Mission Statement

To foster excellence in people by providing quality human resources services to our employees, partners, and the community.

Budget Overview

The total recommended FY20 Operating Budget for the Office of Human Resources is $281,820,607, an increase of $14,390,116 or 5.38 percent from the FY19 Approved Budget of $267,430,491. Personnel Costs comprise 3.20 percent of the budget for 68 full-time position(s) and two part-time position(s), and a total of 68.65 FTEs. Total FTEs may include seasonal or temporary positions and may also reflect workforce charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 96.80 percent of the FY20 budget.

The Office of Human Resources Budget is comprised of a General Fund component of $8,947,599 and a Employee Health Benefit Self Insurance Fund component of $272,873,008.

County Priority Outcomes

While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following is emphasized:

• Effective, Sustainable Government

Department Performance Measures

Performance measures for this department are included below (where applicable), with multi-program measures displayed at the front of this section and program-specific measures shown with the relevant program. The FY19 estimates reflect funding based on the FY19 approved budget. The FY20 and FY21 figures are performance targets based on the FY20 recommended budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY21.

Accomplishments

• Received the Alliance for Workplace Excellence Awards including the Workplace Seal of Approval, Health and Wellness Seal of Approval, Diversity Champion Award, Ecoleadership Award, Best Practices Supporting Workers' of All Abilities Award, and Best Practices Supporting 50+ Award.
• Implemented group insurance contracts with new dental, life, vision, and long-term disability vendors, which resulted in savings to the County and additional value added benefits not previously offered, including hearing aid discounts and legal services.

• Provided employability skills training and workplace internships for 57 participants through the Project SEARCH program since September 2012, with an employment rate for Montgomery County and partners of 60 percent (26 positions).

• Enhanced the Lieutenant's promotional exam process for the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation to increase the pool of well-qualified candidates.

• Enhanced marketing materials used at Career Fairs and proactively outreached to universities and professional associations to strengthen and attract a diverse and well-qualified pool of candidates for Montgomery County positions.

• Trained over 200 MLS managers on effectively using Conflict Facilitation techniques as part of the County's informal dispute resolution processes.

• Expanded Wellness webinar library to allow shift workers to participate in on-line webinars at a time that is convenient for their schedules.

• Increased Virgin Pulse platform enrollment from 54.6 percent to 60 percent and engagement remains steady at about 50 percent, placing the County above all of the Contractor's average book of business in both categories.
• Created and implemented the Police Leadership Service Compensation Plan through Executive Regulation, which amended the Code of Maryland Regulations to create a new Police Leadership (PLS) salary schedule to include sworn police managers' schedule and aligned salary increases with performance.
• Developed a comprehensive leadership development strategy to support key business priorities and enable County leadership and management to perform at their fullest potential in delivering quality services to our residents in a time of rising demands for service and constrained resources. In the past six months, over 1,000 managers participated in the MLS LEADS program offerings.

Initiatives

• Creating an automated training notification for Managers and HR Liaisons to monitor employees compliance with mandatory trainings.

  
  

• Developing on-line, computer-based learning strategies to complement existing instructor lead training. Piloting Preventing Workplace Harassment training in Spring 2019.

• Initiated the formal bid process to procure contracts for a new pharmacy benefits manager, Flexible Spending Account and Direct Bill/COBRA Administrator with the goal to obtain products and services at prices that are competitive for each service area.

• Create a cross-functional project team to develop and execute a comprehensive background investigation policy and procedures.

• Research innovative ways of on-boarding and expediting college and high school students interested in internship opportunities within County government.

• Increase focus and awareness on mental health issues and design program offerings for various County agencies based on their needs.

• Expand wellness program offerings for high-risk employee populations to address key topics including managing stress, weight loss strategies, and diabetes prevention and measures to combat the disease.

• Offer programs that encompass all dimensions of wellbeing including emotional, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual.

• Initiate project to move toward a paperless Benefits Open Enrollment process to allow employees greater flexibility when considering changes to or signing up for new benefits during annual Open Enrollment.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• Implemented an automated process for granting Merit Status to probationary employees that removed the requirement for HR Liaisons to process individual memos for each employee at the time they are granted Merit status.
• Implemented the Temporary and Probationary Promotional Oracle fields and dashboards to ensure HR Liaisons have the necessary tools to track and manage all promoted employees.
• Created a service level agreement with departmental hiring managers to provide the eligible list of candidates within seven to ten business days.
• Trained over 75 percent of the HR Liaison community on the Wage Equity Guidelines to improve productivity and timeline for approvals.

Program Descriptions

  Director's Office

The Director's Office provides services to the Department: executive management and recruitment; policy direction; strategic and financial planning; communications and public relations; and resources management. In addition, the Office provides consultation services on human resources matters to the County Executive and other department directors. The Director's Office is responsible for...

  Business Operations and Performance

The Business Operations and Performance Division is comprised of the Classification, Compensation, Training and Organizational Development, and Workforce Performance teams. The Classification and Compensation team reviews and evaluates the duties and responsibilities of individual positions and occupational classes in response to employee, department, and union requests to assure that positions...

  Recruitment and Selection

The Recruitment and Selection team is responsible for attracting, hiring, promoting, and retaining candidates for County departments and agencies that result in a highly skilled, competent, and diverse workforce. The team engages in a wide variety of outreach activities designed to ensure quality and diversity in the candidate population including...

  Labor and Employee Relations

Labor and Employee Relations consists of two teams: Labor and Employee Relations and Occupational Medical Services. The Labor and Employee Relations team is designed to support County managers in the areas of advice and training on labor issues, advice on related personnel policies and procedures, and the negotiation of collective...

  EEO Compliance and Diversity Management

The Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Diversity Management team ensures compliance with local, State, and Federal discrimination laws, as well as MCPR Section, 5 related to Equal Employment Opportunity. The Division provides mandatory and customized training to employees and managers concerning equal employment and diversity management. The training also extends...

  Health & Employee Welfare

The Health Insurance team manages and administers the County's health and welfare plans in accordance with County policy and local, State, and Federal laws. In addition to maintaining operations associated with annual open enrollment and program eligibility, the team provides customer service, communications, education, and counseling to County employees, participating...