Lean Effort Leads to Hiring Process Improvements
By Walter Garcia, TM-II for Patrol 24 at Woodland Park, Pueblo Maintenance Section 4, Region 2
Walter is participating in a three-month cross-training program with the CDOT Office of Communications
August 22, 2014
One of the Colorado Department of Transportation's (CDOT’s) earliest Lean projects was focused on state hiring processes and perceived lengthy hiring timeframes - overall, it was a process that, as least to those viewing it from the outside, sometimes seemed cumbersome.
The methodical assessment that the Lean team (members listed below) undertook produced some surprising results. Improvement was certainly possible, and Lean team members and Human Resources employees were heartened by the fact that there were many indications that they were on the right track and had a solid basis on which to build.
Improvement Team For The Hiring Process
Because CDOT competes in a job market where top candidates might typically have multiple job offers, it was imperative that CDOT was competitive in its timeframes and could react as quickly as public and private sector competing organizations.
The Lean team compared CDOT/State hiring process to best practices in the public and private sectors nationwide and formulated several recommendations for streamlining the process in order to keep it competitive. Included were:
Reduce the average time for filling a CDOT position;
Reduce paperwork by transferring as much hardcopy data as possible to electronic format;
Front load a single approval process for hiring through the use of a contract between the staffing specialist, supervisor, and appointing authority that establishes acceptable pay ranges to offer, etc.;
Encompass background checks into the hiring process; and
Utilize metrics to accurately track the hiring process statuses and time frames.
Each of these recommendations has now been implemented. CDOT hiring timeframes now average under 50 days per position, putting CDOT at approximate industry hiring length averages. Previously, hiring lengths were more than double that timeframe for some positions.
Background checks have now been incorporated into the hiring process, which has been very helpful for CDOT human resources specialists who are actively vetting candidates and preparing candidate pools to move through the various steps of the hiring process.
CDOT now actively used a variety of measurements (metrics) in order to determine where any individual applicant is within a hiring process, to track each step of the process, and to provide status reports as needed by appointing authorities.
“These changes streamline CDOT’s current hiring processes, which enhances our ability to transform along with the changing times and shifting demographics of the current industry workforce, as well as increase our efficiency and proficiency in this process,” stated Gary Vansuch, CDOT’s Process Improvement Director.
Further, the lean team recommended the following methods, in addition to the standard vacancy posting on the states human resources website, to publicize open CDOT positions in order to attract the largest possible pool of well-qualified candidates:
Utilize social media in addition to other advertising methods;
Utilize internet advertising, including online local newspapers; and
Hard copy local, regional and statewide newspapers.
It is anticipated that the state hiring website will continue to be the main point of information for Colorado state job seekers in the foreseeable future.
“The private sector often moves quickly, and we’re often in competition with them the best candidates,” Vansuch said. “Reducing the hiring process to less than 50 days, as well as metric implementation, background checks, and the transition from hardcopy to softcopy are all major wins in helping CDOT stay efficient and competitive.”
He concluded, “This process improvement project was challenging. I can’t say enough about the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of the team members as they examined all of the factors and made helpful recommendations that could be implemented and would quickly make a difference. CDOT is very competitive in our hiring process, and that’s exactly where we need to be. My thanks go out to everyone who served for their great work throughout.”
