May 2004 · Volume 86 · Number 4

HRePartners, an E-Gov Partnering Success 

by Mike Mueller
In 1999, Sedgwick County, Kansas, Manager Bill Buchanan challenged his human resources division. He challenged our processes (they were restrictive and inflexible). He challenged our boundaries (they served our bureaucracy rather than our customers). We simply were not meeting the expectations of our customers and not keeping up with the opportunities given by evolving technologies.
What Was Wrong?
We were bureaucratic, paper-intensive, and slow. In a time when speed and agility were valued, our process actually seemed designed to slow things down. Due to posting requirements and processes, it could take nearly two weeks from the time a position-vacancy requisition was signed until the opportunity was publicized.
Interested applicants were required to complete a Sedgwick County application form and to submit separate copies for each job of interest. This requirement caused additional delay because of the mailing or faxing of application forms and the fact that applicants had to come on-site to complete a form.
The human resources (HR) division would screen and process the paper forms and then submit paper rosters and photocopied application forms to selection teams. This process could take another two weeks. All in all, hiring supervisors could expect at least four weeks to pass before they could even begin to interview applicants.
There also was no sharing of processes or information among peer agencies. An individual applying for a firefighter position with Sedgwick County, for example, would have to submit different applications for similar firefighter positions in cities within the county or in neighboring counties. Ironically, the major difference among the various application forms was just the logo at the top of the page. This ego-driven process resulted in barrier building rather than in good-quality customer service.
The Solution
Sedgwick County’s HR staff responded to the county manager’s challenges by building partnerships with other local governments to develop and share solutions. The goal was to explore opportunities to share technology, intelligence, and processes.
Late in 1999, efforts began with “no-agenda” lunches with area HR professionals. These lunches were followed by formal presentations and brainstorming sessions. Finally, a project team evolved that included the author; Ron Menousek (then HR coordinator and Webmaster for Derby, Kansas); Rhea Evans (Sedgwick County HR); and Greg Faber, Jeff Piper, and John Peterson of the Sedgwick County Division of Information and Operations (DIO).
Kathy Sexton, assistant county manager and chief information officer, and Doug Russell, the county’s HR director, provided senior management sponsorship and support.
The first step was to design an electronic application form that could be used by multiple employers and an application process through which a customer could submit this form to multiple employers for multiple opportunities. As these goals were achieved, the team focused on developing processes for managing vacancies, applicants, and rosters.
The project development lasted throughout 2000, as HR continued to dream up additional functionality and the DIO team handled the creative and technical aspects of the project. On December 26, 2000, DIO launched the Web site at www.HRePartners. com, and the two initial partners, Sedgwick County and the city of Derby, began a completely paperless application process.
Partner organizations range in size from fewer than 100 employees to more than 2,700. Regardless of size, each organization is a full partner and fully engaged in planning improvements and revisions to the system.
The “HRePartners” Web site was begun as a portal to job opportunity and related information for member partners. Through the site, customers learn about partner-specific job opportunities, employee benefits, rules, and regulations. It is a single source for information and processes.
The electronic application, known as e*Application or e*App, is a Web-enabled application process through which customers create their personal application files and apply for any job(s) available with any partner. The e*App is straightforward and flexible. It asks for basic contact, education, and employment information, and it allows candidates to enter or “copy and paste” their resumes, cover letters, and/or other applicant-determined information. The e*App file is completely managed by the customer, through a self-assigned user ID and password.
Partner organizations manage their own positions and processes, and each follows its own specific rules, regulations, and procedures for filling vacancies. They open and close requisitions, define positions, set qualifications, qualify or disqualify candidates, and refer candidate rosters to hiring authorities. Rosters are dynamically updated as candidates apply and are qualified and can be forwarded in real time to hiring authorities, using an e-mailed link.
Clicking the link opens the roster of names. Clicking a name on the roster opens the candidate’s e*Application. The application can then be viewed or printed. The hiring authority can forward the roster by e-mail to other members of an interview or selection team, and any member of the selection team can view or print the roster and individual e*Applications.
