Employees want to know their work matters.
A new study led by UKG, Polco, and Barrett & Greene found that there were five HR practices which were closely tied to positive resident perceptions of government, including employee performance management.
To go beyond the statistics, Barrett & Greene conducted interviews with HR managers in ten cities that scored high on both HR effectiveness and resident outcomes to learn more about what they were doing. One recommendation related to employee performance management that was distilled from these HR leaders’ wisdom was to tie individual employee’s goals to the city’s strategic plan and department goals.
In Goodyear, AZ, HR Director Lyman Locket, his department strongly emphasizes the city’s values and meeting a set of annually established personal goals that link to the citywide strategic plan. This link to the strategic plan is critical, with the number of goals for each employee carefully limited. “In the past, we may have had 10 or 12 goals for people to complete throughout the year. Now, no one has more than three goals because if you have too many goals, you’re not going to be able to really focus on them,” Locket said.
Based on the track record of a successful police cadet program, Winter Garden has started a similar effort that involves paying fire academy students while they obtain the education and certification they need to become firefighters. “That’s a big commitment because it’s a long time before they are through with the program and come on board. That’s how seriously we take this,” said HR Director Cheryl Jones.
The city’s five-person HR staff has one employee who recruits almost full time, partnering with department heads on strategies that generate candidates and then screening applicants for minimum qualifications, with an emphasis placed on character.
The city relies on behaviorally oriented interviews to select candidates whose attitudes fit the city’s mission, vision, and core values. “We want people who are interested in the city and who have educated themselves on the city and really want to be part of who we are,” she said. “We ask them specific questions about what they’re looking for in their work environment from a supervisor; what their expectations are. We get a better understanding of who they are and why we should select them.”
As Jones said, “it really boils down to character. Integrity, honesty, collaboration, and teamwork are really significant.”
Polco’s analyses from The National Employee Survey™ have also shown that local government employees who agree that “the mission and vision of the organization make me feel my job is important” report much higher levels of engagement. When employee goals are connected directly to the city’s strategic priorities, staff feel more invested — and residents benefit from better service.
Assess your employees’ engagement and how they view the mission and vision of your organization by conducting The National Employee Survey™. When employees see how their work advances the big picture, engagement rises and outcomes improve.