Illinois Department of Central Management Services issued the following announcement on Sept. 25.
The Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) today won a national award for Innovation in State Government for improving its outside hiring process through a more diverse and qualified hiring pool for open positions even as it reduced the turnaround time from job posting to new hire by 75 percent, from as long as 330 days previously to an average of 45 days.
The National Association of State Chief Administrators (NASCA) presented its prestigious Innovation in State Government Award to CMS Acting Director Janel L. Forde as part of its national conference at the Institute on Management and Leadership in Oklahoma City.
"The state of Illinois is proud that our efforts to save taxpayer resources and make the hiring process more efficient and effective is receiving national recognition," said CMS Acting Director Janel L. Forde. "This administration is committed to building on this progress and making government work for every resident of our state."
"This year's award program was very competitive," said NASCA Project Coordinator Kayla Leslie. "It is certainly a great accomplishment to earn this award."
The innovative process changes under the CMS Hiring Optimization Initiative reduced a ponderous 1,000-plus step process by about 90 percent, while moving the hiring system from 99-percent paper-based to 99-percent electronic which will save state time and money in perpetuity.
The Hiring Optimization project was developed by a facilitated working group of more than a dozen CMS staff members and consultants that were tasked with re-engineering the entire hiring process for the State of Illinois. The team members were relocated from their everyday work locations and relieved of most of their normal duties as the complicated hiring process was documented, analyzed, debated, and eventually, sorted out and improved to dramatically reduce the time involved in reviewing and hiring top candidates.
The pilot closed at the end of January 2019. All stakeholders in the hiring process were surveyed during the pilot, including all staff involved as well as the candidates for employment. The team is currently refining this process for deployment across all State agencies in Fall 2019, with plans to work with our state labor partners to develop a process that includes collective bargaining positions.
Original source can be found here.
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