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Q&A
HPD's hiring freeze and strategies to address staffing shortages
0:25:11
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124 sec
HPD officials explain the current hiring freeze policy and strategies to address staffing shortages in development projects. Acting Commissioner Ahmed Tigani and Deputy Commissioner Gardea Caphart outline various approaches to supplement staff and improve efficiency.
- One-for-one hiring freeze for development project staff instead of two-for-one
- Use of capacity accelerator program to bring in experienced temporary workers
- Additional outside counsel support for transactions and loans
- Investments in staff training and education
- Addition of 30 new budgeted positions for FY2026
Gardea Caphart
0:25:11
And for that area, we do have, you know, as we know we do have a hiring freeze.
0:25:16
However, for that area, we are under more of a one for one hiring freeze as opposed to a two for one hiring freeze.
0:25:25
Pardon me?
0:25:28
Yes, so for each person who leaves, we're allowed to backfill each person who leaves instead of waiting for two persons to leave, which is the general policy.
0:26:45
Yeah.
0:26:45
And one note I'll add to what the commissioner just said is that we also with this budget beginning FY twenty six, we're seeing an additional 30 heads being added to our budget for which is primarily which primarily supports staff who do this work.
0:26:58
So that's funding from what we call our interfund agreement, which which the capital budget reimbursement expense budget for staff.
0:27:04
And so the STERIS staff will not be even that's subject to the freeze.
0:27:07
We can have staff lined up and new candidates lined up to fill those positions very quickly.
0:27:12
So those are all the things that we're working on to beef up staffing for that.
Justin Brannan
0:25:22
One for one hiring freeze for those playing at home means?
0:25:26
For those people that don't know what that means, can
Ahmed Tigani
0:25:28
you please?
0:25:37
And I would just add, for grant funded lines, we're actually able to hire as openings do The other thing that we have been using for the last couple of years to supplement this work because part of the hiring process, even when we identify a candidate, it may take some time to bring them in and then bring them up to the level of sophistication, awareness, recognition of what to do to get projects moving.
0:26:00
We've been able to supplement it with some other programs.
0:26:02
We have a capacity accelerator program where we've spent, you know, it's funded to over $7,000,000 It brings in temps with experience outside, temps with experience to help with project management.
0:26:14
We're bringing additional outside counsel support to help with transactions and loans.
0:26:19
And also because since COVID there were a lot of new staff who came into agencies across the board, HPD included, we've actually invested in training to get them up to a place where they're on par with where we need them to be.
0:26:33
We've accelerated the training so they know more about finance.
0:26:36
So we've brought in outside help to get people more up to speed on development, finance, strategies, and education.