HomeMy WebLinkAbout(P6) Unfilled Positions Council Discussion - 051022City of
Port Arthur
VACANCY LIST
PRESENTATION
MAY 10, 2022
Overview
High demand and short supply for skilled workers in the workforce means that filling departmental vacancies will be a challenge. The departments within the City of Port Arthur take filling vacant positions at a steady pace. When new job vacancies arise, we often face challenges with filling the positions depending on the position, skill level and experience. The process of hiring can be overwhelming to all involved.
The Human Resources Department continues to work with the various city departments to fill all vacancies as promptly and efficiently as possible, while adhering to all applicable city policies, description requirements, and state and federal employment laws.
The number of vacancies will fluctuate with every update due to ongoing terminations, retirements and resignations.
HR and department heads take every opportunity to review job descriptions of open positions on an on-going basis.
Vacancy Comparison
January 2022 vs. May 2022
Based on our last vacancy report given on January 11,
2022, the vacancy list has increased slightly. The last
report yielded approximately forty-two (42) vacant
positions. Today, the number is slightly higher at forty-
nine (49) positions within the City of Port Arthur
throughout various departments. The increase is
contributed to retirements of tenured employees,
terminations and resignations. Throughout this period, we
have hired between 20-25 employees, retired 1 employee
with two additional employees leaving at the end of the
month of May, and processed 8
terminations/resignations.
Vacancy Comparison (cont’d)
January 2022 vs. May 2022
Vacancies -January 2022
Parks and Recreation -4
Public Works -17
Utility Operations –16
All Other Departments –5
Vacancies -May 2022
Parks and Recreation -3
Public Works -17
Utility Operations -15
All Other Departments –14
All Other Departments include Police Non-Civil Service, IT,
Finance (including Accounting and Purchase, Health, Library,
Transit, and Equipment Services
Top Reasons for Vacancies
Competitive Workforce
In a study conducted in 2021 by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence (SLGE), recruiting and retaining state and
local government workers is the most difficult it has been in decades. Governmental agencies, such as the City of Port Arthur, are
hiring, but human resource professionals face competition from the private sector, accelerating retirement rates and a shortage of
applicants for public safety, health care, engineering and information technology jobs.
RetirementsEmployees who are retirement eligible are choosing to vacate positions within the City. We have been very fortunate to have many
employees with 20+ years within the organization. We have had one since our last report. We have received notifications for at least
two more who will be retiring within the month of May.
Terminations/Resignations
Within this period of reporting, there has been eight terminations/resignations. AWOL, job performance and resignations make up
this number. As it relates to resignations, employees are leaving for less stress and scrutiny and what they believe are better opportunities.
Status of Vacant Positions
Status of Position Number of
Positions
Posted
Internally/Externally 2
Posted until Filled 9
Referrals 10
Interviews Held/No
recommendation 7
Conducting Interviews 1
Other 20 Other consist of no requisition received, request to repost position, awaiting
additional documents or on hold per City Manager (Asst. Director of Util Ops.)
Action Being Taken
The Human Resources office has received over 500
applications for various positions between mid-January to
present. Individuals apply and sometimes do not meet the
minimum qualifications for said position. HR and department
heads make a conscious effort to hire the most qualified and
skilled individuals for open positions.
Organizations paying competitive wages do not make it easy
for us to attract and retain employees within the City.
The HR Department will be participating in an in -person job
fair at Lamar State College Port Arthur on today and two
virtual job fairs on May 19 and May 26. We are in the
planning stages of sponsoring a Job Fair at the Civic Center
with a tentative date of June 14. Additional details will follow.
Questions