[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:02]
ARE YOU READY? ARE YOU EXCITED? ARE YOU READY? YES, MA'AM.
MY NAME IS ALISON ALTER AND I'M CHAIR OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18TH AT 9:33 AM.
AND I WILL CALL THIS MEETING OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE TO ORDER JOINING ME ON THE VIRTUAL DAYAS OUR VICE CHAIR POOL COUNCIL MEMBER, KELLY AND MAYOR ADLER.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER TOBO HAS JOINED US AS WELL.
[Citizen Communication: General]
WE ARE GOING TO BEGIN WITH CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.WE HAVE PAUL ROBBINS WHO IS SPEAKING ON ITEM FOR US, HAS BEEN OUR PRACTICE WITH THE VIRTUAL.
WE'RE GOING TO DO THE CITIZEN COMMUNICATION AT THE BEGINNING.
UM, SO MR. ROBBINS, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES COUNSEL.
UH, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, MR. ROBBINS.
UH, AM I VISIBLE? UM, YOU'RE NOT VISIBLE THAT WE USUALLY ARE NOT VISIBLE.
IN 2017, MANY AUSTIN WATER USERS BEGAN TO RECEIVE ABNORMALLY HIGH AND SOMETIMES UNBELIEVABLY HIGH BILLS FOR A LONG TIME.
AUSTIN ENERGY WOULD NOT ACKNOWLEDGE IT.
AND A LOT OF AUSTIN I'D SUFFERED.
AND THEN IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT SOME OF THE METER READERS WERE SUBMITTING FALSE DATA.
IN THE CASE OF THE CUSTOMER'S INSTANCE PROGRAM MONEY THAT HAS BEEN SPENT ON THE WRONG PEOPLE OR THE WRONG PURPOSE, UH, OSMAN ENERGY AND THE PUBLIC I'VE KNOWN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM FOR ALMOST SEVEN YEARS, THERE WERE REPAIRS THAT THE TENANT DID.
THE UTILITY FINALLY TOOK AFTER YEARS OF CRITICISM HAVE BEEN INSUFFICIENT.
I GENERALLY CONSIDER AUDITS LIKE THE ONE I HAVE REQUESTED FOR THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, A LAST RESORT TO OBTAIN REMEDIAL ACTION, BUT AFTER SEVEN YEARS SUCH REMEDIAL ACTION IS DUE AND ASKED TO DO, UM, I BELIEVE THIS COUNCIL HAS HEARD ME NUMEROUS TIMES.
I BELIEVE YOU, UH, EXPERIENCED, UH, NUMEROUS DISPLAYS, UH, WHERE I'VE SHOWN PICTURES OF THE WEALTHY HOMES THAT ARE STILL GETTING THIS DISCOUNT.
UH, WHAT I CANNOT SHOW YOU ARE THE PEOPLE THAT MIGHT BE WEALTHY, BUT ARE GETTING THE DISCOUNT BECAUSE THE HOMES THEY LIVE IN THEMSELVES ARE NOT EXPENSIVE.
UH, I URGE YOU TO CONSIDER THE WATER WHITEWATER COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATION, UH, TO HAVE A, AN AUDIT, UH, OF THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR ADVOCACY, MR. ROBBINS.
UM, ATX AND I BELIEVE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER FOR TESTING NEEDS TO BE MOVED OVER TO A PANELIST SHE'S ON THE SCREEN NOW.
UM, SO OUR NEXT ITEM, I DON'T WANT A SECOND HERE.
[6. Briefing on the Strategic Facilities Governance Team on Administrative Office Occupancy Plan progress and next steps]
WITHOUT OBJECTION, UH, PER STAFF REQUEST, I WOULD LIKE TO POSTPONE ITEM SIX TO THE MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 22ND.ITEM SIX WAS THE BRIEFING BY THE STRATEGIC FACILITIES GOVERNANCE TEAM ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OCCUPANCY PLAN PROGRESS, AND NEXT STEPS.
UM, SO WITHOUT OBJECTION, I'M GOING TO POSTPONE THAT ITEM.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Audit and Finance Committee meetings of June 16, 2021 and July 21, 2021.]
UM, NEXT WE'LL TAKE UP ITEM ONE, WHICH IS THE, THE MINUTES FOR JULY 21ST AND JUNE 16.UM, MAY I GET A MOTION FOR APPROVAL FOR THE MINUTES, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, SECOND BY COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR UNANIMOUS ON THE VIRTUAL DYESS.
[2. Discussion and possible action regarding the City Recruiting and Hiring Efforts Audit]
NOW MOVE TO ITEM TWO, WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE CITY RECRUITING AND HIRING EFFORTS AUDIT LIKE THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE TO THANK YOU.AND I DON'T SEE THEM YET, BUT I CAN'T SEE EVERYBODY ALL THE TIME.
SO I THINK, UM, KATIE HOUSTON AND TYLER MYERS, UM, NEEDED TO BE MOVED OVER AND ON VIDEO.
UM, SO JUST WHILE THAT'S HAPPENING, I THINK THIS IS AN AREA THE CITY HAS
[00:05:01]
BEEN WORKING ON RECRUITING AND HIRING, UM, OR RECRUITING MORE, MORE DIVERSITY IN THE RECRUITING AND HIRING PRACTICES.UM, THEY MADE IMPROVEMENTS IN SEVERAL AREAS, BUT THIS IS AN AREA WHERE I THINK THE CITY COULD DO MORE TO PROACTIVELY, UM, IMPROVE DIVERSITY, BUT ALSO BE MORE CONSISTENT IN HIRING.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY KATIE AND TYLER ARE HERE.
UM, OH, IT LOOKS LIKE I ALSO NEED TO BRING OVER, UM, MS. HAZEN AND REBECCA KENNEDY.
JUST, I SAW THAT MESSAGE AT THE SAME TIME.
UM, YOU CAN MOVE OVER TO JULIA HAYES AND REBECCA KENNEDY.
AND THIS AUDIT WAS MANAGED BY KATIE HOUSTON AND, UM, THE LEAD WAS TYLER MYERS AND TYLER'S GOING TO BE PRESENTING TO YOU TODAY AND I'M HERE SO WE CAN GET STARTED.
MY NAME IS TYLER MYERS AND I WAS THE AUDITOR IN CHARGE FOR THIS AUDIT.
OUR OBJECTIVE WAS TO DETERMINE IF CITY EFFORTS TO RECRUIT AND HIRE RESULT IN A QUALIFIED IN DIVERSE WORKFORCE.
A QUALIFIED AND DIVERSE WORKFORCE CAN BENEFIT ORGANIZATIONS BY PROMOTING INNOVATION, COMPLEX THINKING AND MORE EFFECTIVE DECISION-MAKING HOWEVER, AND INEFFECTIVE RECRUITING AND HIRING PROCESS CAN INTERFERE WITH THESE EFFORTS.
THIS AUDIT FOCUSED ON THE HUMAN RESOURCE, HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT AND THE CITY'S MUNICIPAL SERVICE ELIGIBLE WORKFORCE.
ANY EMPLOYEES AND FULL-TIME BUDGETED POSITIONS, MCS DOES NOT INCLUDE EMPLOYEES LIKE EXECUTIVES, COUNCIL, AND COUNCIL APPOINTEES, COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND THEIR DIRECT STAFF, AS WELL AS CITY ATTORNEYS.
THIS ALSO MEANS IT DOES NOT INCLUDE EMPLOYEES COVERED UNDER TEXAS CIVIL SERVICE STATUTES OFTEN REFERRED TO AS SWORN STAFF IN THE AUSTIN POLICE, AUSTIN FIRE AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES DEPARTMENTS.
OUR AUDIT RESULTED IN TWO FINDINGS.
ACCORDING TO STRATEGIC DIRECTION, 2023, THE CITY WANTS TO IMPROVE OUR COMPETITIVENESS AS AN EMPLOYER TO ATTRACT EFFICIENTLY, HIRE AND RETAIN A DIVERSE, HIGHLY SKILLED WORKFORCE ACROSS THE ENTIRE CITY ORGANIZATION.
MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE OR MCS ELIGIBLE POSITIONS ARE HIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH HUMAN RESOURCES, PROCEDURES, AND MCS RULES, MCS RULES, STATE THAT THE HIRING PROCESS MUST BE COMPETITIVE FOR ALL QUALIFYING POSITIONS AND ALL HIRING DECISIONS MUST BE MADE BASED ON MERIT AND FITNESS.
HOWEVER, THE SELECTIONS OF NEW EMPLOYEES IS ULTIMATELY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR.
WE FOUND THAT THE CITY HAS ADDED EFFORTS TO ADDRESS DEMOGRAPHIC DISPARITY DISPARITIES, AND SOME CITY DEPARTMENTS HAVE IMPROVED REPRESENTATION ACROSS MANY DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHIC CATEGORIES.
HOWEVER, WE ALSO NOTED THAT THE CITY COULD BE MORE DELIBERATE IN ITS PURSUIT OF A DIVERSE WORKFORCE, SPECIFICALLY WORKING PROACTIVELY TO IDENTIFY AND REMOVE GAPS AT THE DEPARTMENT LEVEL.
WELL, X SLIDE, PLEASE ANALYSIS INVOLVED, COMPARING RACE AND ETHNICITY, DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE CITY'S MCS WORKFORCE SHOWN IN ORANGE TO THAT OF THE COMMUNITY SHOWN IN BLUE AT THE CITY-WIDE LEVEL, THE MCS WORKFORCE APPEARS TO REFLECT THE COMMUNITY.
WE ALSO PERFORM THIS ANALYSIS AT THE DEPARTMENT LEVEL AT THE DEPARTMENT LEVEL, MANY DEPARTMENTS APPEAR LESS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF RACE AND ETHNICITY.
THE DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF THIS ANALYSIS IS SHOWN IN THE REPORT ON PAGE SIX.
