City of Minneapolis, MN 2021 Minneapolis Boards & Commissions, 25 May 2021

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From YouTube: May 25, 2021 Civil Service Commission Meeting

Description

Additional information at
https://lims.minneapolismn.gov

A

All right good afternoon welcome to this live broadcast of our virtual meeting. This meeting includes the remote participation of members as authorized under minnesota statute, section 13d .021, due to the declared local health pandemic. For the record, my name is ellen mcvay and I am the president of the minneapolis civil service commission. I will now call this meeting to order and ask the clerk to call the role so that we can verify the presence of a quorum.

B

Commissioner mcveigh present, commissioner faulk president commissioner wheeler not present.

A

Right, thank you with that. We will proceed to our agenda, a copy of which was posted for public access to the city's legislative information management system which is available at lims.minneapolismn.gov.

A

Excuse me all right. The first item on the agenda is uh acceptance of the minutes from the april 27th meeting 2021 and again those were posted on the website. Could I get a motion to approve the minutes.

C

A motion to approve.

A

All right- and I will second excuse me as there were just two of us present out of the three uh commissioners- so could the clerk call the role please.

B

Yes, commissioner, falk, yes and commissioner mcvay.

A

I vote to approve also.

B

A

All right so that uh the the agent the um excuse me, the minutes from the april 27 meeting are approved, and then we have item number one under policy and administration introduction of our newly appointed commissioner candace falk, uh who is replacing christine siewert as of may 7th 2021.

A

uh Commissioner faulk comes with. Excuse me a couple of decades of experience in human resources management uh with hands-on personnel management experience in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors, she's eager to to to have experience in the public sector as well. um She has had uh classes on human resources practices and participated in roundtables through the minnesota council of nonprofits, and we're very, very delighted uh to have commissioner falk with us.

C

Welcome well, thank you. I'm happy to be here.

A

Oh good, all right um item number two excuse me: under the new business policy administration, the hr department um has come to talk with the commission about the current classification processes surrounding the crescent system. uh We talked about this uh a little bit ago.

A

It's it's, um uh I think, a confusing system, at least for me, and I've been on the commission for quite a while, but we thought that it would be helpful to have brenda miller come and and uh talk through uh for commissioner falk's benefit, but also for for mine and uh the kind of the the overview of the crescent system which governs classification in the city of minneapolis.

A

D

Yep, thank you, commissioner. I will share my screen um and we'll put this on presentation mode. So um just want to make sure everybody can see the uh title page. Yes, yeah, okay, so what we're going to go through is understand the crescent job classification system today, so we can start with what is a job classification system.

D

Well, it's a multi-step process for identifying, describing and valuing all the various work performed by the city, um a classification of the smallest recognized grouping of positions having similar duties and responsibilities that are, at the same general level with the same basic qualification and civil service rule 4 requires that the city maintain and administer a fair and objective system for classifying jobs.

D

So what is cressup cressup is our job classification for the city. It's a point factor system. It was developed by a consulting firm named cressup, mccormick and padgett, and we often refer to it as just the cressup system.

D

Cressup is similar to the haypoint factor system. So, if you've ever encountered that it's very similar um and by design point factor systems are what we believe are the most objective job classification systems out there um impressive points are assigned based on six factors and we'll go through these factors now, so the first factor is prerequisite knowledge and it measures the knowledge necessary to start work in the position, no matter where or how it is obtained. So it can be a combination of formal education, special study, training and or experience.

D

So it's common that you'll see in our job, specs or job descriptions that we use the term or equivalent. So it might be a bachelor's degree and or excuse me or equivalent um generally one year of ser, one year of experience is counted the same as one year of formal education.

D

The second factor is decisions and actions, and that measures the need to apply knowledge and make independent decisions. So it's the use of independent judgment versus following procedures. For example, it's. How often are they making decisions?

D

Are their analytical or creative skills required to make typical decisions? How much influence do the decisions that that job makes have on other decision makers?

D

It also looks at the consequence of errors in decisions, as well as the variety and complexity of job duties.

D

Factor. Three, the supervisory responsibilities simply measures the number of direct and indirect reports that report to the role.

