Student research: California averages 119 days to fill jobs; commission hears pilot fixes

At the June 25 Little Hoover Commission meeting, researcher Megan Bower presented a Goldman School study of California civil service hiring and urged the state to adopt a time‑to‑hire target, automated steps and consolidated classifications to reduce staffing gaps.

Bower summarized the problem with data: the state currently averages 119 days to hire, compared with roughly 36 days in the private sector. She identified two specific administrative slowdowns that drive much of the delay: a roughly 23‑day wait before interviews are scheduled and a second roughly 23‑day delay during reference gathering and offer processing.

Drawing on pilots and other jurisdictions, Bower said the state can improve with concrete operational changes. Her recommendations included an 80‑day service‑level agreement as an initial statewide target, a real‑time dashboard tracking each stage of hiring, automated reference and interview scheduling, pre‑authorizing conditional offers for hard‑to‑fill roles, and expanding successful classification consolidation pilots. She cited Caltrans’ pilot that reduced time‑to‑fill to about 74.8 days as evidence that focused operational fixes can work.

Commissioners pressed practical issues: some roles (for example, in district attorney offices or other specialized professional posts) may require faster timelines, and firing and discipline rules in civil service were raised as a related structural constraint. Bower and commissioners agreed that the state should prioritize roles differently (hard‑to‑fill vs. routine) and pair timelines with authority to remove procedural blockers.

Ending: Commissioners directed staff to include the student research in forthcoming issue briefs and to consider hiring process modernization as part of the Commission’s future work agenda.