HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10386 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10386
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 3, 2020
Page 1 of 3
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SUBJECT: CODE COMPLIANCE OFFICER TURNOVER
VA
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Issue
The City Council requested information on the turnover rate of Code Enforcement Officers.
Turnover Trends
Over the past three years, the Code Officer position had a turnover rate 0% to 5% higher than the City's
overall turnover rate. When analyzing turnover, only vacancies created by employees separating from the
City are included. Therefore, internal promotions are not included. A review of Code Officer turnover
revealed the following data:
Code Officer Turnover
14 25%
12 . 20%
10
8 15%
6 10%
4
2 5%
0
FY 2017 FY 2018 FY 2019 °
Vacant Positions 8 12 12
Position Turnover 14.29% 21.43% 21.43%
City Overall Turnover* 14.60% 15.90% 18.54%
*City overall turnover does not include sworn Police or Fire
Turnover metrics are often a complex interaction of many different variables. During the past three years,
Code Officer vacancies occurred for the following reasons:
Code Officer Turnover
Reason 2017 1 2018 2019 Total
Promotion* 4 2 0 6
Retirement 4 4 2 10
Voluntary Termination 1 7 9 17
Involuntary Termination 3 1 1 5
Total 12 14 12 38
*Internal promotions are not considered turnover, but play a key role in vacancies
An aging workforce contributed to 15 (39%) of the vacancies. Ten Code Officers retired. An additional
three Supervisors and two Senior Code Officers also retired giving Code Officers the opportunity to
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10386
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 3, 2020
Page 2 of 3
xA.
SUBJECT: CODE COMPLIANCE OFFICER TURNOVER
1875
promote. Another vacancy was created when a Senior Code Officer voluntarily terminated and a Code
Officer promoted into the vacant position.
Involuntary terminations were the result of behavior and performance issues that were not corrected by
the employee. Seven (41%) of the 17 voluntary terminations occurred within the first nine months of
employment. This caused the Code Enforcement Division to tighten hiring and testing processes to reduce
probationary failures. According to information gathered during exit interviews with employees who
voluntarily terminated, they often moved their careers to smaller cities with a similar rate of pay but a
reduced workload. Given the City's efforts to maximize economies of scale, retention requires a workforce
that is engaged in community issues, have leadership initiative to solve problems, and can prioritize
different competing issues. These are job traits that do not always align with technical skills.
Recruitment Trends
Over the past three years when Code Officer positions became vacant, the average time from posting to
offering applicants a position went from a high of 52 days to 32 days in 2019. Code Compliance worked
closely with Human Resources to continuously post the Code Officer position so a pool of applicants was
available when vacancies occurred. This reduced the vacancy time by at least two weeks.
2017 Average 2018 Average 2019 Average
Posting Title Days to Offer Days to Offer Days to Offer
Code Officer 47 52 32
Senior Code Officer 38 43 32
Code Supervisor 34 42 38
Low unemployment rates caused multiple postings to fill vacant positions when applicants did not met
minimum qualifications or did not do well during the interview process. Code Compliance recently revised
the screening questions to place more qualified applicants with desired preferences at the top of the
referral list. The hiring managers have seen improvement in the quality of applicants being interviewed
which should reduce the probationary failure rate.
Coverage & Training
While Code Officer positions are vacant, other officers assume the responsibility for the vacant patrol
areas. During this time, officers focus on citizen-initiated complaints, health hazards, and other high
priority violations.
Newly hired officers receive six weeks of training in the Code Academy. Training consists of classroom
lessons for ordinance, policy, and procedure review. Up to an additional six weeks is spent with a training
officer conducting ride-outs and hands-on training in the field reviewing and implementing what was
learned in the Code Academy. After training is complete, officers are assigned individual patrol beats and
caseloads. Before initial probation ends, officers have at least three months of closely supervised
assessments of their productivity and ability to perform on their own.
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10386
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council April 3, 2020
Page 3 of 3
xA.
SUBJECT: CODE COMPLIANCE OFFICER TURNOVER
1875
Summary
Retirements and promotions have played a key role in Code Officer turnover. Vacancies are being filled
quicker than in the past with improved screening questions. The interview process was also improved with
reading, ordinance interpretation, writing, and presentation skills assessments along with the typical
interview-style questions. Although existing officers must cover vacant areas for a limited time until
vacancies are filled and new hires are trained, improved processes should help with retention of newly
hired employees.
For questions regarding this information, please contact Brandon Bennett, Code Compliance Director, at
817-391-6322 or Brian Dickerson, Human Resources Director, at 817-392-7783.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS