appeals Board provide as follows:
§104-2 Filing an appeal. (a) Appeals shall be filed within twenty calendar days from the
action giving rise to the appeal, provided, if use of an internal complaint procedure, pursuant to
Hawaii Revised Statutes §76-42, is required prior to filing an appeal with the Eeffifflission Board,
the appeal to the Commission Board shall be filed within twenty calendar days from a decision
rendered at that step in the internal complaint procedure immediately preceding the filing of the
appeal to the Eommissien Board. Appeals from an administrative review of the director under Title
I of the rules of the Department of Civil Service shall be filed within twenty calendar days from
the director's decision.
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Page 2
Merit Appeals Board
Human Resources Director
Performance Evaluation Process for FYI 4-15 (PROPOSED)
TIME PERIOD
ACTION
April
Enlist the Mayor's assistance with encouraging
100% participation in the MAB survey.
May 16
Distribute survey with deadline for response no
later than the end of the month (May 2012).
Glynis to extract survey results and forward results
to the MAB chair.
Gabe to extract Neo Gov applicant survey results
and forward to HR Director.
June
Director presents - Summary of goals,
expectations/requirements were met or not met.
MAB presents aggregated survey responses and
any other input received. Q&A
Closed discussion
(Ref: MAB Rules)
Discuss overall rating of "meets" or "does not
meet" with written notice to follow.
July
Identify performance goals to be achieved
during the next fiscal year (FYI 5-16).
Establish MAB survey questions for next fiscal year
& define target audience/survey participants.
Revised 07/14/14
ATT. B
HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR
FISCAL YEAR EVALUATION
(assignment of survey question to performance category)
July 1, 2014 —June 30, 2015
Employee Name: Sharon Toriano
Performance Category
Rating
Exceeds, Meets or Does Not Meet
Goal #1
Participate and assist with redefining the Building Permit process
and County reorganization. Conduct re -pricing review of Fire
Battalion and Assistant Chiefs.
Goal #2
Migrate employee data from Access data base to SQL.
Goal #3
Review and update as appropriate 25% of the departments
Policies and Procedures.
Financial Management
Attentive to financial budgets and controls, and generally
operates within prescribed financial limits. Budget overruns are
infrequent, and causes are normally identified and justified.
Implements plans to control cost where possible. Effective in
managing fiscal resources.
Planning, Prioritizing and Organizing
Prioritizes assignments satisfactorily to minimize crisis situations;
shows foresight to prevent potential problems in developing
contingency work plans for short and/or long-range plans;
identifies and utilizes resources and personnel effectively
develops goals of the department consistent with the mission of
the county; proposes and reviews benchmarks to monitor work
progress and follows up on assignments.
Problem Solving/Decision Making
Understands issues, identifies and clearly defines problems as
they occur, accumulates and analyzes relevant information; uses
judgment to select workable solutions to problems' presents
alternative solutions when making recommendations;
understands ramifications to individual and organization.
Leadership
Effectively motivates to accomplish tasks and develop
employees. Takes action to solve problems. Maintains a good
method of sharing information with superiors and subordinates.
Overall Rating _ Meets Expectations _Does Not Meet Expectations
Evaluator Signature:
Revised 07/14/14
ATT. C
Human Resources Annual Evaluation
1 How effective is Human Resources at assisting you to do your job?
Z
FY11-1A
FY13-14
Answer Options
p
Response
Response
Response
Response Count
Percent
Count
Percent
Extremely effective
30.8%
4
32.0%
8
Very effective
38.5%
5
36.0%
9
Moderately effective
30.8%
4
28.0%
7
Slightly effective
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
Not at all effective
0.0%
0
4.0%
1
answered question
13
25
25
skipped question
0
1
1
How well does the Human Resources
Director work with you and other
2 members of your staff?
Answer Options
p
Response
Response
Response
Response Count
Percent
Count
Percent
Extremely well
38.5%
5
40.0%
10
Very well
38.5%
5
40.0%
10
Moderately well
23.1%
3
20.0%
5
Slightly well
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
Not at all well
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
answered question
13
25
25
skipped question
0
1
1
3 How concerned about your questions were the Human Resources
staff?
Answer Options
p
Response
Response
Response
Response Count
Percent
Count
Percent
Extremely concerned
15.4%
2
20.0%
5
Very concerned
53.8%
7
56.0%
14
Moderately concerned
30.8%
4
20.0%
5
Slightly concerned
0.0%
0
4.0%
1
Not at all concerned
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
answered question
13
25
25
skipped question
0
1
1
4 How well do the Human Resources
staff answer your questions?
