Introduction
Information Technology class consolidation is the largest piece of the Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr.’s Civil Service Improvement initiative to be undertaken to date. It impacts 10,000 civil service positions, which is roughly 5 percent of the state’s workforce. The State Personnel Board
approved IT consolidation at its January 11, 2018 meeting.
The driving force behind the plan is to update outdated IT class descriptions that were put in place, in some cases, more than 40 years ago. The modernized system will dramatically improve civil service IT positions – both for the people in the jobs and for the State of California, which will be better able to attract, and keep, employees with vital technical skills.
The concept of updating and streamlining our state’s Information Technology classifications started over a decade ago, with work on this plan beginning in 2014 as part of CalHR’s Strategic Plan.
To flesh out the plan, CalHR began holding data collection meetings in January 2015 with a large group of subject matter experts consisting of departmental Human Resources and Information Technology professionals, and CalHR’s Personnel Management Division staff. This core team consisted of nearly 50 experts and represented 13 departments and 5 agencies.
Aside from the expert core team, CalHR discussed this project with many stakeholders, such as CalHR’s Labor Relations Division, Selection Division, and Office of Civil Rights; the Department of Finance; the State Controller’s Office; the Department of Technology; and the Government Operations Agency.
CalHR also discussed the concept with the Association of California State Supervisors, and it met with SEIU Local 1000 more than a dozen times over the course of two years.
The plan creates nine new classifications, abolishes 36 classifications and adds a Footnote 24 to 7 classifications, meaning those seven classes will be abolished after the incumbents have vacated the classes. Only 11 employees fall into the Footnote 24 category, and they will not be disadvantaged. These individuals will remain in their current class until they test into the new IT series.
Of the nine new classifications, two are managerial, two supervisory, one expert consultant level, and four specialist and working levels. Three of them are deep classes, with alternate ranges that provide for employee retention by increasing levels of work experience and compensation without requiring repetitive examinations.
The Minimum Qualifications for the classifications were developed to allow for the recruitment of a wide range of individuals with a core of Information Technology education or experience. These qualifying patterns balance work experience with formal education. The Information Technology field is unique because many qualified individuals can learn the skills required on their own or through working tech jobs instead of through college or trade school courses.
The plan identifies and defines six broad domains covering all Information Technology work. The domains are intended to capture current and emerging technology and provide the flexibility that will last the state for the foreseeable future. The classification specification is designed to cover the entire spectrum of IT work.
The new classification series also improves the administrative structure by making supervisory and managerial roles and reporting relationships much clearer.