Recruiting for Broward County Department of Detention

Introduction

The Broward County is located in the South eastern part of Florida State. In 2017, the population was just over 1.9 million, thus becoming the second most populous county in the state. In this proposal, a recruitment plan for the county Department of Detention is considered. The county’s Department of Detention is responsible for handling well over 44,000 bookings which range from small infractions to serious crimes. In consideration of the same, there is an aging workforce within the department that has required the county to establish a fully functional recruitment team. Moreover, the department intends to widen the job pool for the applications to jobs by creating alternatives for job advertisements. By widening this pool, the department will implement computer systems to evaluate applicants and eliminate them as well as review the length of the hiring process. In this paper, a report of the Broward County Recruitment for the Detention Department is contemplated.

Statement of the Problem

The county’s Department of Detention has been experiencing an ageing workforce in recent years. Statistics from the hiring dates of the employees currently working at different posts indicate that some employees have been working with the department from as early as 1986 (Appendix 1). By 2016, this means that such individuals had put in almost thirty years of active service, indicating that the ageing workforce would soon require to be replaced. Research indicates that an ageing workforce often brings about the need to contemplate talent management within an organization, thus planning for the future of an organization (Rappaport, Bancroft, & Okum, 2003). With this problem in contemplation, there is need to determine the recruitment and training for the replacement labor force. This is because the force cannot be left with empty gaps once the current workforce has retired.

In line with the first concern, a second concern is present regarding the volumes required to replace the workforce that would leave the department. As would be observed in the first appendix, the larger part of the current workforce includes individuals who are expected to retire between 2016 and 2021, indicating that the need to replace members of the workforce is urgent and large. With traditional methods of hiring, it might not be possible to obtain the required volumes of skilled labor and train them in time for effective replacement of the current workforce. Additionally, it is now common knowledge that there is a supply-side challenge with the supply of skilled labor in different career fields is present, so that there is a need to widen the market pool so as to reach the best choices for career openings (Fehring, et al., 2010). It is in response to this problem that the department seeks to widen the applicant pool through fairs, an active website and other marketing strategies. Where there is sufficient information available to the effect that the Department is hiring will provide the department with a wider choice of applicants, thereby obtaining the best talent from the market.

In light of receiving multiple applications from the public, the department also aims to bring onboard three permanent members who will man the recruitment team on a permanent basis. Seeing that the department needs to regularly assess and replace members of the workforce, providing a permanent team for this purpose is critical to maintaining workforce quality and continuous human resource development. With such a department, the Department of Detention will enjoy the benefits of human resource management and planning. Furthermore, research shows that there is significant reduction of worker turnover, increased productibity and corporate performance where there are strong human resource management practices in place (Huselid, 1995). Whereas an ageing workforce imparts knowledge to recently recruited members, it is limited in terms of productivity and there remains high level of employee turnover due to working overloads. Strategic human resource management for an ageing workforce requires that the human resource team plans adequately for the future of the organization by optimizing recruitment processes to meet the requirements of the organization’s development (Burke & Ng, 2006).

Finally, the intent of this project is to develop a sustainable recruitment group that meets the requirements of quality and human resource within the department. As seen above, the department is going to require intensive labor recruitment over the next five years as the majority of the current labor force intend to retire. This calls for a recruitment office within the department that will evaluate successful applicants and coordinate human resource management for the department. Small and medium-sized enterprises have benefited from adequate human resource management in terms of their performance, employee engagement and competitiveness in the market (Sheehan, 2014; Albrecht, Bakker, Gruman, Macey, & Saks, 2015). Enabling human resource management through the establishment of a hiring team in the department would ultimately impact the department’s performance, employee engagement and competiveness for the provision of services to the public. Furthermore, human resource management is seen as an important aspect of integrating organizational strategies into the employees of the organization, indicating that this team would be critical to achieving the strategic goals of the organization (Brewster, 2017).

Project Objectives

As stated above, the objectives of the project can be summarized as shown below:

To begin and establish human resource management mechanisms by forming a recruitment team.

To reduce expenses associated with recruitment processes by integrating IT into the recruitment processes, for instance by using websites to advertise jobs.

To provide continuation of the department through widely-sourced talent as spearheaded by the recruitment team.

To provide quality service to the Broward County citizens through streamlined processes at the Department of Detention, specifically in human resource activities.

To replace 95% of the current workforce by the year 2022.