WE ALSO COMPARED GENDER DEMOGRAPHICS BETWEEN THE CITY'S MCS ELIGIBLE WORKFORCE.
AGAIN, SHOWN IN ORANGE AND THE COMMUNITY SHOWN IN BLUE AT THE CITY-WIDE LEVEL.
WOMEN MAKE UP ONLY 39% OF THE MCS ELIGIBLE WORKFORCE, BUT MAKE UP ABOUT 50% OF THE COMMUNITY.
LIKE ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, WE ALSO PERFORM THIS ANALYSIS AT THE DEPARTMENT LEVEL AT THIS LEVEL, MANY DEPARTMENTS APPEAR LESS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
THE DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF THIS ANALYSIS IS SHOWN ON PAGE EIGHT OF THE REPORT.
WHILE THE CITY IS MAKING STRIDES TO ADDRESS WORKFORCE DISPARITIES, IT SHOULD ENGAGE IN MORE PROACTIVE EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY AND RE REMOVE DISPARITIES AT THE CITY-WIDE AND DEPARTMENT LEVEL.
FIRST EQUITY ASSESSMENTS ARE TOOL THAT DEPARTMENTS USE TO HELP ANALYZE THEIR POLICIES AND PROGRAMS THROUGH THE LENS OF EQUITY, INCLUDING AN ANALYZING WORKFORCE DEMOGRAPHICS AND HIRING STRATEGIES.
[00:10:02]
HOWEVER, WE KNOW THAT THAT THERE ARE SOME LIMITATIONS WITH EQUITY ASSESSMENTS THAT MAY REDUCE THEIR ABILITY TO RESOLVE BARRIERS RELATED TO RECRUITING AND HIRING NEXT STAFF NOTED THAT ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE TO DEPARTMENTS, BUT THE CURRENT SYSTEM REQUIRES DEPARTMENTS TO FIRST ACKNOWLEDGE IT, THAT DISPARITIES EXIST AND THEN ASK FOR ASSISTANCE AND MORE PROACTIVE APPROACH THAT INVOLVES STRATEGICALLY IDENTIFYING WHICH DEPARTMENTS NEED ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE MAY HELP DEPARTMENTS AND THE CITY RESOLVE DISPARITIES IN THE WORKFORCE.LASTLY, WHILE HRD HAS VOICED THE PRIORITY THAT THE CITY'S WORKFORCE SHOULD CLOSELY MIRROR THE COMMUNITY, THAT GOAL THAT CITY GOAL IS ABSENT IN GUIDING DOCUMENTS AND LACKS ASSOCIATED PERFORMANCE MEASURES.
CURRENT EFFORTS AND PLANS MAY NOT CLEARLY ARTICULATE THIS PRIORITY FOR THE CITY'S WORKFORCE AND CAUSE CURRENT DISPARITIES TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS.
OUR SECOND FINDING HIGHLIGHTS THAT THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT DOES NOT REGULARLY REVIEW DEPARTMENTAL HIRINGS HRD PROVIDES OVERSIGHT OVERSEAS HUMAN RESOURCES FUNCTIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY USING A DE-CENTRALIZED APPROACH.
THIS MEANS THAT HRD RELIES ON LIAISONS WITHIN WITHIN DEPARTMENTS TO CARRY OUT RECRUITING AND HIRING EFFORTS.
HRD PROVIDES GUIDANCE THROUGH CHECKLISTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO DEPARTMENTS TO FURTHER SUPPORT THIS HIRING PROCESS.
HOWEVER, WE NOTED THAT HRD DOES NOT REGULARLY REVIEW RECRUITING AND HIRING DATA OR DEPARTMENTAL HIRINGS TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH ESTABLISHED POLICY.
DURING OUR REVIEW, WE NEEDED SOME ISSUES WITH HIRING PACKET DOCUMENTATION DEPARTURE FROM GUIDANCE ON SITUATIONAL OR BEHAVIOR-BASED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND DEPARTMENTS NOT FULLY CLOSING OUT APPLICANT INFORMATION IN THE EHR, YOUR SYSTEM.
OUR REPORT INCLUDED TWO ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS.
THE FIRST NOTES THAT THE INVESTIGATION AND PAY EQUITY COULD INCLUDE AN ANALYSIS OF WHETHER PAY DISPARITIES EXIST IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN WORKFORCE, PARTICULARLY AS EMPLOYEES PROGRESS THROUGH THEIR CAREERS.
AND IF DISPARITIES EXIST BETWEEN DIFFERENT EMPLOYMENT TYPES OR ROLES WITHIN THE CITY.
OUR SECOND OBSERVATION NOTED THAT NOTED THAT APD WAS UNAWARE OF FEDERAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS REGARDING WORKFORCE DEMOGRAPHICS STAFF AT APDS TO DO THEY'RE NOW WORKING WITH PARTNERS DEPARTMENTS TO COLLECT NECESSARY INFORMATION AND BEGIN REPORTING.
WE ISSUED SIX RECOMMENDATIONS IN OUR REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS.
ONE THROUGH FOUR ARE AIMED AT RESOLVING ISSUES NOTED IN FINDING ONE, INCLUDING CREATING CITY-WIDE PLANS FOR A MORE DIVERSE WORKFORCE, IDENTIFYING AND WORKING DIRECTLY WITH DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF RACE AND ETHNICITY, WORKING WITH DEPARTMENTS TO RESOLVE GENDER DISPARITIES AND ANALYZING AND IMPLEMENTING BEST PRACTICES IN HIRING EFFORTS.
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE RECOMMENDATIONS FIVE AND SIX ARE TARGETED TO RESOLVE ISSUES NOTED IN FINDING TWO, INCLUDING PERIODICALLY REVIEWING DEPARTMENTAL HIRINGS AND ENSURING APPLICANTS IN THE CAREER SYSTEM ARE ASSIGNED AND APPROPRIATE FINAL STATUS.
WHEN THE HIRING PROCESS IS COMPLETED, THIS CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATIONS AND WE ARE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
UM, BEFORE WE TAKE QUESTIONS, I JUST WANTED TO INVITE, UM, DR.
HAYES OR MS. KENNEDY TO SPEAK TO THE AUDIT.
UM, TO THE COMMISSION, I MEAN, WELL TO THE COMMITTEE, I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE A POWERPOINT, UM, A LOT OF DETAILED INFORMATION, AND SO WE WANTED TO LAY IT OUT AS EFFECTIVELY AS POSSIBLE.
AND SO REBECCA IS GOING TO SHARE HER SCREEN, UM, TO INCLUDE THE POWERPOINT THAT GIVES A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAILED TO HRDS RESPONSES, UM, TO THE AUDIT AT IS AS IT'S PRESENTED, UH, IT SHOULD BE THE CITY HALL AB SO YEAH, COMING UP, THANK YOU.
AND DON'T GET NERVOUS WHEN I SAY POWERPOINT, YOU WILL NOT BE HERE ALL DAY.
I PROMISE, BUT IT DID, YOU KNOW, WE NEEDED THE ORDER TO MAKE PRESENTATION SHOULD BE UP.
UM, LET ME SEE IF I WONDER IF SHE'LL COME IN HERE, INTERNET ISSUE THERE SHE COMES.
SO THIS IS WHY YOU COME TO THE OFFICE.
SO YOU CAN GO TO SOMEBODY ELSE'S OFFICE WHEN YOUR COMPUTER KICKS YOU OFF THE PHONE RIGHT HERE.
WE JUST A SECOND TO GET SET UP.
CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME ALL RIGHT.
HOPEFULLY I WON'T GET KICKED OUT.
SO AS WE GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION, I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO JUST KIND OF WALK
[00:15:01]
YOU THROUGH IT AS WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.UM, THE FIRST PIECE THAT WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS JUST TO DISCUSS THE AUDIT FINDINGS, SOME CONCERNS WITH THE ANALYSIS THAT WAS DONE IN THE AUDIT, SOME RESPONSES AND OBSERVATIONS THAT PUT SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT YOU RECEIVED IN THE PRESENTATION AND CONTEXT.
UM, SOME OF THE DIVERSITY AND RECRUITMENT INITIATIVES THAT WE DON'T BELIEVE WERE INCLUDED THAT WE WANTED TO ALSO GIVE YOU SOME CONTEXT TOO, TO TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT WHAT WE'VE DONE.
I THINK THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE DID ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE'VE MADE SOME STRIDES, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KIND OF IDENTIFY THOSE STRIDES AS WE LOOK TO WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING MOVING FORWARD.
UM, AND THEN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PROCEDURAL, UH, COMPLIANCE AND NEXT STEPS, NEXT SIDE.
SO AS WE LOOK, I'M SORRY, I RAN ALL THE WAY OVER HERE.
AS WE LOOK AT THE FIRST AUDIT FINDINGS, THE CITY WORKFORCE IS REPRESENTATIVE OF A CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHIC CATEGORIES, BUT IT'S LESS REPRESENTATIVE OF OTHERS.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN NEEDS TO BE MORE DELIBERATE IN THE PURSUIT OF DIVERSE WORKFORCE AND CAN DO MORE TO PROACTIVELY IDENTIFY AND REMOVE GAPS IN THE WORKFORCE.
UM, THE AUDIT REPORT RECOGNIZES THAT THE, THESE ARE NOT UNIQUE TO AUSTIN.
SO I THINK THAT'S A VERY KEY POINT FOR US IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT FAT.
AND WE REALLY WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE AUDIT NOTES OF LACK OF STRATEGIC EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS DISPARITIES.
UM, THE MC EXCUSE ME, THE MCS RULES MANDATE THAT CANDIDATES MUST BE HIRED ON MERIT AND FITNESS AND SHOULD BE THE MOST QUALIFIED.
SO AS WE SPECIFICALLY LOOK AT MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE POSITIONS, THE PROCESS IS VERY CLEAR ABOUT THE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF WHAT A CANDIDATE MUST GO THROUGH.
