Reduction in Force (RIF) - Job Placement and Support Services Program

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2013

Broward County, located between Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, is a full-service governmental agency with a seaport, airports, and a wide array of community and human services. In 2008, Broward County had a workforce of 6,694 employees, employed in approximately 60 different departments and agencies. County Administration, in anticipation of the economic down-turn, began the systematic review of its organizational structure and workforce in order to meet the impending impact of reductions to property tax revenues. Property tax revenues comprise a significant portion of the operating budget, with a large portion allocated to personnel cost. Any significant reduction in property tax revenue would trigger reductions in force.Therefore, County Administration, understanding the very human nature of being affected by a reduction in force, tasked the Human Resources Division with creating a comprehensive program of Job Placement and Support Services to assist affected employees who wished to transition to alternative employment within the County. To that end, a packet of key information and resources was developed and provided to each RIF affected employee.Broward County now, in 2013, employs approximately 5,200, a net reduction since 2007 of 1,494 positions/employees. This program, which was developed in 2008 to ensure the smoothest possible transition for employees impacted by a reduction in force, was able to reduce the number of employees actually laid off from the original 808 to 16.