Benefits of addressing the problem

From the analysis above, there are multiple benefits to addressing the problem in the department. Data from the department indicates that a large number of the current employees are set to retire within the next five years. Addressing the human resource problem in the department means that the department will not experience a human resource crisis after this period elapses, as proper mechanisms will be in place to replace the staff at the department. Furthermore, the formation of the department and its use of technology and other marketing techniques ensures that the department will obtain the best talent for its wider pool selection.

In addition, the use of information technology solutions in the hiring and firing process provides specific advantages that are peculiar in this scenario. The department seeks to find the best workforce within a wider pool, but eliminate unqualified candidates at the most initial stages of their application. This means that the department will only get the cream of the crop from the potential employees, thereby reducing the costs associated with new employee turnovers and repetitive hiring processes. The use of IT also means that the department would advertise their job postings online, thereby increasing their reach to the wider Florida state for any individuals looking to work at the department.

Lastly, the department seeks to provide adequate and quality services to the citizens of Broward by establishing a highly competitive and effective arm of the justice department. Furthermore, department performance can be categorized on the department’s ability to maintain its human resource. Of necessity then, the department is being established to improve outcomes such as performance, customer satisfaction and employee retention. With a dedicated recruitment team, there is a possibility that this doubles up as a human resource department which will handle all things related to human resource challenges.

Consequences of not addressing the problem

In the case where this problem is not addressed, there are several issues that would arise – some of which could affect the department as soon as three years down the line. Again, the department suffers from an older workforce, which is set to retire soon. The failure to create a recruitment team ultimately means that the department will soon be out of staff members following their retirement after the expiry of their respective terms. With the department handling well over 11,000 cases each year, a crippled department of corrections would spell disaster for the justice system within the county – an occurrence that would be attributed to poor planning on their part.

Failing to set up the department could also be detrimental, as the department spearheads the finding process for new employees. As seen above, the department would specifically cater for the needs of the recruitment and hiring processes by maintaining the administrative aspects of the job as well. These include maintaining and updating the department’s website, organizing job advertisements in fairs and other social events as well as interacting with prospective recruits. The alternative means not having a specific team to coordinate this, meaning that human resource management would be a neglected function within the department.

Current trends in the department without a recruitment team has seen barely enough recruitments and trainings over the last thirty years. Where the workforce remains the same for thirty years, there is a serious human resource problem. This is because there should be new recruitment exercises regularly, thus enabling the growth of the department. With current trends, it is expected that the organization can only last a maximum of five years without having a full-blown human resource crisis in its hands.

Essential Criteria

For the purpose of this project, cost and efficacy were the main considerations made to develop a recruitment team of three members. When considering the composition of the team, experience, organizational objectives and cost factors were contemplated so as to provide a team that meets the threshold. In retrospect, the department required to obtain a feel of continuity by hiring younger individuals to the force. The two alternative recruitment teams are provided below:

Alternative A

The first alternative considered hiring two deputies and a sergeant. This alternative favors experience as the three individuals working in this model are fairly experienced staff members. Both deputies, for instance, have experience of over ten years in the department. A cost breakdown of this alternative is provided below:

Table 1 : Salary Cost for Scenario 1 

Scenario 1
Estimated Salary Cost	Deputy 1	Deputy 2	Sergeant	Total Cost
Annual Salary	71,385.10	71,385.10	86,682.23	229,452.43
FICA	5,460.96	5,460.96	6,631.19	17,553.11
Special Risk Employer Rate	16,611.31	16,611.31	20,170.95	53,393.58
Health & Dental Insurance	18,720.00	18,720.00	22,272.00	59,712.00
Life Insurance	144	144	192	480.00
Total Estimated Personnel Costs:	112,321.37	112,321.37	135,948.38	360,591.12

The total cost of establishing the department would be $360,520 annually contemplating the three members of staff who will be in the department. A graphical presentation of the chart to determine the total cost in percentages is given below:

Figure 1 : Graphical Presentation of Scenario 1 Cost Analysis 

Alternative B

In the second alternative, one of the deputies is replaced by a newly recruited deputy. The other two positions remain in similar composition, with experienced individuals handling their duties. A cost analysis of this alternative is presented below:

Table 2 : Salary Cost for Scenario 2 

Scenario 2
Estimated Salary Cost	Deputy 1	Deputy 2	Sergeant	Total Cost
Annual Salary	45,113.89	71,385.10	86,682.23	203,181.22
FICA	3,451.21	5,460.96	6,631.19	15,543.36
Special Risk Employer Rate	10,498.00	16,611.31	20,170.95	47,280.27
Health & Dental Insurance	18,720.00	18,720.00	22,272.00	59,712.00
Life Insurance	144	144	192	480.00
Total Estimated Personnel Costs:	77,927.10	112,321.37	135,948.38	326,196.85

