Public Employee Press

Office for recruitment established
DCAS visit discusses test changes, recruitment

The DC 37 Civil Service Committee, chaired by SSEU Local 371 President Anthony Wells, welcomed Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Commissioner Stacey Cumberbatch to its meeting on June 10.

Cumberbatch, herself the daughter of public workers, struck a sympathetic and decisive tone in her presentation before a packed audience at union headquarters.

As one of its major responsibilities as part of New York City's government, DCAS provides the personnel needs of city agencies in their recruitment and hiring and promotions of public employees, and is paramount in the planning and providing civil service exams for 800 titles in 80 city agencies.

At the beginning of her presentation, the commissioner explained that even during the interview process for her position, she believed that there needed to be revitalization of the civil service system and changes in the way the agency administers the civil service exams. "So I made that commitment," she said.

"I grew up in the system in so many ways and I attribute the opportunity that my parents and family have had in working for the city as the reason why I can be commissioner here today," Cumberbatch said.

She added that for decades civil service has provided opportunities for people of color and women and that this continues to be a roadmap toward becoming part of the middle class. "These were often the only jobs offered that they could compete for back in the '50s, '60s and '70s, because they could not get jobs in the private sector," the commissioner said.

At the presentation, Cumberbatch was joined by Dawn Pinnock, deputy commissioner in charge of human capital, who is tasked to reform and improve the civil service testing process. Commissioner Cumberbatch explained, "Dawn is looking at all the processes in this office, what the systematic issues are - asking if we are using the best practices."

Members of the audience questioned both Cumberbatch and Pinnock regarding issues involving their own experiences with the DCAS testing process. Several members complained of their test results being rejected because of missing a form field, which in many of the online forms can be easily missed. Pinnock said, "We are trying to make these fixes and make these electronic forms more interactive, because we have had a significant number of appeals because of this problem."

During her remarks, the DCAS commissioner pointed out that one third of the city workforce - perhaps as many as 100,000 - will be eligible to retire in three to five years. "This is a once in a generation opportunity for us," she said, adding that for the thousands of potential recruits, DCAS has established an office for recruitment to expand the awareness of civil service jobs in underrepresented communities, especially young people, about the opportunities offered in working for the city and the exam process.

— Mike Lee