HRePartners requires only minimal technology of partners and customers. Partners must have access to the Internet and e-mail, customers must have access to a Web-enabled computer but need not (though it is helpful) have an e-mail account. Most partners provide this access on-site at their organizations’ employment offices, and it is also available at home computers, schools, libraries, churches, community organizations, state workforce development centers, and many other locations. Because of the wide availability of the Internet, HRePartners is as accessible as any paper-based system ever was. 
The Success
In less than two years, HRePartners grew from two local government partners to 11, including three counties and eight cities in Kansas. Currently, the partnership has grown to 20, comprising six counties, 12 cities, a state university, and a university student center. Continued growth is expected, with several additional organizations preparing to join the partnership. Since December 26, 2000, nearly 2,500 positions have been filled with the help of HrePartners (see accompanying table). 
Partner organizations range in size from fewer than 100 employees to more than 2,700. Regardless of size, each organization is a full partner and fully engaged in planning improvements and revisions to the system. Partner-driven improvements vary from simple changes to wording on the e*Application, to major enhancements such as a public safety supplement for law enforcement and related positions, and “search by job category” functionality.
E-Partnering Benefits
The electronic capability of the e*Application reduces processing time in posting opportunities, accepting applications, qualifying rosters of candidates, transmitting applicant information to selecting supervisors, and communicating with applicants.
Together, e*App and the HRePartners site on the Web put a virtual recruitment office on every Web-enabled computer in the world. The shared process means that every recruitment dime spent by any partner benefits all partners. This has effectively slashed recruitment costs by as much as half for some partner organizations.
On average, during 2002, every month saw more than 1,100 individuals applying for jobs at Sedgwick County through HRePartners. This is an estimated 125 percent increase over the number of persons applying before implementation. During the same period, Sedgwick County’s recruitment advertisement costs were cut in half.
In two years, the HRePartner database of e*Applications grew to approximately 30,000 unique e*Application files; as of October 2003, this database had grown to more than 42,000. Statistics gathered voluntarily from applicants illustrate wide participation across population demographics and document participation across age categories.
An analysis of self-reported birth dates of applicants using the previous paper application process (in the year 2000) with these data on applicants using the e*Application process (in the year 2002) yielded no significant differences in participation because of age.
The Bottom Line
Did we meet County Manager Buchanan’s challenge? We believe the answer is yes. With a flip of a switch, we drove decades of time-consuming tradition and bureaucracy off the cliff. We applied technology creatively, rethought and retooled comfortable processes that had become obsolete or self-serving, found new ways of connecting with our customers, and confirmed the power of partnering. We took big chances when most of our contemporaries were simply holding onto what used to work.
As a result, we fashioned a truly win-win-win future. Our investors (taxpaying customers) win through more responsible use of the resources they entrust to us. Our applicant customers win through greater access to opportunity and process. And our partner customers win through access to more resources, greater capabilities, and reduced costs.
By all measures, qualitative or quantitative, HRePartners is a success. Feedback from users and partners is overwhelmingly positive, and anecdotal comments by customers communicate acceptance and support. Usage statistics indicate broad-based approval and participation by customers.
Information now flows in real time. No more photocopying or interoffice mailing. Rather than wait four weeks for a roster of applicants, hiring managers now can access a dynamically updated roster at their own convenience. Labor previously used for managing paper now is focused on value-added HR services.
The lessons from the HRePartners experience are many, as are the opportunities it opened. The partnering model can be easily replicated and modified. Technology has provided the capability to be even more creative in seeking partnering solutions, and we have learned that we can be of greater service and greater value if we look beyond our boundaries. Our own organizations and our customers are distinctive, but they are not that different from those of other local governments. 

Mike Mueller, IPMA-CP, is employment manager, Sedgwick County Human Resources Division, Wichita, Kansas (mmueller@sedgwick.gov).