Jobs of the Future: Gilbert Improves Hiring Process for Young Workforce

Gilbert is helping us prepare to be the “City of the Future” by making it easier for younger employees to enter the workforce with changes to the Aquatics hiring process.

Each year, the town hires nearly 100 new employees as lifeguards, swim and dive instructors and pool managers for the summer season. For many, it’s their very first job. Setting up paycheck deposits, taxes and other administrative details needs to be completed by each employee and often times they’re unfamiliar with the process.

Gilbert’s Human Resources Department spends an average of 45 minutes per person, or 12 hours a week, onboarding personnel. Even if an employee was returning after a previous summer season, their paperwork would need to be processed again. It took a total of 52.5 hours each summer.

There had to be a better way.

That’s when Human Resources employees got together and participated in the EDGE improvement process. Through this brainstorming and planning process, they decided to implement a new software program that would allow new employees to complete onboarding forms at home.

“The ability for them to do those forms at home with the aid of their parents was huge for us,” said HR administrator Susan Moresco. “It’s such a better representation of who we are as a community and a better fiscal responsibility on our part.”

Now, it only takes about 10 minutes to onboard returning employees and about 30 minutes for new employees. The improvements saved up to 80 percent of the time it took to re-hire and about 50 percent for new personnel. The time saved is time that human resources staff can spend on other issues and initiatives.

For more information about career opportunities in Gilbert, click here.