AND SO FOR US TO BE STRATEGIC ABOUT DIVERSITY IS NOT REALLY ABOUT THE PROCESS.
ONCE THE CANDIDATES HAVE COME INTO THE SYSTEM, IT'S REALLY MORE ABOUT HOW WE CAN BE MORE PROACTIVE IN CREATING A DIVERSE CANDIDATE POOL, AS YOU KNOW, AND SOME OF YOU ALL MAY NOT KNOW IN MCS EMPLOYEES WITH THE WHO WHO'VE BEEN WITH THE CITY, HAVE THE, HAVE THE ABILITY TO AUTOMATICALLY BE INTERVIEWED IN CERTAIN SPACES.
THERE ARE APPEAL RIGHTS GIVEN TO OUR EMPLOYEES THAT EXTERNAL CANDIDATES DON'T HAVE IN THE PROCESS.
UM, AS WE GO THROUGH THE PROCESS, WE ALSO GIVE POINTS FOR VETERANS.
AND SO SOME OF THEM ARE, UM, BENCHMARKS STRATEGIES THAT YOU MAY SEE WITH RECRUITMENT AROUND THE COUNTRY HAVE TO BE CALIBRATED BECAUSE WE'VE GOT TO FIT THOSE INTO NCS.
AND SO WE WANT TO TRY TO CREATE WAYS TO BE MORE INNOVATIVE IN RECRUITING PEOPLE, TO POSITIONS AND ENSURING THAT THE CANDIDATE POOL, BUT GINS WITH A DIVERSE GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT ARE REPRESENTATIVE, UM, SO THAT AS THEY GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF MERIT AND FITNESS, THERE IS MORE OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN A PROCESS WHERE PEOPLE CAN GET JOBS.
UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS NOT ABLE TO MANDATE NEW HIRES SHOULD BE IN A SPECIFIC ETHNIC GROUP OR CATEGORIES.
AND SO WE DO NOT CREATE GOALS THAT SAY, WE WILL HAVE THIS PERCENTAGE OF THIS GROUP, THIS PERCENTAGE, BUT WE DO WANT TO REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY AND OUR CANDIDATE SELECTION POOL.
UM, NOW SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK IS IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT, UM, AS WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, AND THIS IS PROBABLY OUR FUNDAMENTAL CONCERN WITH THE AUDIT, MOST OF IT LOOKS AT COMPARING US TO THE MSS, UH, FOR THE AUSTIN AREA.
UM, WE DON'T DENOTE THAT THAT IS A VERY RELIABLE SPACE, BUT IT'S NOT THE ONLY SPACE.
AND SO FOR ME, I THINK THE CONCERN IS THAT THE SUCCESS OF OUR ABILITY TO HIRE, UM, AND LET'S FOCUS ON WOMEN BECAUSE I THINK THAT WAS A KEY POINT IN TERMS OF AREAS WE NEED TO GROW.
THE AUSTIN MSA REPRESENTS 50% WOMEN OFTEN ONLY REPRESENTS 38%.
UM, WHEN WE LOOK TO, UH, VARIABLES TO DETERMINE OUR SUCCESS IN RECRUITMENT, SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO GENDER, WE'RE NOT ONLY LOOKING AT COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION.
WE ALSO LOOK AT EXPERIENCE SKILLED WORKFORCE, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, IN THE AREA OF MECHANICS AND FLEET, WE WILL PROBABLY NEVER ATTAIN 50% OF OUR MECHANICS BEING FEMALE AS A MALE DOMINATED FIELD.
WHAT WE WOULD DO IS TO GO OUT AND LOOK AT PROGRAMS. WHAT, WHAT SCHOOLS, WHAT HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE MECHANIC PROGRAMS? WHAT'S WHAT SCHOOLS CAN WE FIND THAT HAVE TRADE SCHOOLS AND WHAT IS THEIR PERCENTAGE OF FEMALE, UM, MECHANICS IN THOSE AREAS, IF THAT REPRESENTS 20% OF THE POOL, MY GOAL WOULD BE TO, TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE REPRESENTING THE AVAILABLE WORKFORCE IN A PARTICULAR AREA.
AND SO I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT I LOOK FOR MO THAT WE LOOK FOR MORE, UM, AREAS OF BENCHMARK OTHER THAN JUST A COMMUNITY REPRESENTATION, BECAUSE THAT MAY NOT TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THE AVAILABLE WORKFORCE IN A PARTICULAR AREA, IN THE AUDIT, THEY COMPARED THE CITY OF AUSTIN DEMOGRAPHICS TO THE STATE.
UM, AND AS WE LOOKED AT THE DATA THAT THEY USE AND THAT DATA WAS, WAS AGED, UM, FROM 2016, UM,
[00:20:01]
WHEN YOU COMPARE US TO THE STATE OF TEXAS, I DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S AN APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON.THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS SOME DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE ALMOST PRIMARILY WOMEN HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND OTHERS ALSO, UH, THE STATE OF TEXAS DEMOGRAPHICS INCLUDES TEACHERS.
AND WE MANY, MANY OF US KNOW THAT 76% OF TEXAS TEACHERS ARE WOMEN.
AND SO IN THAT TEXAS DEMOGRAPHIC, YOU DO NOT HAVE THE SAME LEVEL OF OPERATIONAL POSITIONS THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN WOULD HAVE.
AND SO THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE SOME DEFICIENCY AND LOOKING AT THE STATE AGENCIES SIMPLY BECAUSE THEIR FOCUS AND SCOPE OF WORK IS NOT ALWAYS GOING TO BE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE KINDS OF WORK THAT WE DO AS A CITY.
VERY SIMILAR TO THE OTHER BENCHMARK THAT WAS USED, WHICH IS TRAVIS COUNTY, WE'RE ONLY 7% OF THEIR WORKFORCE REPRESENTS OPERATIONAL TEAMS. AND SO THAT REALLY ISN'T AS FAIR OF A COMPARISON BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT OPERATIONAL DEPARTMENTS HAVE A HIGHER NUMBER OF, UH, MALES BECAUSE OF A TYPE OF WORK THAT WE'RE DOING NOW, AS I, AS I VOICED THIS CONCERN ABOUT THE COMPARISONS, LET ME JUST SAY, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET HRD, NOT TO AGREE THAT THERE'S SPACE AND OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVE AND TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF WOMEN AND ANOTHER MINORITIES WHO REPRESENT OUR CITY JOBS.
I DEFINITELY THINK WE ARE COMMITTED TO THAT.
UM, AND IN JUST A MINUTE, I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'VE DONE, BUT I DID WANT TO BRING UP JUST SOME CONCERNS WITH THE OVERARCHING CONCERN THAT NOT MEETING THE 50% OF THE MSA IS A REFLECTION OF, OF A FAILURE IN TERMS OF THE CITY, TO BE ABLE TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN A HIGH NUMBER OF WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE.
I JUST THINK THAT THERE'S SOME OTHER VARIABLES THAT WE SHOULD BOUNCE OFF OF THAT ARE REALLY MORE COMPARISON.
FOR INSTANCE, OTHER CITIES WHO HAVE, UH, ELECTRIC UTILITIES, BECAUSE THAT IS A LARGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE IN OPERATIONAL POSITIONS, WHO DO TRASH THEMSELVES.
AND SO LOOKING AT THOSE OTHER CITIES, WE ATTEMPTED TO LOOK AT THOSE OTHER CITIES IN OUR PROCESS, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THE CITY OF DALLAS, UM, AND WE ARE VERY COMPARABLE TO THEM IN TERMS OF REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE.
UM, AND SO THOSE ARE SOME OTHER VARIABLES THAT WE WANT TO LOOK AT AS IT RELATES TO WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE.
UM, AND AS I STATED ALREADY, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS A GREATER NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES WORKING IN OPERATIONS, WHICH IS A MALE DOMINATED SPACE.
UM, AND SO HEAVY EQUIPMENT AND HEAVY DEPARTMENTS WOULD BE PREDOMINANTLY MALE IN THOSE SPACES.
UM, AS WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, I'M GOING TO MOVE OVER SINCE I TOOK OVER SOMEBODY ELSE'S OFFICE, UM, AND ALLOW HER TO KIND OF TALK TO YOU ALL A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, OH, WAIT A MINUTE, OH, LET ME DO THIS LINE.
UM, IF WE CAN MOVE TO THE, TO, UM, THE NEXT SLIDE, THERE WE GO.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT IS THAT 51% OF THE CITY JOBS ARE IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORY.
SO THEY'RE IN PROTECTIVE SERVICE WORKERS.
AND WE, WE TRIED TO PUT SOME EXAMPLES AND SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT THOSE INDIVIDUALS DO, SERVICE MAINTENANCE WORKERS, SKILLED CRAFT AND TECHNICIANS.
UM, AND AGAIN, THESE ARE, THESE ARE AREAS THAT WE KNOW SCHOOLS AND, UM, TRAINING FACILITIES ARE MOVING FORWARD TO GETTING MORE WOMEN TRAINED.
BUT RIGHT NOW THE AVAILABLE WORKFORCE IS PREDOMINANTLY MALE.
UM, IF WE COULD GO TO THE SECOND SLIDE OR THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, SO JUST WANTED TO SHOW YOU THAT THESE 14 DEPARTMENTS THAT WE HAVE ON THE SCREEN MAKE UP ABOUT 67% OF OUR MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES.
AND SO AS WE BREAK THOSE DOWN, WE DO SEE THAT THESE ARE PREDOMINANTLY MALE DOMINATED, AND THESE ARE DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE MORE MEN, THE MSA AVERAGE.
