09/26/2011 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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IV. RESULTS Generally, employees enjoy working for the City. They like the job they do and the people they work with. Staff works well together by helping each other out. There are very few personality issues. Most of the employees mentioned that they like the variety of tasks they get to do in their jobs. Employees emphasized the need to be customer - orientated. People are usually very good at getting back to residents or co- workers on a timely basis with the answers they need. Almost everyone does an excellent job of this. Only two employees were mentioned as needing to be held accountable or needing some coaching in this area. Generally, employees get to use their skills in a creative way to accomplish the best results. They understand their roles. Employees know what their responsibilities are and perform them competently and consistently. Issues that do arise from time to time get resolved before they become a major problem. Not surprisingly, employee morale is low. With so much uncertainty about the City's financial future, many employees are anxious and fearful about losing their job. However, they understand the City Council will have to make more of the same painful decisions to reduce the budget as they did the past two years. Because of this, it appears employees are disinclined to take on new initiatives. This could stem from the following: (1) lack of support from the Council or department directors, (2) discouragement, (3) disengagement, or (4) insufficient communication/direction. There are many reasons for disengagement, but one of the biggest reasons is that people simply don't feel trusted. When employees were asked what would make their department more effective, several issues were brought up, including those listed below. • Better utilization of staff • Better communication from the top and between staff • Better communication between departments • Less bureaucracy • Utilize computer technology more effectively (e.g. electronic filing system) • More training opportunities • Better customer services (e.g. phones, front counters) • More recognition of employees • Department director needs to delegate more, or do a better job of managing employees • More accountability (Everyone held to the same standard) Based on these responses, a survey was created and employees were asked to rank what they believed were the most important issues. Overall, staff feels the most important issues are: (1) 3