D

In that count we exclude contractors, interns and permit or temporary employees and in order to qualify as a supervisor, they need to do most of the following hiring and transferring suspending promoting, discharging assigning, rewarding and disciplining employees so as we'll get to in just a minute. The this is just simply a count like I said, of the number of direct and indirect reports, but they must meet this criteria for supervision in order to qualify for the points.

D

The fourth factor is relationships which measures the need to meal it and to meet and deal with others effectively. So it's measured by the frequency, nature and importance of working relationships and consideration is given to whether matters are complex or controversial.

D

Is there a need for considerable tact, diplomacy and persuasiveness.

D

It is the scope of the relationship confined to within the department, or does it extend outside the department um and the importance to the organization of having those relationships and maintaining those relationships smoothly and effectively.

D

The fifth factor is working conditions which really measures the conditions of discomfort or personal inconvenience under which duties are performed. So here are some examples that we have in the press-up criteria: there's a normal office environment. There's an office and field work which requires office work, but then there's some exposure to field elements.

D

There's exposure to hazards such as dampness dust dirt confined area animals or chemicals or the last one exposure to extremes of danger and hazard, which would including performing emergency response such that our police officers and our fire responders do the sixth factor is effort and it measures the exertion of effort as a as shown by the amount and kind of mental and physical fatigue the work causes.

D

So mental effort means the extent to which attention to detail is required, the strain in meeting deadlines, problem, solving analytical activities and other mental activities, um but that we also look at the physical effort that it takes to do the job so it what's. To what extent are they lifting carrying holding moving standing or other other physical actions?

D

um So you can have a combination of these two things you can. The job can have just the one, the mental effort- maybe they don't have such physical requirements.

D

Similarly, you can have physical requirements without having the mental requirements and then you've got the combination of both, as I've said, so each factor is assigned some point based on comparing the job requirements against the cressup criteria and those job requirements are documented in what we call the job analysis questionnaire, which is a questionnaire that managers and employees complete and then submit it to our organization for evaluation.

D

So generally, factors may be awarded between 0 and 100 points, and this is an example of one of the criteria or one of the criteria for relationships. So you see it has a raw score of five and weighted points is 7.5 and I'll get to that in a moment.

D

There's the scope. um So we talked about this. What is the scope of the relationships, the importance of the relationship? What is the nature, the frequency of the relationship, and then this just gives kind of an overall descriptor of um that level of relationships.

D

So each factor has its own weighting.

D

The idea was that there are certain factors that we wanted to count more than others, so we said for prerequisite, knowledge that has a factor weighting of 3 or 30 percent of the total value of the job decisions and actions again is a three again representing thirty percent of the total score supervisory responsibilities are weighted one, so that um amounts to ten percent of the overall score relationships are one and a half or 15 percent working conditions are half or five percent, and effort is a one or ten percent, so you can see the total factor.

D

Weight is 10 and the total value all comes to a hundred percent, so the raw points. So in our previous um example here, the raw points five are weighted by the factor weight, so that was relationships so it's 1.5 and which is how we came to that 7.5 weighted points that you saw on the crescent criteria.

D

Then the waiting weighted two points determine the grade, so this is our whole schedule, so we've got grades between 1 and 18 and then there's a range of points you can see within each grade.

D

I forgot what I was going to say there.

D

So then the weighted points determine pay, so each range in a salary schedule is associated with points. So um this is an example of one of our salary schedules. You can see the job title is here. The points are here the class grade and that that means that grade that we were just looking at and then the salary structure that's associated with that job and those points um so you'll notice that jobs that have the same points have the same salary structure.

D

And similarly, you can have jobs that are close in points that also have the same salary structure. It depends on the salary schedule, we're looking at generally. Those within 15 points of each other will have the same salary schedule, so you'll notice that um the language, the ada language access specialist, has 378 points, but it steps starts at 58 940..

D

Similarly, the 911 training and quality specialist has 365 points a little bit less, but also has the schedule of 58 940..

D

um There are some situations where there isn't this consistency that we like to see. So there are some instances where jobs that have the same points might have a different salary schedule, and um I I haven't been able to speak with pam nels to get the history on that. But what from what I've examined? I believe that the reason that that might happen is because uh market data would indicate that the the pay range would be higher than what we would normally set it out to be.