AND SO JUST TO PULL OUT SOME OF THOSE DATA POINTS, IT'S OUR ARR OPERATORS, UM, OUR AUSTIN WATER TECHS, BUILDINGS, AND GROUNDS ASSISTANCE, UM, DISTRIBUTION, ELECTRICIANS, JOY JUST MENTIONED AUSTIN ENERGY, OUR ENGINEERS FLEET.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING AND WE HAVE, UM, PLANS WITH CERTAIN DEPARTMENTS ABOUT HOW WE CAN GET IN AND ENCOURAGE MORE WOMEN TO APPLY FOR THESE JOBS.
BUT UNFORTUNATELY JUST WHAT WE SEE IN THE WORKFORCE AS THEY ARE MALE DOMINATED.
THIS IS SO FUNNY WITH THIS MOVING AROUND.
SO THE NEXT SLIDE, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANT TO DO IN ADDITION TO TALKING ABOUT JUST WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE, AGAIN, WANT TO REMIND YOU THAT AUSTIN HAS ACTUALLY WON SOME AWARDS WITH SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE PUT IN PLACE THAT NOT ONLY RECRUIT A HIGHER NUMBER OF WOMEN TO BE ENGAGED WITH OUR WORKFORCE, BUT IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO BE MORE FAMILY-FRIENDLY, WHICH IS IMPORTANT TO BOTH WOMEN AND MEN IN THE WORKPLACE.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR WE PARTICIPATED IN THE FAMILY FRIENDLY INITIATIVES AND AUSTIN RECEIVED HIGHEST
[00:25:01]
RANKED, UM, ACCOUNTS FOR OUR FAMILY FRIENDLY POLICIES THAT WE HAVE PUT IN PLACE AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.WE ALSO HAD A PROCESS WHERE WE MET WITH ALL DEPARTMENTS AND STAFF TO ALLOW THEM TO TALK TO US ABOUT HOW WE CREATE A WORKFORCE THAT IS MORE FRIENDLY TO WOMEN AND TO FAMILIES.
UM, AND SO THAT WAS A ONE-YEAR PROCESS AND THEY PROVIDED US AND WE CAN PROVIDE IT TO YOU AS WELL, A LIST OF THINGS THAT THEY WOULD WANT US TO DO, UM, TO IMPROVE THE SPACE AND CULTURE FOR THE CITY TO BE MORE APPEALABLE TO WOMEN.
UM, ACTUALLY MORE APPEALABLE TO PEOPLE WITH ANIMALS TO WOMEN AND TO FAMILIES IS WHAT WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED.
I'M NOT DOING AS WELL WITH THE, WITH THE ANIMAL FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES IN THE WORKPLACE, BUT I AM MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF FAMILY-FRIENDLY AND WOMEN FRIENDLY SPACES, UM, CREATING MORE FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULES AND ALL HONESTY.
THE COVID EXPERIENCE HAS PUSHED US FASTER IN SOME OF THESE PHASES TO ADDRESS THE FLEXIBILITY ISSUES.
AND SO I DO WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT IN ADDITION TO THAT, I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU SAW IN THE AUDIT, AS IT RELATED TO THE DIVERSITY INITIATIVES.
UM, I READ IN THE AUDIT THAT THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT REALLY FEELS LIKE WE NEED TO HAVE MORE STRATEGICALLY WRITTEN GOALS SPECIFIC, UM, TO, UH, THESE INITIATIVES OF DIVERSITY, UM, SO THAT WE CAN, WE CAN, WE CAN DETERMINE FOR OURSELVES IF WE ARE MEETING THESE GOALS, BUT I DON'T WANT THE ABSENCE OF A FULL STRATEGIC PLAN FOCUSED ON DIVERSITY TO BE A SUGGESTION THAT THOSE PLANS ARE NOT IN PLACE, BUT WE DEFINITELY ACKNOWLEDGE WE NEED TO PUT IT IN WRITING SOMEWHERE COLLECTIVELY, SO IT CAN BE REVIEWED, BUT WE HAVE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE AND OTHER DIVISIONS.
WE ARE OUR EMPLOYMENT DIVISION AND OTHER PIECES OF OUR DEPARTMENT ARE DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING COMPREHENSIVE, INTEGRATED, AND STRATEGIC FOCUS, DIVERSITY INITIATIVES FOR OUR DEPARTMENTS AND FOR OUR RECRUITMENT, WE DID A FULL REVIEW OF OUR RECRUITMENT PROCESS.
UM, ALL OF OUR STAFF HAVE GONE THROUGH THE WATERS PROCESS AND UNDOING RACISM.
UM, WE'VE DONE AN ANALYSIS OF ALL OF OUR CITY POLICIES, TOO LITTLE.
THERE MAY BE SOME AREAS THAT ARE NEGATIVE TOWARDS COMMUNITIES OF COLOR ARE RECEIVING EMPLOYMENT THROUGH THE CITY AND THROUGH OUR DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND WE WORKED DIRECTLY WITH AFFINITY GROUPS AND I, AND I THINK, UH, UM, AS COREY AND I WERE TALKING, I PROMISED HER THAT I WOULD SHARE THIS BECAUSE IT WAS OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION I'M EXCUSE ME, INVESTIGATORS, THE AUDIT, BUT IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE THOUGHT WAS RELATIVE.
AS WE MEET WITH AFFINITY GROUPS, THEY HAVE PROVIDED US THE CONCERNS THEY HAVE ABOUT RECRUITMENT.
AND SO I'VE MET WITH EVERY FRIEND IN THE GROUP AT LEAST ANNUALLY TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THEIR ISSUES ARE.
I'VE REPORTED THOSE ISSUES AS IT RELATES TO EXECUTIVE RECRUITMENT TO THE CITY MANAGER.
AND I PARTNERED WITH THOSE AFFINITY GROUPS TO, TO GIVE THEM DETAILS OF WHAT WE'RE DOING TO ADDRESS THEIR SPECIFIC ISSUES.
SO WE'RE MEETING WITH THOSE GROUPS.
UM, WE MET WITH ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY OF COLOR AFFINITY GROUPS AND OUR WOMEN'S GROUP AND, UM, UH, OUR LGBTQ GROUP.
AND WE TALK ABOUT WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT THEY WANT TO SEE IN THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS.
WE'VE CREATED TRAINING FOR DEPARTMENTS, UM, AND WE'VE UPDATED OUR POLICIES AND GUIDELINES AND CHECKLISTS THAT WE PROVIDE DEPARTMENTS TO ENSURE THAT WE STAY UP ON THAT.
WE ALSO HAVE FOCUSED SOME RECRUITMENT EFFORTS, UM, IN THE LAST TWO YEARS, UM, IN THE AREAS OF UNIVERSITIES AND HELPING DEPARTMENTS IDENTIFY WHAT THEIR DIVERSITY NEEDS ARE IN TERMS OF RECRUITMENT AND, AND ASSISTING THEM.
I THINK ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WITH THAT PIECE IS THAT AS THE AUDIT POINTED OUT, THE DEPARTMENTS DO REACH OUT TO US.
FOR INSTANCE, LIBRARY HAD A BIG CONCERN THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE STAFF IN THE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR THAT REPRESENTED THOSE COMMUNITIES.
AND THE MAJORITY, THE MAJORITY OF THE LIBRARIAN STAFF WERE, WERE CAUCASIAN.
THE DEPARTMENT WENT THROUGH A GREAT DEAL OF WORK, REACHED OUT TO OUR DIVERSITY PERSON AND WERE ABLE TO CREATE A PLAN THAT ALLOWED THEM TO REACH OUT TO UNIVERSITIES THAT HAVE A MASTER'S DEGREE LEVEL LIBRARIAN MANAGEMENT AND A DEGREE.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO ADJUST AND CHANGE, AND THEY'RE DOING A GREAT JOB IN CREATING IT.
AND SO WITH 45 DEPARTMENTS, IT IS DIFFICULT TO GO OUT AND PROVIDE STAFF THAT CAN HELP THEM, UM, PROACTIVELY.
SO WE DO ASK THOSE DEPARTMENTS, IF YOU NEED HELP, PLEASE REACH OUT TO US AS YOU MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
HERE'S SOME OF THE DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT EVENTS THAT I'VE DONE.
I HAVE BEEN VERY COMMITTED AS A DIRECTOR TO BE MUCH MORE STRATEGIC, STRATEGIC ABOUT OUR VIRTUAL OUTREACH AND OUR DIVERSITY REACH.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE WITH THE UNIVERSITIES THAT WE HAVE LISTED, WE'VE NOT ONLY REACHED OUT TO THESE UNIVERSITIES, BUT WE BEGAN TO DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS SO THAT THERE IS A PIPELINE BETWEEN THEIR GRADUATES AND KEY PROGRAMS TO THE JOBS IN WHICH WE HAVE IN AUSTIN.
[00:30:01]
OUR DIVERSITY INITIATIVE MANAGER, AND SHE'S REALLY DONE A GREAT JOB.SHE ACTUALLY CAME OUT OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN A UNIVERSITY.
AND SO SHE DID A REALLY GOOD JOB OF HELPING US FIGURE OUT HOW TO CONNECT TO THESE UNIVERSITIES.
AND WHAT YOU SEE IN THIS LIST IS DIVERSITY, NOT ONLY IN GENDER, BUT IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND IN EDUCATION LEVEL.
SO ENGINEERS AND OTHER AREAS WHERE WE'RE HAVING PROBLEMS, IDENTIFYING AND HIRING THOSE.
WE HAVE DIRECT PIPELINES AND ONE-ON-ONE SESSIONS WITH THESE UNIVERSITIES, AND WE'VE HAD ONE-ON-ONE SESSIONS WITH ALL OF THESE SCHOOLS WITHIN, WITHIN COVID.
SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL BECAUSE WHILE SHE COULDN'T GO OUT AND DO FACE TO FACE RECRUITMENT, WE HAVE USED THIS COVID PERIOD TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH UNIVERSITIES THAT REPRESENT THE DIVERSITY WE WANT TO SEE AND OUR HIRING.