Answer Options
Response
Response
Response
Response Count
Percent
Count
Percent
Extremely well
15.4%
2
26.9%
7
Very well
46.2%
6
50.0%
13
Moderately well
38.5%
5
19.2%
5
Slightly well
0.0%
0
3.8%
1
Not at all well
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
answered question
13
26
26
skipped question
0
0
0
ATT. D
5 How responsive are the Human Resources staff to your need(s)?
Answer Options
Response
Response
Response
Response Count
Percent
Count
Percent
Extremely responsive
30.8%
4
30.8%
8
Very responsive
38.5%
5
50.0%
13
Moderately responsive
30.8%
4
15.4%
4
Slightly responsive
0.0%
0
3.8%
1
Not at all responsive
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
answered question
13
26
26
skipped question
0
0
0
6 How quickly does Human Resources follow up on requests?
Answer Options
Extremely quickly
Very quickly
Moderately quickly
Slightly quickly
Not at all quickly
Response
Percent
30.8%
38.5%
23.1%
0.0%
7.7%
answered question
skipped question
Response
Count
4
5
3
0
1
7 How accurate was the information provided to you by Human Resources?
13
0
Response Response Count
Percent
20.0% 5
48.0% 12
28.0% 7
4.0% 1
0.0% 0
25 25
1 1
Answer Options
Response
Response
Response
Response Count
Percent
Count
Percent
Extremely clear
7.7%
1
23.1%
6
Very clear
46.2%
6
50.0%
13
Moderately clear
38.5%
5
23.1%
6
Slightly clear
7.7%
1
3.8%
1
Not at all clear
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
answered question
13
26
26
skipped question
0
0
0
(:�How knowledgeable is Human Resources about your department goals?
Answer Options
Extremely knowledgeable
Very knowledgeable
Moderately knowledgeable
Slightly knowledgeable
Not at all knowledgeable
Response
Percent
15.4%
61.5%
7.7%
0.0%
15.4%
answered question
skipped question
Response
Count
2
8
1
0
2
13
0
Response Response Count
Percent
15.4% 4
38.5% 10
34.6% 9
7.7% 2
3.8% 1
26 26
0 0
9 How quickly does Human Resources adjust to changing priorities?
Answer Options
Extremely quickly
Very quickly
Moderately quickly
Slightly quickly
Not at all quickly
Response
Response
Percent
Count
8.3%
1
41.7%
5
33.3%
4
8.3%
1
8.3%
1
answered question
0.0%
skipped question
7.7%
10 Overall, are you satisfied with the service Human Resources provides?
Answer Options
Extremely satisfied
Moderately satisfied
Slightly satisfied
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
Slightly dissatisfied
Moderately dissatisfied
Extremely dissatisfied
Response
Percent
20.0%
40.0%
24.0%
8.0%
8.0%
121 1
Response
Response
Response
Percent
Count
Percent
53.8%
7
53.8%
30.8%
4
26.9%
7.7%
1
7.7%
0.0%
0
7.7%
0.0%
0
0.0%
7.7%
1
3.8%
0.0%
0
0.0%
answered question
13
skipped question
0
11 What does Human Resources need to do to improve its performance?
Human Resources needs to standardize and develop written procedures for
each of its work process and make it available to all of the Departmental level
Ila human resources staff via it's website or on-line.
lib As far as I am concerned, they are doing a great job right now.
11c Training for supervisors and merit promotion incentives.
Reinstate pay increases for Department Heads or at least have a plan for
lid future increases.
Like all the departments, its not their fault but we all need to survive this fiscal
tie state we are in and be able to hire an effective number of qualified staff.
11f Continue to hold training sessions for departments.
While Director is a very intelligent person, knowledgable about personnel
issues, the HR Director has to be more decisive when dealing with personnel
issues. Also needs to improve and demonstrate leadership. Avoid
11g procrastination and "finger -pointing". Be responsive to the needs of County
12 What changes would most improve service provided by Human Resources?
Staff members should be more approachable and show willingness to assist
12a the departmental level employees.
12b Have more supervision traininq modules
Gontinued refinement of the new recruitment software could 1-
12c
12c current work load involved in the on-line recruitment process.
12d Initiate an employee awards system.
12e Proper staffinq to address all the needs of the departments in
a timely manner
Response Count
5
10
6
2
2
25 25
1 1
Response Count
14
7
2
2
0
1
0
26 26
0 0
11 What does Human Resources need to do to improve its performance?
11a
11b
11c
Human Resources needs to standardize and develop written procedures for each of its work process and make
it available to all of the Departmental level human resources staff via it's website or on-line.
