Statewide Issues
State Civil Service Human Resources Reform

The state, as with most employers in the nation, will be facing the loss of many of its most experienced and knowledgeable employees as the "baby boomers" retire. As the current workforce ages and moves into retirement, government services must be able to respond to public needs and changing times. The Administration has long recognized that the state's civil service system is unable to rapidly adapt to changing demands in the workplace or keep pace with a highly competitive labor market. To address this urgent situation, the Human Resources Modernization Project (HRMOD) was approved in the 2007-08 budget to address this urgent business need.

"Getting the Right People into the Right Jobs at the Right Time" is the key to a model state government civil service system that responds to our changing business needs and a key theme of the project. The HRMOD is a collaborative effort sponsored by the Department of Personnel Administration, the State Personnel Board, and the Department of Finance. These departments have partnered to create a strategic plan that defines the direction for civil service reform. Through implementation of the strategic plan, the HRMOD will result in a streamlined system enabled to recruit, develop, and maintain a well-qualified, high-performance workforce. When the project is fully implemented, each agency, department, board, and commission will benefit from: (1) an aggressive recruitment strategy that markets California as an "employer of choice;" (2) a streamlined and flexible selection and hiring process; (3) a simplified classification system based on competencies rather than duties; (4) an improved performance management program; and (5) an integrated, automated system featuring on-line recruitment, classification, compensation, examination, certification, performance management, and workforce planning processes and tools.

The HRMOD formally began work in 2007-08 and ends with the final rollout tentatively planned for 2014-15. The project team formally began operating on October 1, 2007, with five permanent project staff. Currently, recruitment is underway for redirected or loaned staff from agencies, departments, boards, and commissions to complete the project staffing. The project management staff has extensive experience managing large scale projects to successful implementation as well as extensive experience in human resources for the state. Goals for the first two years of the project will be to: (1) develop a classification and compensation model based on competencies; (2) streamline the classification process by abolishing unused classifications; (3) develop a long-term recruitment and retention plan as well as a marketing plan focusing on disciplines who face the largest attrition rate; (4) develop a certified training program for state managers/supervisors and human resources professionals; and (5) develop a system automation procurement plan, requirements, and Request for Proposal.

In addition, in 2008-09, a pilot project for the state information technology classifications will be implemented. This project will pilot some of the models identified in the HRMOD strategic plan.
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