11 Introduction
The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed a second follow-up to its October 2020 audit of the Department of Human Resources' (DHR) management of the performance evaluation process for City employees. Based on DHR's responses, OIG concludes that DHR has partially implemented two of the six corrective actions related to the audit findings and has not implemented the remaining four.
The purpose of OIG's 2020 audit was to determine whether DHR ensured that City departments evaluated their employees' performance periodically as required by Personnel Rule XIV, and, if so, whether the evaluation process aligned with national best practices. The audit found that DHR did not ensure that departments evaluated all employees. DHR had not clearly defined the roles and responsibilities related to periodic evaluations required by Personnel Rule XIV, nor did it ensure City departments' compliance with the rule.
As a result, 13 departments—among them comprised of more than 6,000 City employees— reported they did not conduct annual performance evaluations of all of their employees, and another 7 City departments—comprised of more than 10,000 employees—reported they did not conduct any performance evaluations whatsoever.
Based on the results of the audit, OIG recommended that DHR develop a Citywide performance evaluation system with standardized procedures to ensure annual evaluation of all employees, while still allowing for customization across the various departments. OIG further recommended that DHR conduct a staffing assessment to determine the number of staff needed to administer the evaluation system and consider implementing an automated evaluation process. Finally, OIG recommended that DHR revise Personnel Rule XIV to define performance evaluation expectations and responsibilities in a clear manner, and report on departmental compliance to the Mayor's Office. In its response to the audit, DHR...
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