The total cost for establishing the department under this plan is $326,197 annually factoring in the needs of the three members of the recruitment team that will be added. A graphical presentation of the costs relative to each other is presented below:

Figure 2 Graphical Presentation of Scenario 2 Cost Analysis 

Alternative C

The third alternative would be adopted from the Dallas County Sherriff Department’s office that provides a salary model for members of a similar recruitment team. For the purpose of this model, the staff benefits remain the same as with the projected estimates. The Dallas Sherriff Department gives three officers and a sergeant the responsibility of being in charge of the recruitment office, as provided for in the table below:

Table 3 : Tabular Presentation for Scenario 3 

Scenario 3
Estimated Salary Cost	Deputy 1	Deputy 2	Deputy 3	Sergeant	Total Cost
Annual Salary	36,139.00	36,139.00	36,139.00	86,682.23	195,099.23
FICA	2,764.63	2,764.63	2,764.63	6,631.19	14,925.09
Special Risk Employer Rate	8,409.55	8,409.55	8,409.55	20,170.95	45,399.59
Health & Dental Insurance	18,720.00	18,720.00	18,720.00	22,272.00	78,432.00
Life Insurance	144	144	144	192	624.00
Total Estimated Personnel Costs:	66,177.18	66,177.18	66,177.18	135,948.38	334,479.91

From the cost analysis above, the total cost for three entry-level deputies with a lower salary and a senior level sergeant amounts to $334,480 alongside the added benefits.

Comparative Analysis of Alternatives

In the case of the two alternatives provided above, an estimation of total costs required to run the department for the year were also considered, thereby providing a full proof picture of the department’s operations. The following table compares the two alternatives:

Table 4 : Comparative Yearly Expenses for Alternatives 

Yearly Recruiting Team Costs	Scenario 1	Scenario 2	Scenario 3
Personnel	360,591.12	326,196.85	334,479.91
Estimated Vehicle Maintenance (3)	6,000.00	6,000.00	6,000.00
Leases - Office Machines	2,437.92	2,437.92	2,437.92
Office Supplies	3,000.00	3,000.00	3,000.00
Office Supplies Misc.	2,000.00	2,000.00	2,000.00
Printing Services	1,000.00	1,000.00	1,000.00
Uniforms	2,000.00	2,000.00	2,000.00
Operating Expenses	1,000.00	1,000.00	1,000.00
Capital Computer (3) Note First year Cost	3,900.00	3,900.00	3,900.00
Total Expenditures for DOD Recruiting Team:	381,929.04	347,534.77	355,817.83

With regards to the cost factor of this project, the personnel cost is the most significant, with the remaining costs remaining standard in the course of the year. The alternative with the cheapest cost is the second alternative. Moreover, this alternative provides the department with an opportunity to train the junior officers for bigger jobs, thus sustaining the human resource requirement mentioned in the objectives. By incorporating a junior deputy in the recruitment team, the objective of placing younger individuals and relatively new recruits in these positions will begin the change towards accepting younger individuals in the department.

On the other hand, the third alternative provides the department with more flexibility as there are three officers engaged in the department under the sergeant. The result is that the recruitment team would be able to achieve the objectives set out in this project in a shorter time while engaging medium-level costs. This option present an attractive offer where the department is interested in speed, specifically replacing 95 percent of its workforce by the year 2022. With this contemplation in mind, the alternative looks very attractive to the department, not to mention that it is already tested for the Dallas County Sherriff Department.

Recommendation

Where the requirements would change such that the recruitment team is required to become more proactive in replacing the current workforce on the department, the third alternative provides a better solution, as it involves setting up a recruitment team with more people for higher performance. As it stands, the department needs an influx of young talent that would be groomed to take over in future, pending the retirement of a significant portion of the workers in the next five to ten years. This alternative considers this organizational objective. Furthermore, it offsets the costs to the department, as more experienced individuals increase the cost expense. By providing young labor to the department and the recruitment team, the wage cost is reduced. This leaves funds to pursue additional activities such as fair participation and other innovative programs for the department. With a more vibrant department, it is expected that there will be increased customer satisfaction, competitiveness and departmental performance.

References

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