AWC recently completed its annual City Conditions Survey. The survey is aimed at identifying key issues facing cities across the state.

87 cities responded to the survey representing a variety of small, medium, and large cities on both sides of the mountains, though not all respondents responded to each question. A number of cities responded to survey questions on HR matters, ranging from recruiting city workers and telework, to the impact of inflation on costs. The survey ran from July to September this past summer. Here are few highlights of interest to HR staff.

Inflation

82% of cities reported that this year’s high inflation has impacted workforce costs. Over three-quarters of respondents reported that inflation was impacting their city’s inflation factors for wages, nearly half of cities were losing employees seeking a higher salary. Additionally, about one-third of cities were feeling inflation’s effects on employer contributions to pensions, workers’ comp insurance, and benefits.

Recruitment & retention

Almost 75% of respondents said that they were struggling to fill vacancies. The top four departments with vacancies: public works, police, general government & administration, and community development/planning. Those same four departments were also the top departments that respondents said were experiencing the most impact from resignations and retirements. 47% of respondents said they were experiencing larger-than-normal levels of turnover due to resignations or retirements.

Almost half of cities said they weren’t offering any recruiting incentives at this time. Meanwhile 30% of respondents were offering remote work, 16% of respondents were offering hiring bonuses, and 16% were offering raises/premium pay to try to attract new employees.

Remote work

Regarding increasing telework for cities, there was an even split between cities that experienced additional costs for expanding telework with those that did not have additional costs.

Many respondents reported that telework flexibility is appreciated by employees. Some cities reported that allowing telework increased retention of employees who may not have been able to return to work in-person. Many also reported improvement in morale and productivity among teleworkers, meeting city climate goals by reducing commutes, improved public participation in city decision making due to remote meetings, and telework making it easier to recruit for certain positions. However, some report challenges with quality of customer service, added costs with obtaining and setting up equipment, unreliable internet for some teleworkers, and lower levels of communication/camaraderie with teleworkers.

You can see the results of some of those questions below:

Has expanding telework options created additional costs? (30 responses)

• Yes – 50%
• No – 50%

Does your city have a local COVID-19 vaccination policy in place?* (66 responses)

• Yes – 28.79%
• In consideration – 1.52%
• No – 69.70%

Are you struggling to recruit and fill vacancies? (69 responses)

• Yes – 72.46%
• No – 27.54%

In which departments is your city struggling to fill vacancies? (select all that apply)* (49 responses)

• Public works – 69.39%
• Police – 55.10%
• General government & administration – 51.02%
• Community development/Planning department – 48.98%
• Parks & recreation – 36.73%
• Finance – 26.53%
• Fire & emergency services – 22.45%
• Information technology – 22.45%
• HR – 12.24%
• Other – 18.37%

Is your city offering incentives to address recruitment challenges? (select all that apply)* (64 responses)

• No, we are not offering incentives – 48.44%
• Hiring bonuses – 15.63%
• Remote work options – 29.69%
• Raises/premium pay – 15.63%
• Other – 7.81%

Has your city experienced higher-than-normal staff resignations/retirements in the last year? (68 responses)

• Yes – 47.05%
• No – 52.94%

Which departments are most impacted by resignations or retirements? (select all that apply)* (32 responses)

• Public works – 65.63%
• Police – 68.75%
• General government & administration – 37.50%
• Community development/Planning department – 31.25%
• Parks & recreation – 9.38%
• Finance – 31.25%
• Fire & emergency services – 15.63%
• Information technology – 21.88%
• HR – 12.50%
• Other – 0.00%

Have current high inflation costs impacted your workforce costs? (67 responses)

• Yes – 82.09%
• No – 17.91%

What HR-related inflationary impacts are you experiencing? (select all that apply)* (52 responses)

• Increased CPI or IPD factors for wages – 78.85%
• Staff leaving to seek higher salary – 48.08%
• Inflation adjustments for pensions, workers’ comp, benefits plans, etc. – 32.69%
• Staff leaving to seek positions allowing telework – 13.46%
• Need to reduce staff to manage budget impact of inflation – 1.92%
• Other – 11.54%

* Percentages reflect the number of respondents that selected a particular option for a “select all that apply” question.