AND SO I DIDN'T SEE THAT AS A PART OF THE AUDIT, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT SPEAKS TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO TO BUILD THAT NEXT SLIDE.
UM, ALSO IN TERMS OF OUR RECRUITING EVENTS, I WANT YOU TO SEE THE TYPES OF EVENTS THAT WE'VE PARTICIPATED IN.
UM, THE, THE GROUPS THAT WE REACH OUT TO, UM, BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS STRATEGY AND OUR RECRUITMENT PROCESS AND HOW WE GO ABOUT REACHING OUT TO ANY ENTITIES.
I ALSO JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THAT WE'VE ALSO RECEIVED AN AWARD IN THE LAST TWO YEARS FROM TML ON OUR RECRUITMENT STRATEGY AND THE DIVERSITY THAT WE ARE BRINGING TO THE PROCESS THAT WE DON'T SEE IN OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, WE HAVE A JOB FAIR AND MOST CITIES DO NOT HAVE A JOB FAIR FOR ALL CITIZENS.
YOU KNOW, WE USUALLY ARE FOCUSED ON HIRING FOR JUST US, BUT THE AUSTIN HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT PUTS ON AN ANNUAL JOB FAIR.
AND MANY OF YOU ALL HAVE JOINED US AND BEING A PART OF IT.
WELL, WE BRING IN OVER 4,000 CITIZENS FROM AROUND THE CITY TO HELP THEM GET JOBS PERIOD, BECAUSE OF THE NEED.
BUT SPECIFICALLY IN THE LAST THREE YEARS, AS I'VE BEEN DIRECTOR, WE'VE BEGUN TO HOST TARGETED JOB FAIRS TO SPEAK TO THE DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY THAT WE WANT TO ATTRACT.
WE NOW HAVE A REENTRY JOB FAIR THAT WON AN AWARD THAT FOCUSES OUR ATTENTION JUST ON RE-ENTRY.
SO WE BRING EVERY ENTITY IN AUSTIN THAT EMPLOYS REENTRY COMMUNITY, INCLUDING OUR DEPARTMENTS, UM, AND THEY ARE ABLE TO COME AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO ASK THE QUESTION, DO YOU HIRE PEOPLE WITH, WITH, WITH CRIMINAL BACKGROUNDS BECAUSE EVERYBODY IN THE ROOM HIRES THEM.
UM, AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS BEEN ABLE TO REALLY, UH, BUILD FROM THAT AND HIRING AT SOME OF OUR OPERATIONAL POSITIONS.
AND I WILL TELL YOU, WE'VE BEEN AWARDED FROM MULTIPLE ENTITIES ABOUT OUR STRATEGIC WORK OF GETTING THOSE, UM, FROM INCARCERATION BACK EMPLOYMENT.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE A SENIORS JOB FAIR, WHERE WE HA WHERE WE HOST A JOB FAIR THAT SPECIFICALLY FOR PEOPLE OVER THE AGE OF 55 AND ALL OF OUR EMPLOYERS WHO COME ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE AND ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THOSE JOBS, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DO IT IN COVID, BUT I THINK IT'S ANOTHER STRATEGIC PLAN OF TARGETING COMMUNITIES THAT ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN OUR WORKFORCE.
UM, WE'VE ALSO DONE THOSE WHERE WE'VE MOVED THE COMMUNITY EVENTS TO SMALL COMMUNITIES.
OUR AFFINITY GROUPS SAY THAT A LOT OF OUR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR ARE VERY INTIMIDATED BY DOWNTOWN AUSTIN DON'T WANT TO COME INTO THIS INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO WE'VE ACTUALLY HOSTED SESSIONS, UM, IN COMMUNITY ENTITIES THAT ALLOW US SMALLER, MORE INTIMATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITIES TO COME OUT AND HEAR ABOUT CITY OF AUSTIN JOBS IN THEIR SPACE AND IN THEIR AREA.
AND SO THESE ARE ALL JUST SOME OF THE FEW PIECES.
I DEFINITELY THINK WE NEED TO PUT ALL OF THAT IN WRITING AND A STRATEGIC PLAN BECAUSE I DISAGREE THAT WE DON'T HAVE STRATEGY, BUT I ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THAT STRATEGY IS NOT IN ONE PLACE FOR YOU TO DEFINE IT, TO SEE IT, AND TO HAVE A DOCUMENT THAT WE CAN EVOLVE AND MAKE BETTER.
AND SO CERTAINLY, UM, WE, WE ACCEPT THAT AND UNDERSTAND IT NEXT SLIDE.
AND I'M ALMOST DONE SOME STRATEGIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE REPORT.
WE GO INTO SOME DETAILS ABOUT WHAT WE, WHAT WE CAN DO, UM, THROUGH THE EQUITY ASSESSMENT TOOL AND, AND BRIAN, ISN'T JOINING US TODAY.
THERE IS SOME INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS ON THE EQUITY ASSESSMENT TOOL, AND I WILL JUST HAVE TO SPEAK.
AND I CERTAINLY CAN'T SPEAK FOR THE TOTALITY OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE EQUITY OFFICE, BUT THEY HAVE JUST BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN BRINGING THE EQUITY LENS TO HOW WE GO ABOUT DOING RECRUITMENT.
UM, THOUGH THERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS AND QUESTIONS, AND I WILL TELL YOU, THERE WILL NEVER BE AN EQUITY ASSESSMENT TOOL THAT EVERYBODY A HUNDRED PERCENT AGREES WITH.
I THINK IT'S AN EVOLVING DOCUMENT, BUT TO GET INTO OUR DEPARTMENTS, TO GET STAFF AND EXECUTIVE LEVELS TOGETHER, TO SPEND MONTHS AND EVALUATING THEIR PRACTICES, THEIR ACTIVITIES, UM, WAS A MONUMENTAL TASK, UM, THAT MOVES THESE DEPARTMENTS CLOSER TO REALIZING THE POTENTIAL DISPARITIES.
UM, WE ALSO MET WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE AND WE'RE PLANNING AN EQUITY ON A UNIVERSITY WERE AWARE OF THE EQUITY OFFICE WAS GOING TO CREATE CLASSES THAT WE WERE EXPECTING EXECUTIVES AND HIRING MANAGERS TO PARTICIPATE IN.
[00:35:01]
UM, I WILL HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE ALSO MET TO TALK ABOUT THOSE DEPARTMENTS BASED ON COMPLAINTS, BASED ON NUMBERS AND REPRESENTATION NEEDED ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.AND SO WE COMMITTED TO, AND WE IDENTIFIED OUR TOP FIVE DEPARTMENTS THAT WE WERE GOING TO GO AND WORK WITH.
BUT AT THE TIME WE DID THAT, UM, THE EQUITY OFFICE WAS POOL TO DO RE-IMAGINING AND OTHER COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES.
AND THERE SIMPLY HAS BEEN NO TIME FOR US TO COME BACK TO THE INITIATIVES, BUT I DO WANT TO STAY BECAUSE THAT IS NOT A PART OF THE AUDIT THAT THAT WORK HAS BEEN DONE.
WE HAVE ALSO CREATED POSITIONS FOR DIVERSITY, SO THAT ALL DEPARTMENTS HIRE SOMEONE TO BE RESPONSIBLE AND FOCUSED ON THIS WORK.
BUT AS YOU ALL KNOW, AS WELL AS I DO JUST HIRING SOMEBODY IS NOT THE JOB, RIGHT? YOU MUST FIRST RECOGNIZE YOUR DEFICIENCIES.
YOU MUST FIRST BE COMMITTED TO FIXING THOSE DEFICIENCIES.
THE EQUITY OFFICE MUST BE CONFIDENT THAT YOU ARE PREPARED TO ADDRESS THOSE EFFICIENCIES BEFORE THE EQUITY OFFICE WILL RELEASE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT POSITION TO BE USED IN A DEPARTMENT.
SO THE ONLY DEPARTMENTS TODAY THAT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO USE THAT, OR THE PORT DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE WORKED WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE, AND THEY FEEL CONFIDENT THAT THEY'RE AT THE STAGE WHERE HIRING A DIVERSITY MANAGER WILL ASSIST THEM IN MOVING THEIR PLANS FORWARD.
UM, AND THERE ARE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE CREATED SOME SIGNIFICANT PLANS ARE CONTINUING TO WORK ON THOSE PLANS AND ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO HIRING A MANAGER, TO KEEP THOSE PLANS MOVING, UM, EQUITY AND INCLUSION PROGRAM MANAGER IN OUR DEPARTMENT WORKS WITH ALL DEPARTMENTS ON THEIR PLANS AND THEY CALL US AND SAY, WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH IN THIS COMMUNITY, HELP US.
WE HAVE NOT BEEN MORE PROACTIVE.
UM, AND I'M WELCOME TO DO THAT WITH MORE STAFF.
UM, IF WE WANT TO FOCUS ON GOING OUT AND LOOKING AHEAD OF TIME, UM, AND HELPING DEPARTMENTS VERSUS HAVING THEM SEE US AS A TOOL TO SUPPORT THEM.
UM, AND I WANT TO TELL YOU, AS I'VE MET WITH THE AFFINITY GROUPS, THEY HAVE MORE.
NOW I HAVE AFFINITY GROUPS OF EXECUTIVES.
SO THE, UH, THE HISPANIC AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND ASIAN EXECUTIVES HAVE MET WITH ME INDIVIDUALLY, IN ADDITION TO THE AFFINITY GROUPS TO TALK ABOUT THEIR CONCERNS OF REPRESENTATION.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT INITIALLY WAS GOING TO BE, UH, I THINK AN ADDITIONAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM COREY IN THIS REPORT WAS JUST SOME CONCERNS ABOUT REPRESENTATION OF COMMUNITIES IN OUR EXECUTIVE LEVEL.
