title
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
APPROVAL OF RECRUITMENT INCENTIVE AND RETENTION BONUS PAY PROGRAM
WHEREAS, in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 47 million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs - an unprecedented mass exit from the workforce, spurred on by Covid-19, that is now widely referred to as the Great Resignation; and
WHEREAS, Cook County (“County”) is experiencing the impact that the Great Resignation has had on the employee sentiment, hiring, and retention; and
WHEREAS, in response to the Great Resignation, the County developed a strategic partnership with Deloitte to analyze the local and national labor market and provide the Bureau of Human Resources with an impact assessment, projected duration, and strategic mitigation tools and solutions to help the County assuage unavoidable effects of the Great Resignation; and
WHEREAS, the Great Resignation has significantly impacted the County’s ability to recruit qualified candidates; and
WHEREAS, the Great Resignation has significantly impacted the County’s ability to retain highly valued employees; and
WHEREAS, the County employee vacancy rate has ballooned to over 5,000 positions across all County agencies; and
WHEREAS, the vacancy rates have impacted operations in all County offices with a significant impact to the most critical areas of public health and public safety; and
WHEREAS, vacancy rates in critical positions within many County offices including but not limited to Cook County Health range from 21% - 47%; and
WHEREAS, the Great Resignation has created a highly competitive employee leaning market, as evidenced by the 1 in 6 employment offers rejection rate; and
WHEREAS, on the last business day in March, nationally there were 11.5 million job openings which equates to nearly two opportunities per job seeker; and
WHEREAS, the administrative cost of recruiting a new employee is approximately $5,000 per new hire; and
WHEREAS, vacancies are occurring at the same rate that positions are being filled, 1.9%; and
WHEREAS, in acknowledgment and responsiveness to the current climate, the County and many of the County’s agencies have established new initiatives to recruit and retain County employees, including implementing Routine Telecommuting pursuant to the Telecommuting Policy; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to 44-45 of the Cook County Ordinance, the Chief of the Bureau of Human Resources is authorized to foster and develop programs for the administration of human resource functions, including salary administration; and
WHEREAS, in furtherance of County recruitment efforts, the Chief of the Bureau of Human Resources is prepared to pilot a Recruitment Incentive Pay Program; and
WHEREAS, in furtherance of County employee retention efforts, the Chief of the Bureau of Human Resources is prepared to pilot a Retention Bonus Pay Program; and
WHEREAS, Section 5 of the FY22 Annual Appropriation Bill and Budget Resolution established regulations for the Budget Director, Chief of the Bureau of Human Resources, and Board of Commissioners to approve non-compounding one-time allowances, bonuses or other one-time non-compounding payments to employees and officials; and
WHEREAS, in consideration of Section 5 of the Annual Appropriation Bill, the Chief of the Bureau of Human Resources and Budget Director worked together to develop the framework for the Recruitment Incentive Pay Program that will serve as a tool to immediately impact County employee recruitment efforts; and
WHEREAS, in consideration of Section 5 of the Annual Appropriation Bill, the Chief of the Bureau of Human Resources and Budget Director worked together to develop the framework for the Retention Bonus Pay Program that will serve as a tool to assist with County employee retention efforts; and
WHEREAS, independent, separately elected, or administrative offices (collectively “Agencies”), subject to salary and wage appropriations of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, that choose to participate in the Recruitment Incentive Pay and/or Retention Bonus Pay Program(s) shall submit position eligibility request(s) to the Chief of the Bureau of Human Resources; and
WHEREAS, upon the approval of position eligibility by the Chief of the Bureau of Human Resources, the Budget Director shall engage with each Agency, to identify available funding for the payment of the Recruitment Incentive Pay and Retention Bonus Pay for the designated position(s); and
WHEREAS, the Chief of the Bureau of Human Resources and Budget Director recommend the following:
Effective upon ratification by the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the Recruitment Incentive Pay Program shall be established by the Bureau of Human Resources and implemented in accordance with the rules set forth by the Bureau of Human Resources and subject to Budget approval.
WHEREAS, the Chief of the Bureau of Human Resources and Budget Director recommend the following:
Effective upon ratification by the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the Retention Bonus Pay Program shall be established by the Bureau of Human Resources and implemented in accordance with the rules set forth by the Bureau of Human Resources and subject to Budget approval.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby support and approve the pilot of a Recruitment Incentive Pay Program and Retention Bonus Pay Program as provided herein; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President and Cook County Board of Commissioners do hereby support and approve the pilot of a Recruitment Incentive Pay Program for the remainder of Fiscal Years 2022 and for Fiscal Year 2023 as provided herein and subject to future appropriation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President and Cook County Board of Commissioners do hereby support and approve the pilot of a Retention Bonus Pay Program for the remainder of Fiscal Years 2022 and for Fiscal Year 2023 as provided herein and subject to future appropriation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby authorize the Chief Financial Officer and the Budget Director to use appropriate and available funding for the pilot of the Recruitment Incentive Pay Bonus Program and other negotiated non-compounding allowances as they are approved and ratified; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby authorize the Chief Financial Officer and the Budget Director to use appropriate and available funding for the pilot of the Retention Bonus Pay Program and other negotiated non-compounding allowances as they are approved and ratified; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Bureau of Human Resources in partnership with the Chief Financial Officer and the Budget Director will provide a progress report every six months throughout the duration of the pilot program. Any participating Agency may be asked to provide additional information pertaining to their individual updates in the program.
end