Workforce Equity Strategic Plan Committee Charter

Overview

This charter authorizes the formation of a countywide Workforce Equity Strategic Plan (WESP) Committee to support the effective, meaningful and transformational change needed to achieve the objectives of the strategic plan. This committee reflects the commitment upon adoption of the WESP to ensure transparency and accountability between stakeholders, providing a vehicle for workgroups that supports implementation and collaboration across the organization. The advisory committee is sponsored and convened by the Chair and Chief Operating Officer (COO), facilitated and staffed by Office of Diversity and Equity, and coordinated and project managed by the Department of County Management.

Goal Description

Establish a countywide workforce equity committee to review and track progress and provide feedback to executive leadership, departments, and other implementing stakeholders in Multnomah County. The committee will provide a long-term structure to support ongoing efforts to advance workforce equity.

Supporting Objectives

  1. Internal and external stakeholders are regularly provided updates and opportunities for feedback on workforce equity implementation strategies, progress and challenges

  2. Minimum standards provide a baseline for departmental/countywide implementation, while encouraging innovative and additional strategic approach and investment

  3. Departments will utilize targeted universalism and other equity framework-based approaches reflective of department level data/trends (where available) to reduce and eliminate disparities in outcomes related to organizational culture, promotion and professional development, retention and recruitment and hiring

Triggering Problems/Opportunities

  1. Multnomah County has existing data and analysis showing progress and ongoing challenges toward increased workforce equity across departments and job classifications.

  2. Multnomah County has contracted with an HR consulting firm to provide additional recommendations for workforce equity, specifically around HR structure and practices

  3. Internal and external partners have invested in our work to this point, and are interested in collaborating to advance workforce equity across the County

  4. Advancing a countywide workforce equity strategic plan aligns with the County’s existing EEO/AA obligations and broader values around safety, trust and belonging.

Project Deliverables

  1. Develop and convene of Workforce Equity Committee

  2. Provide support and recommendations for departmental implementation plans

  3. Set minimum standards and consistency for departmental implementation, report to the Chair, Board of County Commissioners, and COO to ensure accountability and quality assurance/control

  4. Ongoing internal and external stakeholder engagement, communication and relationship-building

  5. Establish a countywide baseline for diversity, equity and inclusion definitions, values, frameworks, including an evaluation methodology

  6. Create subcommittees tasked with defining best practices and making recommendations to the committee

  7. Draft an  annual report to the Chair that reflects current WESP implementation progress, identifying committee findings and recommendations, and updates to the Strategic Plan   

Scope — Included

  • Advisory function for: Workforce Equity Strategic Plan objectives, strategies and performance measures

  • Identification and sponsorship of subcommittees that support. implementation, analyze and track data metrics, research best and promising practices, HR consultant findings, including complaint and investigation structures/practice and other issues identified through process evaluation and collaboration.

  • Provided countywide implementation recommendations to all departments based on the findings of the subcommittees.

  • Communicating to the COO and Chair the departments that are and are not living up to expectations.

  • Exploring what tactics and policy are effective or ineffective

Scope — Excluded

  • Compensation and issues subject to collective bargaining

  • Issue areas outside of the Workforce Equity Strategic Plan

Scope — Related Projects

  • EEO/AA Plan compliance reporting

  • Employee Survey/HR Trends

  • Departmental strategic plans

  • Workday Implementation

Project Organization

Project Sponsor:

  • Deborah Kafoury, Board Chair

Project Manager(s):

  • Ben Duncan

Executive Committee:

  • Kim Melton, Chair Chief of Staff

  • Ben Duncan, Chief Diversity and Equity Officer

  • Marissa Madrigal, Chief Operating Officer

Key Stakeholders (including but not limited to decision makers, influencers, subject matter experts and those most impacted by the WESP’s outcomes):

  • Leadership Council

  • HR Executive Council

  • AFSCME/Union Leadership

  • Employee Resource Groups

  • Community organizations

  • Equity Core Team

  • Elected Offices

  • Research and Evaluation

  • Workday and Technology Needs Liaison

  • Talent Development

  • Budget Liaisons

  • Labor Relations

Committee Members:

TBD by Project Sponsor and Executive Committee (including but not limited to influencers, subject matter experts and those most impacted by the WESP’s outcomes)

Subcommittee Members:

TBD by Committee

Long-term Success Criteria

  1. Department-specific workforce equity implementation plans with clear objectives, timelines and accountability measures, consistent with central strategic framework

  2. Departments are reporting on semi-regular basis (TBD) to document progress and ongoing barriers towards achieving increased and expanded workforce equity.

  3. Data analysis shows measurable, improved outcomes for equity, utilization, retention, promotion and employee satisfaction.

Project Timeline

  1. WESP Committee is authorized through duration of Workforce Equity Strategic Plan implementation

  2. Meetings will be held quarterly beginning January 2019

View the Dec. 10, 2018 signed Workforce Equity Governance Project Charter