Best-Run Government

Best-Run Government in action

Improving the recruitment process

The Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) was facing a high staff vacancy rate, and recruiters were running more than 300 hiring processes every year. To bring much-needed talent on board more efficiently, speedily, and equitably, the Recruitment Standards Project team developed a standardized recruitment process that decreased the average time to fill a position by 16 percent and greatly reduced the drop-off rate for BIPOC candidates from the time their application was received to an interview.

Like many organizations, King County faces challenges in filling vacant positions amid shortages in the labor market and fierce competition for talent. In addition, the county’s commitment to Equity, Racial, and Social Justice means embedding pro-equity practices into its processes is crucial in advancing these efforts.

Delays in the hiring process can result in the loss of talented candidates to other organizations or opportunities, making it harder to fill critically important positions.

The Human Resources team in the Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) realized it could be more effective in bringing much-needed talent on board if it could speed up the recruiting process and build equity practices into every step.

Before developing a standardized recruitment process, DNRP’s recruiters ran more than 300 hiring processes every year. At the time they faced a very high vacancy rate – as high as 21 percent in some divisions.

The team developed a process to standardize the recruitment process, which not only helps to streamline the process and build in equity practices, but also provides greater clarity for Human Resources professionals, hiring managers, and applicants throughout the hiring process.

Engaging all perspectives in the process was central to the project, and a great example of King County’s We Respect All People and We Are One Team values in action. Over the course of several months, the team held a series of division-level HR team meetings, focus groups with hiring managers, metrics gathering efforts, and an all-day process walk with recruiters and hiring managers.

This discovery process uncovered sticking points, catalogued inconsistencies, and identified what worked and what hampered recruiting activities. This information was then used to develop project activities.

The results of the almost two-year process speak for themselves, including a 16 percent improvement in the average time-to-recruit personnel and a three-percentage point reduction in the drop-off rate for BIPOC candidates from the time their application is first received to their interview.

By creating a standardized recruitment process, DNRP has made recruiting a clear and intentional process that can be measured, monitored, and easily followed via the new Hiring Manager Guide, and ensured King County is continuing to recruit talented people who care about the county’s services and the customers who rely on them.

Making access to services easier

With the closing of the King County Administration Building during the pandemic and a return to in-person customer service, a multi-department project team created a new Downtown Customer Service Center that provides services for six county agencies in a safe, welcoming, and accommodating space. Since its opening in April 2023, thousands of customers have accessed services at the center and rate it highly in customer satisfaction surveys, citing ease of completing a task and short wait times.

With the closing of the King County Administration Building during the pandemic and a return to in-person customer service, a multidepartment project team created a new Downtown Customer Service Center at King Street Center (KSC) that provides services for six county agencies in a safe, welcoming, and accommodating space. Since its opening in April 2023, thousands of customers have accessed services at the center.

The project team approached this work intentionally, focusing on the customer and making sure this new space was a place that equitably served residents. In 2021, extensive research was conducted to learn about customers’ needs. In particular, feedback was sought from people with disabilities and a community group was brought on-site for a virtual tour. The goal was to preserve the qualities customers liked and address any shortcomings. Internal feedback was collected from operations supervisors and frontline staff. The feedback informed the Facility Management Division’s (FMD) design decisions to co-locate services on the same floor, offer free parking, and install clear signage. As a result of these intentional decisions, customers have reported the space is welcoming and safe, the service is efficient, and the staff is courteous and helpful.

The Customer Service Center demonstrates many customer service wins for people in King County. For example, it provides a central one-stop location enabling community members to efficiently pay their taxes and get questions answered, without waiting in long lines. A survey from October 2024 indicated that 89 percent of or taxpayers were either satisfied or highly satisfied with their service. The staff now works in a modern facility that inspires the delivery the very best service to taxpayers.

The culture at King County encourages teams to strive to be a Best-Run Government. Two feedback mechanisms were put in place to allow continuous improvement at the Customer Service Center. A digital queuing platform measures the customer experience quantitatively by capturing metrics for wait time, queue length, and time spent at the counter. Also, every customer receives an after-visit survey, which helps capture qualitative metrics and comments.

The data is impressive:

• As of October 2024, more than 108,000 customers visited the Customer Service Center and received in-person service, showing that customers felt comfortable returning to in-person service model following the pandemic.
• 92 percent of customers surveyed in October 2024 reported it was “easy” to complete their task. Customers were delighted with short wait times.
• Customer surveys from October 2024 reported a 4.41 CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) score (on a scale of 5). Survey comments routinely assert this is the best government customer experience our customers have received in their lives.

Going forward, this data will be used to listen to the voice of the customer and translate changing customer needs into ongoing service improvements.