I DIFFERENT AUDIT A DIFFERENT TIME, A DIFFERENT PROCESS.
WE DON'T HAVE THE MCS RULES AS A PART OF THAT, BUT CERTAINLY WE HAVE LISTENED TO THE CONCERNS OF THOSE EXECUTIVES.
UM, AND WE ADDRESSED THOSE WITH THE CITY MANAGER AS WE ADDRESS THE ISSUES OF THE AFFINITY GROUPS, SO THAT HE'S AWARE OF THE CONCERNS OF THE EMPLOYEES.
NEXT SLIDE, MS. HAYES, HOW MUCH MORE DO YOU HAVE LEFT? BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A PRETTY FULL AGENDA HERE.
IF YOU CAN TRY AND SPEED IT UP A LITTLE, PLEASE.
YEAH, I COULD DEFINITELY TALK FAST.
SO THAT IS ALL WE HAVE FOR FINDING NUMBER ONE FOR FINDING NUMBER TWO.
WHAT I SEE HERE, AND I CAN, I CAN SUMMARIZE THIS ONE VERY QUICKLY IS THAT THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE IS SUGGESTING THAT WE REALLY CHANGE THE TYPE OF WORK WE PROVIDE IN THE PARTNERSHIP WE PROVIDE TO DEPARTMENTS IN OUR ESTABLISHED UNDERSTANDING RIGHT NOW, HRD ESTABLISH POLICY CREATES PROCEDURES DETERMINES AND ESTABLISHES DEPARTMENT ROLES.
UM, AND THEN WE DO PERIODIC REVIEWS.
I THINK THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE IS SUGGESTING THAT WE GO INTO MORE OF AN ENFORCEMENT TO GO INTO THE SYSTEM TO SEE WHAT PEOPLE ARE NOT DOING CORRECTLY.
RIGHT NOW I SEND MEMOS AND SAY, HEY, PLEASE, DON'T FORGET TO CLOSE OUT YOUR, YOUR INFORMATION IN THE SYSTEM.
UM, BUT WE DON'T HAVE STAFF THAT GO BACK AND MANAGE THAT IN EVERY DEPARTMENT AND THEN IN FORCE THAT THEY'RE NOT DOING IT.
AND SO CERTAINLY IF WE WANT TO MOVE, YOU CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE TO THAT.
IT DOES CHANGE, UH, THE, THE COMMUNICATION AND PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.
SO WE CAN PROVIDE MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROCEDURES AS WE DO.
UM, BUT I DON'T SCREEN ALL POSITIONS.
IF YOU'LL LOOK AT MY RESPONSE, PAGE FOUR IN THE BOOK UP TO DATE, NOW WE'VE HAD OVER 7,000, UM, POSTINGS JUST THIS YEAR, I'VE HAD 1800.
I DON'T HAVE STAFF TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT ALL 1800 POSITIONS TO DETERMINE WHAT'S IN THEIR CHECKLIST AND DID THEY CLOSE IT OUT IN THE SYSTEM? AND SO WE WANT TO DO THAT.
THAT IS A PARADIGM SHIFT IN THE ROLE OF HRD CORPORATE THAT WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK AT NEXT SLIDE.
SO OUR NEXT STEPS ARE TO CONTINUE WITH THE DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT INITIATIVES.
I THINK WE NEED TO LAY THAT OUT IN TERMS OF SOMETHING WRITTEN DOWN TO CONTINUE OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH AFFINITY GROUPS AND EQUITY OFFICE, AND TO PARTNER MORE WITH DEPARTMENTS AND ESTABLISHING THEIR SPECIFIC DEPARTMENTAL HIRING STRATEGIES THAT REFLECT THEIR SPECIFIC DEPARTMENTAL NEEDS IN TERMS OF REPRESENTATION, UM, AND, AND TRY TO, UH, FILL A DEDICATED POSITION TO PROCEDURE COMPLIANCE.
I APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR PASSION AND THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, UM, FOR WRAPPING UP TWO QUESTIONS AND I'LL RECOGNIZE, UH,
[00:40:01]
MY CHAIR POOL IN A SECOND.I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT THIS IS THE FIRST OF A SERIES OF AUDITS THAT WE'RE LOOKING INTO WITH RESPECT TO OUR WORKFORCE.
IT WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE, UM, SUM TOTAL OF THE INVESTIGATIONS AND THE LOOK THAT WE ARE, UM, EMBARKED ON.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO SORT OF TO FLAG THAT, UH, VICE CHAIR POOL.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO FIRST? YEAH, I WANTED TO, UM, JUST PROBE A LITTLE BIT ON THE, UM, COMPARISONS, THE CHOICES THAT THE AUDITOR'S MADE FOR THE GROUP, UH, TO COMPARE, UM, OUR HUMAN RESOURCES, UM, WORK, HANG ON A SECOND.
UM, AND, AND IN PARTICULAR AS, UM, DR.
HAYES POINTS OUT PICKING THE STATE OF TEXAS, WHICH OF COURSE IS LITERALLY THE STATE OF TEXAS, NOT JUST ONE SMALL ISH CITY IN COMPARISON, IT ALSO INCLUDED, UM, A BIG COMPONENT OF, OF TEACHERS.
WHY WOULD THE COMPARISON NOT HAVE SEARCHED OUT A, UH, SIMILAR, UM, MUNICIPAL ENTITY TO COMPARE US AGAINST? I WOULD ARGUE THAT IF, IF, IF ASKED, IF I HAD BEEN ASKED, SHOULD WE COMPARE THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S HIRING AND RECRUITMENT DONE BY OUR HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT OF OUR NON-SWORN EMPLOYEES? SHOULD WE COMPARE THAT TO THE STATE OF TEXAS HAVING WORKED AT THE STATE OF TEXAS IN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT AGENCIES? I WOULD SAY, NO, THERE'S NO WAY BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENCES.
SO I LIKE TO KNOW FROM THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE, WHY, UH, THAT WAS THE COMPARISON THAT WAS CHOSEN.
UM, SO I THINK REALLY OUR, OUR BEST COMPARISON, UH, WHICH WE THINK WAS CITED IN AN HRD MEMO IS TO COMPARE IT TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S REALLY WHERE WE HINGED A LOT OF OUR ANALYSIS, UM, IN CONVERSATIONS, UH, THROUGHOUT THIS AUDIT, WE, UH, RECEIVED SOME REMARKS ABOUT, WELL ARE OTHER GOVERNMENT ENTITIES SIMILAR.
UM, AND SO THAT IS WHERE WE STARTED TO LOOK AT THE STATE OF TEXAS AND TRAVIS COUNTY.
I'M NOT SURE WE FULLY AGREE THAT THERE AREN'T OPERATIONAL TYPE JOBS, UH, IN THE STATE OF TEXAS AND TRAVIS COUNTY.
I THINK THAT TYPE OF WORK IS ALSO DONE BY THOSE ENTITIES.
SO IT DOES MAKE FOR A VALID COMPARISON.
CERTAINLY THE TEACHERS, I THINK, IS HISTORICALLY A FEMALE DOMINATED PROFESSION.
SO IF YOU WERE TO THROW THAT OUT AND COMPARE TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN, I THINK YOU WOULD ALSO MAYBE WANT TO THROW OUT LIBRARY OR AWESOME PUBLIC HEALTH OR ENTITIES WITHIN OUR BODY THAT TEND TO BE FEMALE DOMINATED TO MAKE THAT A VALID COMPARISON.
BUT OVERALL, WE FELT THAT GENERALLY AT THE STATE OF TEXAS AND TRAVIS COUNTY, THERE ARE OPERATIONAL POSITIONS THERE AND THEREFORE IT MADE FOR A VALID, UH, COMPARISON, BUT TRULY THE COMPARISON TO THE COMMUNITY AND THE MSA IS REALLY PROBABLY THE BETTER MEASURE HERE OR MORE SPECIFICALLY TO THE CITY AND NOT THE MSA, BECAUSE ALSO THE MSA INCLUDES A MUCH LARGER COHORT AND THEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOES ITSELF.
I APPRECIATE YOUR EXPLANATION OF WHY YOU CHOSE THE STATE OF TEXAS, BUT I WOULD, AGAIN ARGUE THAT YOU COULD HAVE REMOVED A PARTICULAR SUBSET THAT SO CLEARLY IS FEMALE DOMINATED AND THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOES NOT HAVE ANYTHING APPROACHING.
UM, AND THAT, UH, AN EDUCATION COMPONENT, UNLESS YOU WANTED TO ADD IN AISD WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHICH WE WOULD NEVER DO.
SO, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, UM, ENCOURAGE A LITTLE BIT MORE, UH, THOUGHTFULNESS ON, ON THE, UH, COMPARISONS SO THAT WE DON'T, UM, END UP WITH SOME RESULTS THAT, UM, ARE INTERNALLY DEBATABLE BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE ALL OF US TO BE VERY CONFIDENT AND ALIGNED IN OUR AGREEMENT, GOING FORWARD WITH HOW WE WORK, UM, ON, UH, ON MAKING IMPROVEMENTS.
AND I DO THINK THAT DR. HAYES AND HER TEAM ARE, ARE WORKING AS NIMBLY AS THEY POSSIBLY CAN GIVEN ALL OF THE CONSTRAINTS.
AND I ALSO APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT THIS IS THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF CAREFUL LOOKS AT HOW OUR DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS ARE RESPONDING WITH HIRING AND RECRUITING.
WELL THEN I WOULD JUST SAY, WE TRY NOT TO, TO PICK AND CHOOSE AND PIECE IT APART TOO MUCH THERE.
