Ohio State Highway Patrol Human Resources Strategy

Analyze

The goal of analyzing talent is to establish what is needed specifically for the position that you are hiring for.  Each employment decision should be guided by the notion of support for the company’s vision and objectives.  Having a job analysis can establish the knowledge needed to fully understand the purpose, the responsibilities, and overall awareness of the position that going to support business objectives.  There are 8 suggested steps to take when conducting a job analysis ( www.education.vic.gov ):

• Consider company’s current and future needs:  keep in mind the company’s current and future business plans; and the need for this position to work together with other departments within the organization.
• Review existing position descriptions:  within the State Patrol, the need to excel to any position within the department requires all field officers to complete the OPATA certification through the State Patrol’s academy, even if one already has a previous certification.
• Speak with stakeholders:  understanding the purpose of new recruits, or any administration position, is key to understanding the actual needs for the State Patrol and where the most important needs are met.
• Consider the objectives & purposes of position:  this is in reliance to the State Patrol’s needs as far as recruits with how many.  This could be in the form of replacement for low staff, retirement, and/or transfers from post to post.
• List key responsibilities and accountabilities of position:  this is the area that will define the specific needs that are to be fulfilled by the recruit both in the interim and in the future, more importantly, for advancement opportunities.
• List capabilities required for advancement:  based off of knowledge of the hiring position, create a list of capabilities that are required for succession:  knowledge, skills, and personal qualities.
• Consider level of competency:  this is based off of responsibilities, accountabilities, and capabilities to determine the correct fit for the State Patrol and for the Individual.
• Develop selection criteria:  this section should describe all of the capabilities required to succeed in the outlining position.

Attract

Leisink & Steijn (2008) stated that “attraction of appropriate applicants is vital for the success of an organization and thus adequate recruitment and selection procedures are an essential element…” (p. 118).  Being able to attract the right type of person should include the following:

• Outline application requirements in all forms of advertisements:  as mentioned in the “analyze” section, outlining certain requirements of the position allows the prospective applicant to fully understand what is needed and what the job duties entails.  This also allows for the diverse group of applicants who have special skills, like multi-linguistic, and minority applicants to apply.
• Disperse advertisements to attract diverse applicant groups:  like buying a new vehicle, you want the display to be noticed and observed by as many people as possible.  With a job advertisement, being clear and concise with the presenting information can attract highly desirable applicants who have a good understanding of the position and what it entails.  This includes having a short, yet detailed, description of the position title, summary of the position, and responsibilities of the role.
• Engaging and attracting prospective applicants:  this allows the prospect to be fully engaged and understanding of the clear and defining tactics used to make the job description appealing.  One key example of this is using the first person when speaking to the prospective applicant.
• The planning of the selection process:  The State Patrol relies on constant contact with applicants throughout the application process.  To do this, we rely the use of both electronic and in-person communication capabilities.  Establishing a good rapport with an applicant allows the agency gauge interest while checking the boxes to see if the candidate is/will be a good fit.

From both an applicant and administrative point of view, having what is called “value congruence” (p. 123) can make a position within the public sector appealing or not when revolving around these 4 dimensions:  attraction to policy making, commitment to public interest/civic duty, compassion, and self-sacrifice (p.123).

Assessment & Selection

Establishing an attraction with applicants and the outline of the position gives a company, in this instance, the State Patrol, a positive problem when judging the applicants.  Cohen et al. (2013) notes that applicants should be judged on the following criteria:

• Intelligence
• Experience, training, and expertise
• Professional reputation
• Written and spoken communication skills
• Attitude, energy, and enthusiasm
• Social and group skills, along with overall personality

Battaglio (2015) notes that for the selection process, it is important to keep in mind the need to not discriminate due to certain criteria, for example, education levels.  Relying solely on education levels for hiring and/or promoting can cause unrest within an organization due to, for example, racial bias from discrimination in the education system against African-Americans from the South (p. 16).  Within the State Patrol, using selection procedures like criterion-related validity, will not always predict the type of worker hired, rather experience while on the job and the decisions made in short time, life-altering instances will have a greater influence on whether or not certain selection criteria is either accurate and/or accessible.

On-board & Evaluate

Effective on-boarding techniques allows for the smooth transition for the employee into the life of being an Ohio State Patrol Officer.  Within the formal introduction to the job, the employee is now moved on to the Academy for 29 weeks of formal, hands-on training in many different facets of law and enforcement, among other specialty areas pertaining to the desired job characteristics.

Cohen et al. (2013) notes a number of ways to keep good employees within the organization, especially in civil service positions, where appreciation from the public hinges on one good act versus one bad act.  For example, the use of incentives, on top of vacation and monetary raises.  Within the State Patrol, there is an incentive to move to different posts within the State after 12 months of service after completion of the Academy.  Troopers have the ability to transfer to any of the posts as longs as there are adequate openings.  Also, troopers who live within 50 nautical miles of a post can take a patrol car home daily.

The need for evaluation is important to gauge how the employee is reacting to the demand of the job, the requirements for the job, and the stresses of the public sector.  In these instances, the aforementioned incentives can be a buffer between the employee and their performance that drives them to attain the highest marks and not leave the State Patrol, or the stresses from the job will ultimately force them to seek employment elsewhere.