D

um So you know what is the alternative to a job, um this job classification process? The alternative is market pricing and its approach that many organizations use to classify and compensate their jobs.

D

Market data is generally provided by other organizations through third-party vendors who scrub and then anonymize the data, and then the market data is used to assign sell jobs to salary schedules. The downfall of using market data entirely is that it it relies on a system that perpetuates the inequities that are already in the market.

D

So traditionally women's work is paid less than traditionally men's work, although that's getting better, but you'll still find that that difference and pay decisions are made based on a manager's review of the employees, performance and the market data and the market data and the form of salary schedules. So um there's uh a subjective um review of the performance um which opens it up, for um you know possible discrimination and then again, they're using the market data, which has some inherent inequities already built into it to make their pay decisions.

D

So this is an approach that some organizations are taking. But for the reasons that I mentioned, I wouldn't recommend that we um go there. I guess um so what is our classification process? um So today, an employee or the manager completes a job analysis questionnaire, and that depends so, if that, if the employee believes that their job has changed more than 40, they can complete a job analysis questionnaire and submit it.

D

Similarly, a manager may complete a job analysis questionnaire if they have a new job or they're concerned about the job, the whole job class, and they want to have that reviewed.

D

They then submit that the completed jeq to uh classifications via a ticket in city life, so we have a ticketing system, I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with it, but it it's pretty slick and it um notifies us when there's a ticket open that we need to pay attention to so classification receives a ticket and they review the job analysis questionnaire, and then classification conducts meetings with the employee and the manager to ask questions and to better understand the job.

D

Classification, then assigns the points based on what they're, seeing in the job analysis questionnaire as compared to the crescent criteria, and then they write up a classification report.

D

Classification then sends that report to the manager and hr for review now I'll, stop here and just say we're looking at our process for communicating back the results of a classification to what you're seeing today is our current process.

D

However, when um our classification analyst ends her detail assignment and comes back to classifications, we'll be taking a look at this, but for now this is what we do, so we send it to the manager and the hr for review, we're just trying to get their general opinion about it. um You know, do they feel, like we've really missed the mark, um and then we might have discussion around what we heard versus what the manager is seeing um other times.

D

It might be just that the manager has an idea of what they thought the job would be, and it doesn't quite score out that that high and that's just the way that it is because of the crescent criteria.

D

Once we get agreement from the manager and the hr manager that the assigned grade and points are okay, excuse me: compensation sends a letter of agreement uh to the union to sign for the creation of the job, and then the union signs and returns the loa, although in our experience that also can take a while. So I have one that's been waiting over three weeks for approval.

D

I've had as long as several months to get approval from the union. So this is an area we'd like to improve upon, I'm not quite sure what we can do about it, but we're working on it.

D

Once we get that approval through the loa, then compensation or classification notifies the manager that it's been approved and the manager communicates the results to the employee compensation then works with our hres team to update the comment system with new the new job if the new job needs to be created and with the new salary for employees that are in that job that maybe have now been promoted, um compensation also submits the updated salary schedules to be posted online.

D

So compensation adds the the job to the salary schedule and then turns it over to labor relations to have them post the schedule on the web and then classification ads or updates the job spec in neogo. So that's our whole process and kind of an overview of cressup. I know I went through that pretty quickly, so um I just want to see if there are any questions.

A

Commissioner faulk, do you have any questions.

C

um I feel like maybe I have a lot of luck, but no thank you so much brenda. That's really a a great overview of how that works when well. When was the cresa um initially put into place? Do you know that.

D

I believe it was 1962, so it's been around for quite a while. The nice thing about point factor systems is that there really isn't much of a need to change them over the years. Even as the you know, jobs change, it can reflect the the differences in the jobs even now um similar to it did in 1962.

A

I I have a question along that line. uh Brenda, if you don't mind, um is that the weighting of the of the uh the points consistent, then that's been consistent since 1962, or has the weighting changed at all over that time.

D

My understanding is that the waiting has been the same, although I wasn't able to find a whole lot about the history of the cressup. I have where some information about kind of the process they used for assigning job points in the very beginning in 1962, there's not a whole lot about um the cressup system in 1962..

D

Okay, so I can't tell whether the waitings have changed or not.

