HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-SPCC-2020-01-15COMMON COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK
Special Meeting 5:30 p.m. January 15, 2020
PRESENT: Acting Mayor Mohlenhoff Alderpersons (8): Brock, McGonigal, Nguyen, Murtagh, Gearhart, Fleming, Kerslick,
Lewis
OTHERS PRESENT: City Clerk – Conley Holcomb Chief of Staff - Cogan
Human Resources Director – Michell-Nunn
Director of Organizational Development - Moskowitz EXCUSED: Mayor Myrick
Alderperson Smith
SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS: 2.1 Presentation of the City Employee Engagement Survey Results Michelle Ferguson, Novak Consulting Group, joined Council via videoconference.
Human Resource Director Michell-Nunn provided Common Council with the history of
the City’s work with the Novak Group and the work that was completed during the 2019 Growth Initiative and the Employee Engagement Survey. She explained that a multi-disciplinary team of city employees was formed to develop the survey. The survey was confidential and realized a 78% response rate - 314 out of 405 employees participated.
Ms. Ferguson reviewed the employee demographic information and provided Council with an overview of the survey:
The survey included 62 positive statements with the options to strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree. The questions were focused on the
following categories:
o Overall Work Environment
o Employee Engagement o Management o Communication
o Accountability
o Professional Development
o Compensation o Customer Service/Public Interaction
There were 6 open ended questions for employees to complete narrative answers. The key themes of the survey were:
Customer Service – the City scored 93% showing that a majority of employees
feel that the city does a good job of interacting with and serving the public.
Diversity and Inclusion – the City scored 90% showing that employees believe that their work environment and management staff are conscious of diversity/inclusion and avoid discriminatory language.
Empowered to use independent judgement – the City scored 91% showing that
employees agree they can exercise judgment and initiative in the workplace.
Opportunities exist to improve accountability and communication – the City scored 64% and 61% respectively showing that employees feel there is a need to improve accountability and communication in the workforce.
Disconnect between City staff and City leadership – this showed opportunities to
improve trust between the workforce and the Mayor and Common Council.
Employee experiences vary based on Department – there was a 23% gap in overall agreement between the Finance Department (87%) and Streets & Facilities (64%).
January 15, 2020
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Based on the survey results, the consultant recommends the following become the City’s key focus areas:
Work Environment
o Enhance accountability at all levels of the organization
o Invest in improvements to City infrastructure and facilities
Communication o Improve communication and relationships between City leaders,
managers, and staff
Professional Development
o Create professional development and advancement opportunities
Compensation o Address compensation concerns
Acting Mayor Mohlenhoff stated that she and Human Resources Director Michell-Nunn would be providing quarterly reports to the City Administration Committee on the progress of the employee implementation teams that are being formed to work on the key focus areas.
Discussion followed on the floor regarding ways to increase the level of trust between employees and Common Council. Acting Mayor Mohlenhoff thanked Ms. Ferguson and the Novak Consulting Group for
the presentation and their work on the survey.
ADJOURNMENT: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m.
______________________________ _______________________________ Julie Conley Holcomb, CMC Svante L. Myrick City Clerk Mayor