The City is launching a comprehensive effort to recruit talented, diverse applicants for jobs in the police department, 911 and other hard-to-fill positions. That work begins with the search for an outside consultant to create and launch the multi-year recruitment and marketing campaign.
The project will focus on increasing the number of qualified applicants for open positions at the City and having more of those applicants reflecting the diverse communities in Minneapolis that they would serve. Proposals of up to $1 million are being accepted for work that would include recruitment strategy development, marketing, advertising, outreach and engagement.
This investment of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars over a two-year period will develop and drive a multi-year recruitment marketing strategy to restore the City’s workforce, beginning with filling critical community safety positions. It’s part of Mayor Jacob Frey’s continued efforts to use all available resources to rebuild emergency response and was included in his ARPA investment plan.
“The City strives to be an employer of choice,” said Bill Champa, interim director of Human Resources. “We are competing for talent with many other employers, both locally and nationally. This recruitment and hiring campaign will help the City target our efforts toward community service-minded people who want to be a part of our organization.”
The City has lost a large number of employees since 2020, most notably in public safety positions. As of early July, the number of sworn officers in the Minneapolis Police Department has dropped by more than 260 from the same time two years ago. Staffing shortages affecting emergency call centers across the country are also being felt here: Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center, where 911 calls are received, has 12 more vacant positions than it did at this point in 2020. Contributing to all these declines are negative perceptions of the City fueled by police misconduct reports, concerns about personal safety and Minnesota’s record low unemployment.
The City expects to select a final consulting firm by the end of August, with work beginning in late September. The period of the contracted work ends Dec. 31, 2024.
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