BUT IF WE WERE TO KIND OF LOOK IN TOTAL AT THE STATE OF TEXAS AND I AGREED OUGHT TO HAVE A SORT OF AN INTERNALLY ARGUABLE DATA POINTS, THEN WE WOULD MAYBE WANT TO COMPARE THAT TO OUR ENTIRE WORKFORCE TOO, WHICH WOULD BE ADDING IN POLICE AND FIRE AND OTHER POSITIONS, WHICH ARE GENERALLY MALE DOMINATED THAT MIGHT SKEW THINGS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF FURTHER, BUT IT WOULD BE KIND OF A COMPLETE BODY OF EVIDENCE TO COMPARE.
MS. HOUSTON, CAN YOU JUST POINT OUT, UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT
[00:45:01]
MS. HAYES RAISED THE ISSUE OF THE COMPARISON.I'M JUST SORT OF LOOKING THROUGH THAT.
AND I DON'T SEE THAT AS A BIG FOCUS ON THE AUDIT TO ME, THE AUDIT WAS REALLY FOCUSED ON HOW WE WERE REFLECTING THE MSA.
UM, SO CAN SOMEBODY EVEN POINT OUT WHICH PAGE THAT COMPARISON IS ON? CAUSE THAT SEEMS LIKE A BIT OF A RED HERRING TO ME BECAUSE, UM, I JUST DON'T SEE THAT AS THE FOCUS, I THOUGHT THE FOCUS WAS MUCH MORE ON THE MSA.
UM, AND I, AND I'M NOT, I MEAN, JUST LOOKING THROUGH IT, I DIDN'T EVEN REMEMBER THAT WHEN I READ THE AUDIT AND LOOKING AT IT, I'M NOT SEEING WHERE THAT IS.
SO, UM, GRANTED I'M MULTITASKING HERE, BUT IF YOU CAN FLAG THAT FOR ME, I'D APPRECIATE IT.
IT'S IN A CALL-OUT BOX ON PAGE SEVEN, IT'S JUST ONE KIND OF SENTENCE, TWO SENTENCES THERE OFF TO THE SIDE.
THE GREATER FOCUS WAS REALLY THE COMPARISON OF OUR WORKFORCE TO THE MSA.
THAT'S LIKE, GREG CAN BARELY SEE IT ON HERE.
UM, COLLEAGUES, ARE THERE OTHER QUESTIONS? UM, I'M TRYING TO SEE CONCEPT NUMBER TOTAL AND THEN CONCEPT NUMBER ONE, TEST AND AM THEIR OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER TOBA.
YOU ALL FROZE THERE FOR A MINUTE AND I DIDN'T HEAR YOU RECOGNIZE ME.
UM, I APPRECIATE THE, BOTH THE AUDIT AND THE, AND THE, AND THE RESPONSE FROM HRG.
THAT'S, THAT'S ALL REALLY VALUABLE INFORMATION.
AND I, I DO THINK THERE ARE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES TO REALLY CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARD, UM, OUTCOMES IN THIS AREA, BUT I, I ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT HRG IS DOING.
I'M WONDERING ABOUT, UH, A RELATED BUT SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ISSUE.
IF WE LOOKED AT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN HAVING THIS CONVERSATION, UM, ABOUT CONTRACT EMPLOYEES, AND I WONDERED FROM HRDS PERSPECTIVE, IF YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF HOW, HOW THOSE NUMBERS WOULD SKEW, ESPECIALLY WITH REGARD TO WELL, WITH REGARD TO ALL THE ISSUES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, REPRESENTATION, UM, WITH REGARD TO GENDER REPRESENTATION, WITH REGARD TO RACE AND ETHNICITY, HOW THAT WOULD, HOW THAT WOULD LOOK.
IF WE LOOKED AT OUR POOL OF CONTRACT EMPLOYEES, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN FOCUSING ON BUILDING SECURITY, BUILDING SECURITY AND CUSTODIAL STAFF AS OUR FIRST, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR FIRST AREA OF, OF, UM, FOCUS.
DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF, OF WHO IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE, WHAT THE REPRESENTATION LOOKS LIKE IN THE CAR, WHICH R D HAS NOT DONE ANY ANALYSIS ON REPRESENTATION OF CONTRACT EMPLOYEES.
WE'VE DONE SOME FOCUS, WORK ON THEM AS YOUR IFCS HAVE COME THROUGH RELATIVE TO THIS DISCUSSION OVER TIME.
I THINK IT WOULD PROBABLY IMPROVE OUR, OUR COMMUNITY OF COLOR REPRESENTATION IN MANY OF THOSE FACES, BUT I CAN'T SPEAK TO GENDER.
UM, I CAN ATTEMPT TO LOOK AT WHAT OUR, UM, CONTRACT, UH, THAT THE DEMOGRAPHICS LOOK LIKE AND SEE HOW THAT CONTRIBUTES TO BOTH THE OVERALL PIECE.
I THINK ANOTHER POINT, UM, MS. HOUSTON MADE IS THIS ALSO DID NOT INCLUDE POLICE, FIRE EMS, CAUSE THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE VERY RESTRICTIVE TO 1 43.
AND SO I DEFINITELY THINK THEY'RE THAT.
AND THOSE OTHER VARIABLES MAY IMPACT OUR OVERALL REPRESENTATION, UM, IN BOTH GENDER AND IN RACE.
AND SO WE CAN LOOK AT IT, BUT I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY AVAILABLE INFORMATION RIGHT NOW.
I AM INTERESTED IN AND SEEING THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD, IF OUR CONTRACT POOL IS MORE REPRESENTATIVE THAN OUR, THAN OUR PERMANENT CITY STAFF, UM, THAT TO ME WOULD, WOULD, UM, BE, HAVE, WOULD ADD TO MY CONCERNS ABOUT CONTINUING TO RELY ON CONTRACT LABOR.
UM, SO I THINK THAT THAT'S, UH, THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE YET ANOTHER INCENTIVE TO REALLY WORK, TO BRING IT, BRING LONGTIME EMPLOYEES, UM, INTO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES.
AND THEN I JUST WONDERED IF YOU COULD RESPOND.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK I'VE HEARD YOU SAY THAT, UH, THAT YOU'VE, THAT YOU ARE DOING TARGETED OUTREACH WITH SOME OF THE AFFINITY GROUPS THAT HAVE NOW FORMED AROUND THE EXECUTIVE LEVEL LEADERSHIP.
AND I JUST WANTED TO REMIND MY COLLEAGUES, UM, ABOUT, UH, UH, COUNCIL RESOLUTION THAT I SPONSORED THAT I THINK MANY OF YOU WERE ON THE DYESS AND VOTED FOR, WHICH WAS, UH, DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO WORK WITH HRG AND THE EQUITY OFFICE TO RESEARCH BEST PRACTICES FOR THE HIRING OF EXECUTIVE LEVEL POSITIONS, UM, TO, TO REALLY ESTABLISH A MORE CONSISTENT, TRANSPARENT PROCESS FOR THOSE INTERIM DECISIONS, AS WELL AS FOR REGULAR APPOINTMENTS, WITH AN EYE TOWARD IMPROVING DIVERSITY.
UM, AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF, IF DIRECTOR HAYES YOU CAN SPEAK TO ANY OF ANY OF THE WORK THAT'S COME OUT OF THAT.
I KNOW IT'S SLIGHTLY OUT OF IT IS
[00:50:01]
WELL WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE CONVERSATION.WE'RE HAVING A LITTLE BIT OUTSIDE THE AUDIT, BUT IF YOU HAD ANY, YES, SO WE DID DO THAT WORK WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE AND WE ESTABLISHED SOME BENCHMARK PRACTICES THAT WE THOUGHT WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO A BETTER REPRESENTATION AS WE GO THROUGH THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS FOR EXECUTIVES.
UM, WE PROVIDED A REPORT TO THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
IT JUST TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN WE MADE SOME CHANGES IN IMPLEMENTING OUR PROCESSES AS WE LOOK TO RECRUITMENT ENTITIES THAT COME IN AND DO OUR RECRUITMENTS FOR US.
SO, YOU KNOW, CAN I, CAN I USE THE POLICE CHIEFS, THE POSITION? AND SO AS WE GO INTO IT, WE ASK THAT FUNDAMENTALLY RECRUITMENT COMPANIES CREATE, UM, CANDIDATE POOLS THAT ARE MORE REPRESENTATIVE OF BOTH FROM GENDER AND FROM A COMMUNITY OF COLOR, THE REPRESENTATIVE OF AUSTIN, UM, AS KATIE TALKED ABOUT, WE HAVE USED THE REPRESENTATION OF COMMUNITY AS A VARIABLE TO MOVE US TOWARD IT.
IT'S JUST NOT THE ONLY VARIABLE.
SO FOR US, THE MSA IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T, UH, WE DON'T NOT LOOK AT, BUT FOR US, THE ARGUMENT IS NOT THAT IT'S NOT THAT EXCLUSIVELY.
AND SO IN OUR STRATEGIES, AND WE CAN CERTAINLY SEND THOSE OUT TO YOU TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT STRATEGIES CAME ABOUT FROM THAT.
I THINK WE CLOSED THAT ISC OUT WITH SOME INFORMATION, BUT WE CAN LET YOU KNOW, WE ALSO HAVE A MASTER AGREEMENT WITH, UM, MULTIPLE RECRUITMENT COMPANIES AS A PART OF THAT MASTER AGREEMENT.
THEY HAD TO MEET SOME THRESHOLDS TO ENSURE THAT THEY COULD PROVIDE THE DIVERSITY THAT, THAT WE NEED IN THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS.
I WOULD REALLY WELCOME, UM, THAT INFORMATION ABOUT HOW, HOW YOU RESPONDED TO THAT RESOLUTION.
I'M NOT SURE, I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH OF THAT TRICKLED FOR OUR COUNCIL OFFICES.
THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK COUNCIL MEMBER FOREIGN TEST.
AND THANK YOU TO OUR AUDIT TEAM.
AND HRDS IS INCREDIBLE PRESENTATION.
