Having previously won the Governor’s Sterling Award in 2015, a first for a Florida public school human resources division, the department proved its standout status winning its first Governor’s Sustained Excellence Award.
Members of the human resources leadership team accepted the award at the 2019 Governor's Sterling Award Banquet at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes on Friday, May 31.
“I am honored for our district to be recognized with this prestigious award, which is primarily given to corporations. It demonstrates the continued excellence of our human resources department and what the team does every day to ensure we have the best people in place to fulfill our vision of being the top producer of successful students in the nation,” said Bridget Williams, Chief of Staff.
The Orange County Public Schools, Human Resources Division, and its 91 team members, provides three key workforce services to the school district, including planning, securing capacity and capability, and developing and retaining staff. OCPS is the ninth largest school system in the United States and the fourth largest in Florida, serving over 211,000 students attending approximately 200 locations. The district has 25,145 employees. The human resources division demonstrates visionary leadership by focusing on sustainability of the organization through communicating the district’s values. It fulfills its mission by aligning division strategic planning with the district’s goals, in daily operations at the departmental level, growth and development of employees, continuous improvement and innovation, and with stellar customer service.
Specific items of note include:
• Customer focused services and process efficiency show positive levels, trends, and comparisons to the Society of Human Resources median. For example, the average number of days to fill instructional positions has been reduced from 12.8 days in 2014 to 11.33 days in 2018.
• The division’s high level of performance is confirmed by the satisfaction ratings (91 percent) of its two key customer groups, district employees and district hiring authorities and their support personnel, as well as the division’s workforce satisfaction (91.0 percent).
• For administrative/technical employee team member satisfaction, high performance has been sustained each of the past five years at 98% or better, above the SHRM comparison of 77%.
• In the areas of fiscal accountability, legal, regulatory and ethical behavior, the division has sustained performance of 100% each of the past five years.
Established in 1992, the Florida Sterling Council is a public/private not-for-profit corporation supported by the Executive Office of the Governor. The Council oversees the Governor’s Sterling Award for Performance Excellence and administers the Georgia Oglethorpe Award. The governor presents the awards annually to high performing, role-model organizations, both private and public, who demonstrate superior management approaches and role model results. The awards are presented at the culmination of the annual Sterling Conference that teaches participants how to elevate performance and increase productivity.