San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District's staff growth outpaced the number of people available to handle its human resources needs. Assigning the task to anyone who "had time" was not an optimal solution. Read how Endorsed Affiliate CPS HR Consulting helped them tackle the challenge... 

San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District – HR and Risk Manager

Situation

Without a dedicated staff member, the HR needs of the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District (SBVMWD) employees were not being met. With the rate of growth that the organization had experienced over the years in terms of employees and workload, it was time to modernize the way HR duties were being handled. The organization wanted to move forward by finding a way to offer a fully structured and engaging HR experience to staff.

Challenge

San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District (SBVMWD) did not have dedicated human resources staff. HR duties were handled by anyone with “time” and without any prior experience in human resources. CPS HR Consulting was hired to analyze the human resources needs of the organization and provide recommended solutions.

Solution

CPS HR conducted a comprehensive human resources organizational assessment that was presented to the district’s board. The assessment’s ultimate recommendation was to create a new position for a designated Human Resources professional. The district approved the proposal and CPS HR began to help them recruit for a HR and Risk Manager. During the recruitment period, CPS HR also supported the district’s day-to-day HR needs until the new staff member was successfully onboarded. The strategy gave SBVMWD both a short term stop-gap as well as a long term strategic solution.

Results

SBVMWD hired an internal HR staff member upon CPS HR’s recommendation. The new hire has produced an updated employee handbook, implemented a performance review system, and created a safety and risk management program among many other improvements. With this new dedicated HR and Risk Manager, employee morale has significantly increased.

Heather Dyer, the Chief Executive Officer, and General Manager for the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District said, “The vision that CPS HR laid out for us in terms of what we needed and how we can be the best organization possible has paid off in dividends.”