Reforming (Transforming?) a Public Human Resource Management Agency

The Case of the Personnel Board of Jefferson County, Alabama

By:
Ronald R. Sims, William & Mary

A volume in the series: Contemporary Human Resource Management Issues Challenges and Opportunities. Editor(s): Ronald R. Sims, William & Mary.

Published 2010

This book offers a first-hand look at the importance of human resource management (HRM) processes to not just one public agency but a large group of public administration entities that rely on a public HRM agency (the Personnel Board of Jefferson County) for its HRM processes. More specifically, the book describes a more than three-year effort undertaken by the author as a federally-appointed court receiver to reform (or what some have referred to as “transform”) a public HRM agency from a model of inefficiency to one now considered “best in the business”.

The book provides the details of the reform or transformation effort in addition to offering suggestions on how to bring about similar civil services and HRM reform in particular and government agencies in general. The book is intended to fill a gap in the current literature while serving as a key work that highlights the importance of bringing about change in a public HRM entity. Timely and topical, the book will be of great interest both to public administration personnel in general, and others in the fields of HRM and public sector management, and to management practitioners and others keen to inform their ability to bring about successful change.

CONTENTS
1 A General Overview of Change Management, Reform, and the Personnel Board. 2 Civil Service Reform and Public Human Resource Management. 3 The Personnel Board of Jefferson County, Alabama: A First Look. 4 Understanding the Situation at the Personnel Board: The Diagnosis and Receiver’s 90-Day Report. 5 Restructuring the Personnel Board. 6 Infrastructure Reform: Revamping the Personnel Board’s Policies and Procedures. 7 Implementation of a New Human Resource Information Management System at the Personnel Board. 8 HRD Efforts at the Personnel Board. 9 Consent Decree Compliance (Developing and Administering Lawful Selection) Procedures. 10 The Five-Year Classification and Compensation Survey Project. 11 Renovating the Personnel Board’s Physical Facilities. 12 Transition of Leadership from the Receiver to the Three. Member Board, Personnel Director and the Citizens Supervisory Committee. 13 Epilogue: Post-Receivership and Keeping the Personnel Board Reform Momentum Going. References.