Jennifer Gabbard
Management Communications with Technology Tools
Recruiting Challenges in the Public Sector
December 22, 2008

Final Project: Recruiting Challenges in the Public Sector There are rules, regulations and ordinances that all guide the recruiting process in the public sector; however, in my opinion these challenges just interfere with a governmental agencies ability to hire the best and most qualified new employees. As an example, a couple of the solutions that I think will help the public sector’s recruiting process are 1) making the application process more simplistic, 2) targeting younger workers by working with universities and colleges and 3) developing a workforce strategy. The public sector has a lot
Whichever testing process is used, it makes the recruiting process so much longer and so much more complex than it needs to be. At the City of Minneapolis, we have an HR professional who just deals with the testing requirements necessary as part of the recruiting process. There is some value to the testing process, it does make sure that everyone gets a fair chance at a position, and it does not put any value on anything but your experience, education and qualifications. It does, however make the hiring process so much longer than it needs to be. It also, from my experience, makes the applicants more confused about how they are doing as part of the recruiting process. There are restrictions on how much time you must give a candidate to attend the testing, and how long the testing process must take. And, as I stated above, there are even restrictions on how many applicants you have to interview. It sounds laborious, and it is. I have been in my position for six months, and I can finally say that I have some good knowledge of what the recruiting process with the City of Minneapolis. Another problem with the recruiting process within the public sector are the labor contracts that the public sector must follow. These contracts can make recruiting within the public sector very difficult. Each labor contract is different in the things that it provides for its members; one contract makes it