May 16, 2025
To: HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR
From: CITY COUNCIL LIAISON – DISTRICT 4
Subject: PROCESSING VIRTUAL VS. IN-PERSON INTERVIEW/ASSESSMENTS
I appreciated the time permitted to extend personalized comments about the Human Resources Department’s job candidate virtual interview/assessment process at the monthly meeting of the Personnel Commission (May 15, 2025). My reflections from virtual online interviewing began in 2020, during the infectious diseases’ pandemic duration. Although once effective, the City’s use of this process for administering online oral interviews for a municipal position has become outdated.
My evaluation from these respective sessions bring about a feeling of disenchantment from the void of real-time human interaction. First, I wondered if the interviewers were apprehensive about coming to the city of Compton from worry of undue harm becoming them. Second, there is a sense of hollowness to establish a positive first impression, normally associated with anticipated passion to fulfill the position. Third, because there have typically been only two people for these online interviews, the outcome questions if an objective assessment was equitably administered.
Surrendering on-site exchanges to inaccessible interviewers eliminates the true ability to gauge a candidate’s cultural fit to Team Compton and therefore their potential contributions to our organization. As referenced at the Personnel Commission Meeting, prior to the pandemic, our city coordinated all oral interviews in-person, usually staged at either the Dollarhide Community Center, Metro Transit Center, or City Hall. Our city was able to display city openness as a gracious host to interviewers by extending refreshments and sharing gift cards to our local eateries.
The coordination of those in-person interview/assessment sessions came about from staff members from human resources department to network with other cities. However, disregarding the importance of attracting interviewers to an on-site assessment shirks the opportunities to engage in good municipal public relations. Conducting in-person ratings should be our standard operating procedure for fulfilling public service positions, particularly when the subject position requires human interaction. Plus, hosting interviewers on-site can help build a better city image and reduce the negative stereotypes about Compton.
If attracting and retaining qualified raters has become difficult, it could be a necessity to improve upon our management personnel interaction with the surrounding cities. As a Council Liaison, attracting speakers for business roundtables, and serving as host for interagency meetings from other governmental agencies to personally visit Compton has never posed a limitation.
I had the opportunity to attend the City of Carson’s annual State of the City program last month, where an abundant number of city and county representatives were present. At our luncheon table alone, we networked with administrators from the cities of Torrance, Gardena, Carson, and CA State University Dominquez Hills.
Our Human Resources personnel could consider working and interacting at these types of functions to better build a rapport among surrounding communities. It is easy to assume that municipal work has a limited role in implementing and maintaining public safety and infrastructure, but the delivery of such must ensure how well a person interacts with others.
A shifting time that involves inefficiency in retaining fewer raters from isolated locations should not come at the cost of impeding our business ethics. By enhancing interrelations with staff members from other governmental agencies will translate to stimulating business growth from more frequent visitation and potentially lead to a stouter willingness to serve as in-person raters.
In summary, job candidate interviewing proficiency in private industry is testing Artificial Intelligence (AI Robots) in the in-person interview/assessment process. By this means, robotic and remote use as interviewers to conduct job candidate interviews will inevitably extract humanity from the role of human resources.