Los Alamos County Human Resources Manager Ty Ryburn talks jobs. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
“Now hiring” signs can be spotted on business windows and doors all over town, including Los Alamos County government.
As of this week, Human Resources Manager Ty Ryburn said there are 14 advertised vacant positions in the County. These include positions in the Department of Public Utilities, Information Management Division, the County Library System, transit and the Police Department’s dispatch and detention center. There also are administrative positions, equipment operators and lifeguard positions that are open. However, there is no critical shortage of workers, Ryburn said.
“There are the normal ebbs and flows in recruiting,” he said. “There are always positions to be filled and we’re always trying to fill those and be strategic about how we fill them.”
He added that during the past 14 months, since Jan. 1, 2021, 82 employees have left the County. The County currently employs 782 people. When employees leave, Ryburn explained they are offered the opportunity to provide information regarding their departure, although it is not mandatory.
“What we know is that of the 82 employees who have left the County since Jan. 1, 2021, 18 responded saying that they left for a different job, 20 retired, and the others left for a variety or combination of other reasons or did not provide information,” he said.
To attract prospective employees, the County utilizes online advertisements, as well as advertisements in publications that are targeted for local, regional or nationwide job seekers, depending on the job. Plus, it has streamlined its online application process to make it easier for applicants and departments to fill vacancies. Job fairs also have been a good recruiting tool for the County, although Ryburn said COVID has reduced the number of in-person fairs.
He added that new advertising methods are being explored such as developing video content that can be posted on the County’s website. The effectiveness of the County’s methods, meaning the number of applicants it receives, depends on the position, Ryburn said. Some get filled quickly and others take longer. Another variable is how well the prospective employees meet the job’s qualifications. Transit and lifeguard positions are particularly difficult to keep filled, he said, so the County does provide offer incentives to apply.
“We do have trouble in trying to fill transit positions and lifeguard positions … maybe there are not enough qualified people in the area who want to work in those jobs, so we have been offering recruitment and retention bonuses to incentivize people to come to Los Alamos and fill those positions.”
There are other perks to working in the County, Ryburn added. One of these perks is the County’s compensation package, he said. In general, Los Alamos County is the highest paid local government agency in the state. In fact, Ryburn said the local government’s salaries are often used as a measuring stick for other municipality employees’ salaries.
Ryburn said the County also offers “outstanding” benefits. It provides two pension programs, the Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA) pension program that all local and state government agencies contribute to as well as the County’s own supplemental pension program. In the County’s supplemental program, employees contribute 1 percent while the County pays 9 percent into it.
“We also offer outstanding medical benefits, which are very competitive with regard to other employers, including other government employers,” he said. “Besides the compensation … there’s also another good highlight to attract and retain employees, which is that the County really values its employees. Steve Lynne, our County Manager, truly wants to foster employment engagement and development, and the career growth of our employees in the County.”
Ryburn said the County offers opportunities for its employees to successfully grow their career in the County through a vast array of training and development programs, which are either currently offered or are being developed.
“That’s a huge attraction,” he said, “we are totally supporting and engaging in ways that not only attract new employees but attract current employees to grow in the County and hopefully retire from the County.”
So how good is the County at keeping its employees?
“I feel like our retention numbers are good,” Ryburn said. “… overall, we do a great job with retention. Especially in comparison with other local government organizations in general. I feel like Los Alamos County, when it comes to public sector employers, is the employer of choice in New Mexico. In fact, when I left my prior job in Rio Rancho, the city management alluded that I was going to the premier local government organization in the state.”
Some of the challenges the County faces are logistical rather than organizational, he said. It’s a small town and its location is somewhat isolated. Los Alamos County has experienced a recent string of retirements and while as a public employer it can’t have a formalized succession plan, Ryburn said the County does want to plan for when natural attrition and retirements occur. Part of this is to provide growth and development opportunities for current employees, so they have the skills and experience to fill vacant positions and move up and around in the County.
“Retirements are inevitable,” he said. “We can’t always predict retirements (and) we aren’t currently experiencing more than we typically do. (It’s) hard to lose employees, long-term employees who have a lot invested, and they have a wealth of experience and intellectual capital. At the same time, it is a compliment to the County that great employees feel they want to spend their careers with the County and serve our citizens.”
To apply for a job with Los Alamos County, click here.
