A new study led by UKG, Polco, and Barrett & Greene tested the hypothesis that more effective human capital processes in municipalities leads to better outcomes for residents. We surveyed HR leaders in municipalities across the U.S. and paired their responses with results from The National Community Survey™, which captures resident opinions on government performance and quality of life.
We found there were five HR practices in municipal government which were closely tied to positive resident perceptions of local government performance and community livability:
- Employee Performance Management: The strongest and most consistent link across all outcomes.
- HR Staff Capability: Significant across all four resident outcomes.
- Employee Wellbeing: Strongly tied to higher resident ratings.
- Recruiting & Hiring: Linked to better customer service, quality of services, and quality of life.
- Compensation & Benefits: Connected to stronger perceptions of service quality.
For context and a deeper understanding of the findings, Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene interviewed HR Directors and other officials from the municipalities that had both the highest scores for HR operations and the highest resident ratings on The NCS. The HR directors they interviewed cited a series of challenges: recruiting, hiring and retention; strained budgets; private sector competition; changing employee values; and the ongoing puzzle of dealing with a multigenerational workforce.
Unlike their colleagues in disciplines like economic development, HR typically isn’t involved in ribbon cuttings or other public celebrations. In fact, HR’s good work is rarely given enough praise, including from elected officials. As one director put it, “HR is mostly thought of as a back office operation and when it gets public attention, it’s mostly when there’s a bad outcome.” That is why this research should provide HR departments with a greater sense of achievement. When public sector organizations develop effective human resource practices, the payoff is a heightened sense of resident confidence in government and quality of life. As Cheryl Jones, HR Director for Winter Garden, Florida, said, “The HR team is all about service and we provide that service to the employees, so they feel cared for, and it flows from them to the residents.”
The leaders in high-performing HR departments that were interviewed described what they are doing to achieve the high HR scores our study showed correlate with high levels of resident satisfaction. Based on these interviews, the report includes 42 recommendations in these 5 areas that local governments should consider. A few of these recommendations included:
Employee Performance Management
- Make sure supervisors provide frequent feedback about job performance, regardless of the formal performance appraisal schedule, and ensure that supervisors have the training to effectively provide feedback and conduct performance appraisals.
- Ensure that performance discussions include how supervisors can help employees achieve their goals.
- Where possible, tie employee goals to governmentwide strategic plans and specific department goals, but limit the number of goals for individual employees to avoid confusing priorities or overwhelming employees.
HR Capability
- Assess HR staff competencies to ensure a mix of skills and strengths.
- Select new HR staff members who will build core department strength. Focus not just on professional skills, but on softer personality elements that combine to build a team that “is open and can work well with others.”
- Use onboarding to reinforce HR department – and organization – culture and values.
Employee Well-Being
- Encourage wellbeing through wellness initiatives, including medical appointments that support preventative health measures, promote physical exercise, and reduce employer costs.
- Consider innovative, alternative, and low-cost ways of promoting wellness and exercise such as fitness challenges.
- Offer financial literacy and education programs to encourage savings, build knowledge of retirement programs, help employees reduce debt, and address other potential financial concerns.
Recruitment and Hiring
- “Sell the sizzle,” marketing the full value of employment, including not just salary, but other factors such as culture and values, benefits, wellness programs, and the sense of purpose from providing essential services to residents.
- Consider internship and cadet programs to help build the next cadre of employees.
- Visit middle and high schools to spread knowledge about career opportunities and generate early interest in public service careers.
- For hard-to-fill jobs, eliminate unnecessary qualifications and train on the job.
Compensation and Benefits
- Conduct regular market surveys to compare pay and benefits against competitors while also considering differential factors such as location, tax base and housing affordability when assessing survey results.
- Calculate and communicate to employees the value of total compensation that includes both salary and benefits.
- Adjust current employee pay to avoid salary compression when increasing starting pay for job candidates.
Our research demonstrated that investing in human resources can have a real payoff, including in residents’ positive sentiments about local governments.
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Learn how your employees view your implementation of these 5 HR practices (and more!) by conducting The National Employee Survey™.