11d
Like all the departments, its not their fault but we all need to survive this fiscal state we are in and be able to
Ile hire an effective number of qualified staff.
11f Continueto
wmie uirector is a very mteuigent person, Knowieagable about personnel issues, the tint uirector nas to be
more decisive when dealing with personnel issues. Also needs to improve and demonstrate leadership. Avoid
procrastination and "finger -pointing". Be responsive to the needs of County departments and its employees.
11g
12 What changes would most improve service provided by Human Resources?
12a
12b
Staff members should be more approachable and show willingness to assist the departmental level employees.
more
new
12c on-line recruitment process.
12d Initiate an employee awards system.
12e Proper staffing to address all the needs of the departments in a Umelv manner
rirt uuector =
12f
to Countv personnel that are not related to
12
FY13 -14 Human Resources Annual Evaluation
What does Human Resources need to
do to improve its performance?
# Responses
1 quicker resolution on employee we cams, etc so that replacment hiring can occur.
2 Streamline processesand reduce the backand forth and all the paperworkrequired forvanous
personnel actions Being more efficient is a moving target and should continue and always be a
priority especially in a working environment where everyone isforoed to do more with very little.
3 They need to consider and understand operational needs and goalsto improve the division rather
than silting at desksmaldng decisionsin a vacuum.
4 1 believe that Sharon and herteam do an excellent job with the resouroesthat they have. The HR
process isdaunting, however, the service and advice my staff and I have received from them has
been invaluable.
5 More information on the i ntranet for departments to use (i.e. job descriptions)
Date
5/27/2014 1:18 PM
5/22/2014 3:19 PM
5/9/2014 5:37 PM
5/8/2014 2:54 PM
5/8/2014 9:56 AM
6 My contact with HR islimited as I workwith the designated HR person in our department. However, 5/8/2014 9:37 AM
I believe consistency issomething you may wish to lookat. We need staff comes in the thought
process changes and what wasdone before orinterpretation of before changes This becomes
confusing.
7 Performance isexcellent in most situations Considering the number of departmentsand 5/7/2014 5:37 PM
employees, service is very personal.
8 Human resources hasbeen very responsive to our departments needs and I can not thinkof any 5/7/2014 5:11 PM
area that needs improvement. Our department has very challenging HR issues and DHR has always
been willing to assist from the Dir. down to all of her staff. Our dept isextremely satisfied with the
support and assistance.
9 In defense of the HR department, the new changes intent are excellent, however, there are times
that we experience the 'right hand vs left hand' syndrome. Time will fix that.
10 Be able to understand the needs of the department and try to fit the mold of the Departments,
rather than trying to make everyone conform to them.
5/7/2014 3:48 PM
5/7/2014 2:36 PM
FY13 -14 Human Resources Annual Evaluation
What changes would most improve
service provided by Human Resources?
# Responses
1 make effort to write more of the rulesdown so that department's may consult less
Re Maybe they should get to Iarow people in the department. I don't know a lot of the people in HR
and I am sure they do not know who I am
3 Encourage communication among divisonsto reduce redundancy and creating unnecessary
worldoad for departments Having a new director and deputy director creates opportunity for
change and imporovement. Capitalize on the opportunity to male changes and improve on
efficiency. Don't rely on past practiceswhich may be inefficient and antiquated.
g' They need to take the time to understand what we do rather than basing things on what they think
we do based on paperwork
5 Going through the hiring process is very time consuming. It seems that some of the steps in the
process can be streamlined.
6 More training for staff. Professional development / leadership training -a serieswhere you get some
sort of completion / certification at the end.
Date
5/27/2014 1:18 PM
5/27/2014 11:48 AM
5/22/2014 3:19 PM
5/9/2014 5:37 PM
5/8/2014 2:54 PM
5/8/2014 9:56 AM
7 The NeoGov program. I didn't find it user friendly. It was difficult to figure out and made the 5/8/2014 9:37 AM
application processpainful and longer to complete. I like the idea but feel improvementsin that
area will go along way. When interviewing, some of the applicationswe were reviewing were
outdated and information had changed. Perhaps requirement that all applicants update their
application would help.
8 1 cannot thinkof any changesneeded within DHR at thistime.
,A On rare occasonsthere are glitches in procedure and understanding of an HR process and you
may get a different anwer/interpretation from different people on howto proceed. Minor reviewing
of policies internally would help people in providing consistent guidance
10 Having RTF, SRC on the same form.
11 Come and vist Departments before making decisions or rulingsand opinions
1/1
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