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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-11-17 AUDIT COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 17,2008 CITY OF KITCHENER The Audit Committee met this date commencing at 1 :07 p.m. Present: Mayor C. Zehr - Chair and Councillors J. Smola, J, Gazzola, K. Galloway, G. Lorentz, B. Vrbanovic and C. Weylie Staff : C. Ladd, Chief Administrative Officer D. Chapman, General Manager, Financial Services T. Speck, General Manager, Corporate Services J. Will mer, Acting General Manager, Dev & Tech Services P. Houston, General Manager, Community Services & City Treasurer M. May, Director of Communications/Marketing T. Hare Connell, Director of People Services & Organizational Development K. Dever, Organizational Change Facilitator, CAO's Office C. Tasker, Performance Measurement & Internal Auditor L. Alonzo, Performance Measurement C. Tarling, Manager of Corporate Records R. Gosse, Committee Administrator 1 . CAO-08-034 - 2009 Work Plan The Committee considered Chief Administrative Officer's report CAO-08-034, dated October 1 , 2008, regarding the 2009 Performance Measurement and Internal Audit Work Plan. Ms. L. Alonzo advised that for the 2009 work plan, the Performance Measurement and Internal Audit section will consist of only one FTE however, there will be a request for an additional FTE in the 2009 budget process and if approved there will be capacity to take on new projects in 2010. Ms. Alonzo then reviewed the 2009 Work Plan which is broken into three areas: performance measurement; risk management; and, internal audits. Under performance measurement, the work to be done will include the annual status report and the community investment strategy which will include assistance in developing key performance indicators for grant recipients. Under risk management, the Corporate Risk Register will be updated and reported to senior management and continued assistance with the Delta, Consolidated Maintenance Facility (CMF) and King Street projects. Also to be included is work on the Contact Centre Phase 2 project. Under internal audit, there will be continued work for CVOR compliance, recruitment resume sampling and Let's Talk compliance testing. Also included for 2009 is the ISO 14001 expansion, Community Investment Strategy, HR process reviews, 2009 physical inventory participation, cash audits and an engineering review. On motion by Councillor B. Vrbanovic- "That the 2009 Performance Measurement and Internal Audit Work Plan as outlined in Chief Administrative Officer's report CAO-08-034, be approved." Carried. 2. CAO-08-035 - HUMAN RESOURCES REVIEW The Committee considered Chief Administrative Officer's report CAO-08-035, dated October 1 , 2008, regarding the Human Resources Division Review. Ms. C. Ladd advised that the report represents a comprehensive review of the City's Human Resources Division which involved a large number of staff and will be presented in two parts. The first part being present today is a high level review and the second part will be a detailed review of some of the business processes within the Division. Ms. L. Alonzo gave a brief presentation on the audit advising that the objectives for the HR review was to determine the effectiveness of the Division as a whole, review the recruitment process and the attractiveness of the City of Kitchener as an employer. Ms. Alonzo then led the Committee through a review of the key findings and recommendations under each of the three objectives and discussed the current organizational structure of the Division including the recommended model that could be used to improve the effectiveness of the Human Resources Division. Ms. Alonzo explained that since 2000, staff complement has grown from AUDIT COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 17,2008 - 10- CITY OF KITCHENER 2. CAO-08-035 - HUMAN RESOURCES REVIEW - (CONT'D) 17 to 21, however, the staff-to-client ratio has remained constant at 1.1 % over that period. She advised that staff and customer feedback about the current structure revealed there are too many specialists and not enough backup for when people are absent, difficulty in accessing staff, no cohesive flow between areas and processes, imbalance of roles of managers and the organization structure is confusing to some outside of the Division. Ms. Alonzo suggested that based on the analysis, it is recommended that the HR Division consider transitioning to an HR business partner model that would consist of specialists in certain areas and more generalists that would provide each Department with various HR functions. Ms. Alonzo suggested that the business partner model will achieve: strategic alignment of the model and the functions; ability to effectively manage role coverage; appropriate/equitable workload distribution; appropriate manager to staff ratio; potential for employee development and advancement; leverage the knowledge and expertise of current HR staff; opportunity for HR presence at outside locations; and, the ability to effectively share information within the Division and create seamless workflow. Councillor G. Lorentz entered the meeting. Ms. Alonzo summed up her presentation advising that in order to be an attractive employer there is a need to create a corporate wide attraction and retention strategy using the People Plan as a basis for this strategy. That HR should: act as ambassadors for the City; actively market the City of Kitchener; attend more outreach events and trade fairs; develop a high quality welcome package for all interview candidates; conduct more regular salary surveys to keep the City as competitive as possible; and, improve the City's web presence to attract job seekers. Ms. Alonzo further advised that HR management will provide a response to the audit and its recommendations within three months. Councillor B. Vrbanovic suggested that the review shows a crisis within the Division and asked how the City moves forward from here. Ms. Alonzo advised that the report has been well received by staff and work has already begun in implementing some of the recommendations. Ms. T. Hare Connell advised that the review provides an opportunity for improvement and staff have received the review willingly and openly and are committed to moving forward. She explained that in the short term the 60 plus recommendations will be organized into 21 logical categories then those 21 issues will be reviewed, prioritized and an action plan developed. Councillor G. Lorentz advised that he appreciated hearing of the plans and questioned how it was possible that the Division has gotten to the point that it has without any previous indication there were issues. Councillor Gazzola advised that he was surprised with what he had read in the report and suggested that Council deserves answers to some of the issues raised in order to move forward and learn from past mistakes. Ms. Hare Connell advised that within three months she will present an action plan on how the Division will deal with the 60+ recommendations. Councillor K. Galloway asked if there were any examples of some quick fixes that can be undertaken now in the short term. Ms. Ladd responded that work has already been undertaken in some of the areas of concern outlined in the report, such as the salary review which was completed earlier this year and changes to health and safety in response to the Ministry of Labour concerns. Ms. Hare Connell added that although there are some quick fixes, the plan is to develop a strategy to be followed and communicated to the Division and Corporation on what steps will be taken in order to rectify the situation. On motion by Councillor K. Galloway - it was resolved: "That the Chief Administrative Officer's report CAO-08-035, regarding the Human Resources Division Review, be received for information. Carried. 3. ADJOURNMENT On motion, the meeting adjourned at 2:05 p.m. R. Gosse Committee Administrator