A

And and the waiting is, is the cressup waiting? It isn't that the city has determined that the waiting will be this way for jobs within the city, using.

D

The aggressive.

A

System is that correct.

D

Yep, that's my understanding that okay.

A

That's what I thought too, but.

D

A

Never clear on that: okay, um the other thing is. Can you talk just a little bit about the um kind of how I mean, I think, a lot of times when classification appeals come to the commission? The um the expressed concern from the employee is that the analysis of the job is subjective on the part of classification staff, as opposed to some type of objective rating. Can you talk about how classification staff approaches uh that issue yeah well,.

D

We've got the criteria that, through the crescent system, that is, it does a really good job of level setting there is. It is definitely open to interpretation.

D

um However, I don't feel like there's enough, I guess wiggle room in the criteria to make it. You know wholesale different if we were to reevaluate the job, but I would agree that there there is some subjectivity to it.

A

um And then is there a? Is there a check that you perform to to kind of? uh If you know, if, if you're the the analyst and you're looking at a job, um you know, is there a way to have a check on on kind of the determination that you make or is that uh you know about whether the points were properly assigned or is that something that is the um kind of gets handled during the process of having review by the union uh and review by the managers? After the classification analysis is done.

D

Yeah um primarily, it's the that check that we do with the hr manager and the manager of the position. um So they have an opportunity to review the report and let us know if they think that we've, you know.

C

D

I said missed the mark: okay right now we have an outside company that is doing our classifications and they've. Actually um they have two people there and they both rate the job independently and then they come together and compare their results and then reconcile the result.

D

So it's a nice check on each other. So it's that check and balance. Oh.

A

That's that's is that a new process, I'm sorry to interrupt you is that a new process outside people do it.

D

Yes, we're doing that right now, because robin howard, who is our classification analyst, is currently detailed to internal investigation, and so we don't have a classification analyst right now and so we contracted with keystone to um which is um they're pretty well respected, um consulting firm in the twin cities. um It's run by sato abudh, and so I don't know um either. One of you have worked with consultants at all, but he's been around since I started compensation back almost 30 years ago.

A

D

He's been around for quite a while and is well respected, um but that process of having that check and balance on each other, that is, that is new. That keystone is doing.

A

Yeah I hadn't heard that before that is uh that's that's good.

D

It's certainly something that we could look into into doing ours on our team. um I don't know that we have necessarily the resources to do that right now right, but it it would be nice to be able to do that.

A

Yeah yeah, um the last question I have is, is, um uh I guess, more of a of a point to for commissioner fox benefit, but one of the other things that comes up uh quite a bit in the course of um appeals from classification decisions. Is that uh an employee who is appealing is saying um you know I. I don't have a big issue with the classification analysis as it's done, but I really think I should be making more money and so in order to, uh and it isn't that crass but a lot of times.

A

That's the underlying point of the appeal and that people are trying to bump their points up so that they move up in the salary schedule, and I think one of the strengths of the crescent system is that this kind of uh detailed review of the the various aspects of a job make it somewhat clear.

A

I mean it's, it's a little iffy when you get to the margins, but but it does get to be pretty clear about what what um classification a job will fall into and that uh you know if they fall into that, then, as you saw on that one slide, there is a you know, a coordinated salary schedule for that position and that um uh you know employees are kind of within that, and the commission does not have any uh leeway or authority to deviate from that salary schedule and say.

A

Well, you know the cloud, your the job that you're in is really this classification, but because of your exemplary performance, you know the commission says you should be making more money. uh We we don't have the ability to do that. So really, our our review is, was the analysis appropriate and is the uh is the category into which this job is classified appropriate.

C

That's helpful. Thank you, commissioner mcvay.

A

Sure anything further for uh for brenda.

C

A

C

A

Okay, well, thank you so much brenda that was really very helpful and.

C

D

Really appreciate.

A

C

Right. Thank you. Thank you. Brenda bye.

A

Bye, okay, is there anything further to come before the commission today.

A

All right when we have completed all the items on the agenda for this meeting and if there's nothing further without objection, I will declare this meeting adjourned. Our next meeting is june 22 2021 and we anticipate again a um a zoom meeting, but if that changes we will certainly uh make that clear to the public. Thank you all.

B

Great. Thank you.

A

A