A number of Riley County department heads attended Thursday’s county commission meeting to voice their thoughts on the proposed changes with the employee position review process. This topic was discussed earlier this month, as commissioners reviewed the possibility of utilizing McGrath Consulting’s services for the position reviews.
“We would be selling our positions short if we didn’t consult experts”, commented Community Corrections Director, Shelly Williams. All the department heads seemed to agree and a few others shared their thoughts.
County Appraiser, Greg McHenry even recalled a time when bias about a certain employee led to his position not being reviewed properly. McHenry, as well as other department heads, pointed out that a third party un-bias opinion would secure this never happens again.
County Commissioner, Robert Boyd did not necessarily agree with the recommendation presented by Human Resource Manager, Cindy Volanti. The request outlined the process, which would begin with department heads going to Volanti with their position concerns. If Volanti felt it was necessary, the item would then be taken to McGrath Consulting for analysis. Boyd believed it should come before the commission before it went on to McGrath.
After extensive discussion, Volanti’s request was approved unanimously. This means position reviews will be conducted on a case-by-case basis for $150 per request by McGrath.
Boyd and Volanti did both agree that this does not cut out the fact that they still need to do entire pay scale evaluations every several years to make sure they are offering appropriate salaries to staff.