Administration & Workforce We mean business by emphasizing customer service and workplace excellence to audiences internally and externally! Performance Excellence
with a team of 40 employees and supervisors.
The City’s Performance Excellence program is guided by the organization’s Five Year Business Plan: 20132018. The focus is on customers, workforce, ability to deliver quality services, internal and external communication, and fiscal accountability. Department directorled teams consisting of multidisciplinary employees implement action plans developed to help us improve in each of the five areas of focus. We have begun to measure the results of our efforts, which are monitored by the City’s Management Team on a quarterly basis. In July 2014, department directors gathered with external stakeholders to ensure the direction of the business plan was meeting customer expectations. The City Council received its first progress report in September of 2014 and discussed objectives to address strategic challenges as well as some of our performance results. Among the most significant initiatives accomplished in 2014: • Delivery of Services team developed a strategic planning guide to help departments start this process. • Communications team launched an enhanced intranet site, known as LS Connect. Besides a new look, the site has scrolling headlines, a classified ads page for employees to post items, a Kudos/Recognition page to honor co-workers and more. The team also created “In the News” a weekly, electronic organizational newsletter, and “In the News Highlights” a publication sent to supervisors on Mondays. • Financial Accountability team began developing needed financial policies • Customer Focus team researched ways in which to build relationships with customers. • Workforce team focused on developing an employee engagement strategy
A follow up employee survey to measure results of efforts to enhance our work environment was conducted and the results are shown in the graphic. Progress has been made and there is still opportunity for continual improvement. In 2015, employees will be assisting in developing ways to address further improvements. Workforce In May, department directors began the citywide Core Values program education to all employees. The City’s organizational Core Values are Accountability, Communication, Trustworthiness, Engaged, Professional, Customer FocusDriven, and Collaborative (ACT EPICC). These values ensure the mission of the City is achieved, through our decisions, actions and behaviors. The Administration and Human Resources departments worked with an employee benefits service provider to offer for the first time to employees a temporary, one-time, Voluntary Retirement Maximization Program (VRMP) or Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA). The program was established to help employees better prepare for postretirement healthcare costs. The VRMP provides a dedicated source to help fund the participant’s eligible medical expenses, maximizes their retirement leave payout benefit, and provides additional resources for retirement planning. Participants can use their contributions to pay for healthcare costs including insurance premiums. The contributions to and interest earned on these funds in the VEBA are tax free. The program kicked – off with eligible employees attending an informational session in August. Enrollment began that month and concluded mid September. In an effort to help those individuals choosing to retire transition out of the workforce or into a new profession, the City offered the “Explore Your Future” workshop. Through the workshop, participants’ focused on their personal values, interests and abilities to ensure their work or volunteer efforts are accomplished in line with their passion. The City was able to offer the program through a partnership with Truman Heartland Community Foundation and Shepard Center.
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