Like many organizations today, King County is facing 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 that 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 that 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 of the process. These efforts have been recognized with the 2023 Best-Run Government Innovation Award for People.

King County Executive Dow Constantine launched the Best-Run Government awards to recognize individuals and project teams for their exceptional contributions in innovation, leadership, and continuous improvement at King County, and DNRP’s Recruitment Standards Project excelled in each of these areas.

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 provide greater clarity for HR professionals, hiring managers, and applicants throughout the hiring process.

“Treating the recruiting process as an organizational priority gives this essential employee experience the time and care it deserves,” said Chris Ynzunza, HR Manager III with DNRP. “We have created foundational skills for both HR and hiring managers that we will continue to build out over time, enhancing career opportunities and increasing performance.” 

Engaging all perspectives in the process was central to the project, and a great example of our 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 ensure that King County is continuing to recruit talented people who care about the County’s services and the customers who rely on them.

View all the Best Run Government Award recipients here.