2017-07-12 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

EATURE BY CASEY CASEt1A AND LAURA KUSHNER mployw engagement is a teem that is used to describe Fawhether an moods employees are involved in, enthusiastic about, and eoemnitted to their work. It's importam-be muse research shows employee engagement is linked to all kinds of good things: productivity. retention, cre- ativity, and customer communication, to mention just a few. As a cone& it's both easier and harder than it sounds. Its easy because it realty boils down to this: Are your employm coming to do every day ready and eager to do their best work for your city? ounds simple, right? But f< can't be if most organizations are getting it wrong—and they arc. Gallup, the national research and performance -management consulting company, has docu- mented that only about 32 percent of employees in the US. are engaged. So, chances am good this is an issue your city should be thinking about+ Time for a culture change In a 2016 online article, Gallup states that employee engagement numbers really ham t changed much in years and measuring it isn't enough to change it the article describes several strategies to improve employee engagement, and most of them center around organizational culture change. For minple, it city that wants engaged employees will have an organizational erhure that gms employ- ees the tools they need to do their jobs, promotes Positive co-Wd= and allows each employee to do what they do best UnSort unaWy, most cities have limited budgets and limited stn$ which means limited fieodbility in the approach to staffing, equipment, and employee social time. So, where can your city have an impact on employee engagement even if you don't have the resources of a Fortune SOD company? How can you Ne employee engagement part of your workplace .cure without adding a lot of cost and effort? Let's look at a continuum of no- and low-cost to moderate -cost options for your city to consider. ._.. 7 On the no- and low-cost front, consider what two Minnesota cities that are members of the Alliance for Innovation have aceomplishe,d. The Alliance for Innovation is an association that partners with 1CMA and Arizona State Uniyadty to encourage innovation and change the way local government performs. The Alliance has inspired both cities to aramine how they conduct business and develop ways to improve employee engagement Mankato initiatives The City of Mankato foamed a group called `Pales." The pulse group mission is to enhance the relationship between the organiza- tion and its employees through employee engagement and building cross -departmental teaals to address organizational problems. To date the pulse group has been responsible for coordi- nating quarterly employee events, including a rotating sum- mer recognition event hosted by a different department each year. Last year's event included a mini -golf theme, where each department was challenged with creating its own hole, and employees were asked to volunteer and state why they loved working for the City of Mankato. City leaders were pleased to see that it wasd't hard to get volunteers—marry employees were happy to do itd The Pulse also recently formed a cross -functional team to improve the application proom for organizers that want to host activities, such as a SK run/walk. in the city. Future teams will develop a volunteer recognition event and evaluate how to improve customer service requests. The Mankato approach has the dual advantage of not only providing engagement ideas and events, but using the employee group itself to design those events, which increases awareness, buy -in, and attendance. In addition to Pulse, Mankato also has a program called `Infuse for new city employees. The program provides detailed training abort the entire organization. to new employees understand the role of each city depart- ment and how staff work together to provide ezcel- 0 lent customer service. For example, the Infuse employees recently went to the Mankato Regional Airport for a learning session. As part of their visit, they toured the airport and leaned about the partnership with Minnesota State University Mankato's dight training program. Richfield programs Another great sample comes from the City of Rich- field. The city has adopted a program called "Hab and Spokes,' which is the descriptor for their 111110VISUM Mw*ato's vifi a pwodpara—a group of new city vWbWft--ent W the Mniaaa 10 1 MAY/JUN 2017 1 MINNESOTA CMES PAgWW Akpoo & aftwa<Wkwtnhg-%Ion 15