Hire Dallas initiative could streamline City hiring process

The City of Dallas wants to make it easier to become a city employee.

City staff told the City Council about a new initiative called Hire Dallas, created to simplify the hiring process and help find the best candidates for each position. Their recommendations include increase use of social media to advertise open positions and actively recruit possible candidates.

Other recommendations include developing a shared review process for Human Resources and Civil Service, implementing a program that allows for hiring managers to test for certain positions and making sure hiring managers know what recruiting resources are available to them.

In reviewing comparable cities, the Hire Dallas team learned that complicated and numerous steps are often confusing and fewer HR staff compared to other cities also slowed the process. Certain positions are also harder to fill, often requiring more specific skills, work history and background checks, which can add additional time to the hiring process.

The Hire Dallas team believes they can continue to speed up the process by focusing on training and communication, as well as educating department hiring managers on the best way to hire a new employee.

City staff will move forward with implementation of their recommendations using existing resources and will report back to the Council in May 2017.