AND I SPECIFICALLY JOINED THIS COMMITTEE MEETING TO HEAR ABOUT THE FINDINGS.
ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE IS AROUND, UM, SETTING GOAL SETTING, YOU KNOW, HAVING OUR DIVERSITY REFLECT OUR COMMUNITY, UM, DIRECTOR.
YOU MENTIONED THAT WE, AS A CITY, WE CANNOT MANDATE PERCENTAGES IN OUR HIRING IN THAT DIVERSITY.
UM, BUT HOW DOES THAT PRECLUDE GOAL SETTING? CAN YOU JUST ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF, YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THAT TAKE AWAY FROM US SETTING GOALS AND OUR GUIDING DOCUMENTS? WE ALREADY SET GOALS.
AS I TALKED ABOUT THE WORK WE DO WITH THE AFFINITY GROUPS, UM, WHEN I MEET WITH THE AFFINITY GROUPS, I HAVE TAKEN THEIR CONCERNS AND WHAT THEY WANTED TO SEE IN TERMS OF STRATEGIES AND SET THOSE AS GOALS.
AND WHEN I GO BACK TO THE AFFINITY GROUPS, WE TALK ABOUT OUR SUCCESSES AND MOVING THE PENDULUM.
UM, SO WE DO SET GOALS, BUT THE GOALS DO NOT REFLECT PERCENTAGE REPRESENTATION.
SO FOR INSTANCE, IN THE LATINO COMMUNITY, THERE WAS A, A GREAT DEAL OF CONCERN THAT WHILE THEY HAD A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF REPRESENTATION AND MCS LEVEL POSITIONS, THAT WAS CONCERNED THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE THAT SAME OPPORTUNITY TO BE REFLECTED AT EXECUTIVE LEVEL POSITIONS.
AND SO WE DID CREATE GOALS TO ENSURE THAT THERE WAS MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR DIVERSITY OF COLOR IN OUR CANDIDATE POOL FOR EXECUTIVE POSITIONS.
SO WE ARE SETTING GOALS THAT HELP MOVE THE PENDULUM FORWARD FOR REPRESENTATION, BUT THOSE GOALS DO NOT RESULT IN.
WE LIKE TO SEE 5% MORE LATINO POPULATION, 3% MORE AFRICAN-AMERICANS.
SO IT DOESN'T SPEAK TO THE SPECIFIC REPRESENTATION NUMBERS, BUT THERE ARE, THERE ARE GOALS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CREATING A MORE DIVERSE CANDIDATE POOL, CREATING PROCESSES AS CONSEQUENTIAL TOBO JUST SPOKE ABOUT IN TERMS OF PROCESSES.
AND SO THOSE GOALS ARE BEING SET.
I THINK WHAT I HEAR FROM THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE, AND I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR THEM.
NONE OF THAT IS IN ONE DOCUMENT SPECIFIC TO DIVERSITY.
THEY'RE IN OUR RECRUITMENT PROCESSES, THEY'RE IN OUR MEETINGS WITH AFFINITY GROUPS.
AND SO THEY ARE RECOMMENDING THAT WE CREATE SOME COLLABORATIVE DOCUMENT OF SORTS THAT SPEAKS TO ALL OF OUR GOALS RELATIVE TO DIVERSITY IN A PLACE THAT CAN BE EVALUATED FOR SUCCESS.
AND, AND, AND KATIE, I DON'T KNOW IF I SAID THAT RIGHT FOR YOU ALL, BUT I THINK WE'RE DOING GOALS.
WE, WE DON'T HAVE IT IN ONE PLACE.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER? WELL, SO YOU MENTIONED, UM, YES, IT DOES.
UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT WE CAN'T, I MEAN, CAN WE, IF WE CAN'T DO GOALS ON PERCENTAGES OF SAYING, WE WANT TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, 30% OF OUR EXECUTIVE LEVEL LEADERSHIP POSITIONS BE LATINO, WE CAN'T DO THAT, BUT CAN WE DO, WE WOULD LIKE TO INCREASE OUR, UM, LATINO REPRESENTATION BY 5% IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR? LIKE, CAN WE DO IT BY A PERCENTAGE OF AN INCREASE? I WOULDN'T DO THAT BECAUSE IT'S ALMOST SETTING GOALS AND QUOTAS IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE IN A PARTICULAR GROUP.
I WOULD ALSO POINT OUT TO YOU THAT IN OUR MCS DOCUMENT, UM, THERE'S A VERY CLEAR PROCESS OF WHAT THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS MUST LOOK LIKE.
AND SO THAT'S NOT BASED ON REPRESENTATION BY GENDER.
SO IT'S BASED ON MERIT AND FITNESS.
AND SO CLOTHES ARE THE ONLY TOOLS THAT CAN BE USED TO DETERMINE THE SELECTION
[00:55:01]
OF AN OTHER CANDIDATE.SO FOR INSTANCE, IF I HAVE A DEPARTMENT THAT'S A MAJORITY CAUCASIAN, CAUCASIAN, RIGHT? OR A MAJORITY WHITE, IF THAT DEPARTMENT HAS A PROCESS, THEY CAN'T SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE NO REPRESENTATION.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO USE THAT AS A TOOL TO DETERMINE IF THIS CANDIDATE VERSUS THIS CANDIDATE GETS THE JOB.
THEY'RE BOTH EQUALLY QUALIFIED.
ONE IS A COMMUNITY OF COLOR THAT CAN NOT BE A TOOL OR DECISION USED FOR THE HIRING PROCESS.
AND SO WE DON'T WANT TO CREATE ANY GOAL AND OBJECTIVE THAT LOOKS LIKE A QUOTA THAT WOULD SUGGEST THAT THE DECISION IS BASED ON SOMETHING OTHER, AND IN THIS PROCESS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MCS RYAN AND THIS AND THIS AUDIT.
SO WE DON'T WANT TO CREATE ANY CRITERIA THAT SUGGESTS THAT RACE OR GENDER IS A DETERMINING FACTOR.
THAT'S LEGITIMATELY USED IN THE DECISION OF HIRING.
NOW FOR EXECUTIVES, THERE IS NO MCS RULES.
AND SO WE HAVE MUCH MORE FLEXIBILITY, UM, TO, TO, TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES, TO CREATE MORE CANDIDATE POOLS AND MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR SELECTION.
AND SO I DEFINITELY THINK THAT'S A DIFFERENT PROCESS.
UM, THE CITY MANAGER DOES HAVE THE ABILITY AND EXECUTIVE TEAM DOES HAVE THE ABILITY TO HIRE EXECUTIVES DIFFERENTLY.
AND SO FOR THE SCOPE OF THIS AUDIT, I WOULD NOT SET THAT, BUT CERTAINLY AS WE LOOK AT EXECUTIVE POSITIONS, THERE'S MORE FLEXIBILITY TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE MORE REPRESENTATION AND DIVERSITY IN, IN THE SELECTION AND IN THE FINAL PROCESS OF HIRING.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK, BOTH THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT AND, UH, AND, AND HUMAN RELATIONS PRETTY, UH, COMPLETE SKETCHED IN THIS.
AND I THINK THE FIRST THING TO NOTICE THE FIRST OF THE PROPOSED SERIES, A IT'S REALLY GOING TO TAKE, YOU KNOW, DOING MORE OF THESE AREAS TO GET A, UH, A MORE COMPLETE PICTURE.
UM, I JUST WANT TO POINT THAT OUT.
UH, I WAS, YOU KNOW, WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THE COMPARISON OF THE NUMBERS RELATIVE TO THE DEMOGRAPHICS IN THE, IN THE POPULATION AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PERHAPS STATE AND CITY DEPARTMENTS.
AND I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S A GOOD WAY TO RESOLVE THAT OTHER THAN TO IDENTIFY THAT THAT ISSUE EXISTS.
UM, UH, BUT, UM, UH, GEORGE DID POINT OUT, UH, THAT THEIR FOCUS IS ON THE, THE WORKFORCE IN THAT AREA AND TRYING TO MATCH THE WORKFORCE AVAILABILITY, WHICH IS HOW WE DO OUR, OUR, UM, UH, DIVERSITY, UH, HIRING PROGRAM FOR, FOR VENDORS.
IT'S SAME KIND OF THEORY ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A WAY TO DRAW THAT COMPARISON IN TERMS OF THE AVAILABLE WORKFORCE IN THAT AREA, AND HOW ARE WE DOING RELATIVE TO THOSE, UH, AVAILABLE WORKFORCES, UH, IN THOSE, UH, UH, AREAS.
UM, I NOTE THAT, UH, UH, WOMEN MAKE UP 39% OF THE CIVILIAN WORKFORCE.
OUR OVERALL, WE HAVE DEPARTMENTS OF RANGE FROM 15% TO 75%, UH, WHICH AGAIN, KIND OF BEGS THAT QUESTION THAT, THAT, THAT JULIA, UH, RAISED, UH, AS WE LOOK AT HIRING PRACTICES IN THE CITY.
ANOTHER THING THAT I THINK WOULD BE HELPFUL TO LOOK AT IS THAT I REALLY DO THINK THAT AS A CITY AND AS A COMMUNITY IN GOVERNMENT WHERE WE'RE A LOT MORE EQUITY FOCUSED PROBABLY THAN WE WERE 10 YEARS AGO, UM, JUST BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF WHO WE ARE AND HOW WE'VE EVOLVED, AND ALSO KIND OF SOCIETY HALF THE WORKERS IN OUR CITY RIGHT NOW, WHERE PEOPLE THAT WERE HERE 10 YEARS AGO.
UH, SO HAVING SOME KIND OF ONE TO, TO, TO GET THIS, I MEAN, HOW ARE WE DOING IN RECENT HIRES OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, PERHAPS RELATIVE TO HOW WE WERE HIRING 15 YEARS AGO? I DON'T KNOW IF THAT INFORMATION OR DATA IS HELPFUL, BUT IT, BUT