In July 2022, the Office of Digital Innovation and CalData merged to form the Office of Data and Innovation.
Hiring
ODI invested significant work in growing the department and refining our operations. With this foundation, ODI was able to initiate Data and Innovation Fund projects in 2021-22.
ODI grew significantly in FY 2020-21, adding 12 new employees. ODI filled 20 positions in FY 2021-22. Some hires backfilled vacant positions. ODI will continue its focus on hiring in FY 2022-23.
Recruitment innovations
During this period of growth, ODI created efficient recruitment processes that enabled us to hire in such volume.
One innovation was the use of Breezy. Breezy is a candidate tracking system that allows ODI to improve the candidate experience for both exempt and civil service positions. ODI used Breezy to automate and track communication to candidates, facilitate the scheduling of panel interviews with multiple parties, and onboard selected candidates quicker, decreasing the overall time to hire.
Another tool that contributed to ODI’s success in recruitment was the use of LinkedIn Recruiter. This enabled us to actively search for and reach out to potential candidates and post roles on LinkedIn (the world’s largest professional network to find jobs).
Post-recruitment surveys show most of ODI’s candidates come from LinkedIn. Candidates also expressed a widespread satisfaction with ODI’s level of engagement throughout the recruitment process. Other state departments look to ODI as a leader in recruitment practices. ODI shared our practices with the Government Operations Agency (GovOps), including executives from its departments, so they could draw inspiration from ODI’s process.
Other state departments look to ODI as a leader in recruitment practices. ODI shared our practices with the Government Operations Agency (GovOps), including executives from its departments, so they could draw inspiration from ODI’s process.