James Randall, the new human resources director for Vestavia Hills, poses in front of City Hall.

The city of Vestavia Hills this year created its first human resources department, largely focused on employee training and development with an eye on attracting — and retaining — talented employees to work in city government.

The department is under the leadership of James Randall, who was elevated to become Vestavia Hills’ first human resources director after spending several years in the payroll department. He said his goal is to make Vestavia the premier city for public-sector employees. Investing in employee training and development will ensure the city delivers exceptional services to residents, he said.

“We’re trying to put an extra effort to showcase to our employees that we are trying to further develop their skills,” Randall said. “If they’re doing a good job and they see that Vestavia is pouring into their career, then it might help them buy into more of their experience here and take that next step forward in developing their career.

“This isn’t just a place where you just hang your hat and that’s it, clock in and clock out,” Randall said. “We’re here to make sure that you strive to be the best.”

Randall said that his department earlier this year rolled out an employee development initiative called Vestavia Hills Services Stars to advance every employee’s proficiency in several key areas. The Service Stars — be engaged, know our business, listen actively, show care, practice professionalism and take ownership — are designed to improve not only the employee experience, but also the experience of Vestavia residents during interaction with city government.

For instance, Randall said, the “know our business” service star is a training focused on “what every employee should know here at Vestavia.

“It will be about how to help your resident who may walk into City Hall and not know where they’re going, how to point them to a certain department and just know general information about that department,” Randall said. “We’re focusing on making sure that we develop our staff to know the basics and help out the residents who come in.”

City Manager Jeff Downes said the new department and its focus on employee training and development will be a major benefit to Vestavia residents in a number of ways.

First, by enabling the city to recruit and keep the best staff possible, the city will save taxpayer dollars related to recruiting and turnover costs, he said. Second, he believes the department’s efforts will enhance the livability of Vestavia Hills.

“The largest expense and greatest opportunity for exemplary service to our residents lies with the performance of our employees. We are proud of the great resident feedback we receive on the quality of our employees and their efforts to make our city a great place to live,” Downes said. “We want to sustain that legacy of service and grow our capabilities. Embracing an expanded scope of human resource development will help us achieve our noble goals.”

Learn more about the Vestavia Hills Human Resources Department online at vhal.org/human-resources.

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City establishes HR department