Norfolk councilors will be considering a plan meant to attract and retain employees for county jobs.
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Like other municipalities, Norfolk continues to experience levels of staff turnover that present ongoing challenges, costs and loss of corporate knowledge, says a report prepared by Stephanie Potter, manager of corporate initiatives, to be presented at a council-in-committee meeting on Tuesday .
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Staff is recommending council hire a permanent full-time “organizational specialist human resources” employee to lead the implementation of a “talent management strategy” at cost of $140,000 a year for salary and benefits.
Councilors also are being asked to direct staff to give a 15 per cent salary increase to some of the county’s non-union employees.
“Norfolk has been dealing with long-standing attraction and retention challenges in certain positions,” says the report, noting a talent management strategy done by BDO, a management consulting service, “confirms Norfolk is well below comparator salaries in many positions.”
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Norfolk staff are recommending employees in certain salary “bands,” which have been identified as being the “furthest off pace in terms of competitive wages,” being eligible for a 15 per cent wage increase as of July 1.
This group includes 25 employees who would need to get a satisfactory performance appraisal by human resources staff before getting a raise.
If all 25 employees get the increase, the total cost for 2024 (including salaries and benefits) would be about $300,000. The levy-supported budget impact would be $725,000 in 2025 and $704,000 in 2026.
“This strategy aims to address a portion of the compensation gap between Norfolk and its comparators in the short term, while ensuring that any longer-term strategy is implemented with more detailed operational planning from Norfolk’s HR staff and in accordance with Norfolk’s strategic priorities,” said the report.
The talent management strategy also includes a long list of other recommendations related to corporate culture, HR policy, and performance management.
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