Personnel Challenges Facing Managers

1. Personnel Challenges Facing Managers Laura A. Bernacki Stafford, DPA Director, Child Support Division Porter County, Indiana Prosecuting Attorney’s Office

2. So, You Have a Position To Fill, Now What……………………….. • Temporarily cover the work load • Advertise • Choose those to interview • Interview • Make a decision • Training the new employee

3. Cover Work Load • Can you do without that specific job temporarily? • Can you do without a portion of those job duties? • Who is in the best position to cover some or all of the duties? • Split duties up among employees?

4. Advertise • Consult State and Federal law if any • County/State policy- where, how, for how long? • Other options- colleges, high schools, job fairs, unemployment office

5. Advertise • Brief but descriptive notice including job requirements and salary • Set a specific time requirement for accepting applications • Determine what you want for the applicants: resume, application, writing sample, etc

6. Choose Those to Interview • Meet job requirements • Mistake free resumes • Would they be a good fit for the position, experience, etc • What else do you rely on?

7. Interview • Choose what questions are important to you • Make sure the personality of the individual would be cohesive with your existing staff • Get them to open up • Are you required to “test” (spelling, typing, computer skills)

8. Interview • Sell your office based on the good points (not money)- vacation time, health benefits, low hours • Remember depending upon the economy and the area you are in, you may be fighting for the best candidates

9. Make a Decision • May need to do second interviews • May need another opinion

10. Training • Is training offered by the State, etc? • If training in-house you need to balance others work with training • Set a schedule, but also be flexible • Try to spread out training among many to limit the impact on one job • Keep in mind that the position that is being filled has been vacant and they cannot train the new employee

11. Keeping Good Employees • Keeping good employees starts by hiring good employees • Look for social services minded people • Look for someone that will “fit in” to your office

12. Keeping Good Employees • Good training, people that are confident in their abilities stay • Early and periodic reviews which include positives • Open door policy- be accessible and willing to discuss • Create a comfortable and welcome work enviornment

13. Keeping Good Employees • Provide a guideline of job duties but allow the individual to tailor the duties to their strengths • Admit your own mistakes and be held accountable • Assign tasks according to individual strengths • Keep it interesting

14. Keeping Good Employees • Set Goals for individuals and office wide • Share those goals • Keep employees advised • Offer positive reinforcement • Other incentives- pizza party, charts

15. Other Issues • Handling employee conflicts and personality differences----open discussion