Impact/Effort Matrix
Low Impact, Low Effort
HIGH
Summer Ambassador Program $
Last Mile Public Transportation $$
High Impact, High Effort Employee Plus One Insurance $$$
HIGH Needham School Eligibility $
LOW
IMPACT
Low Impact, High Effort LOW
Housing Assistance $$$$
Paid Family Leave / Parental Leave $$
Childcare Assistance $$$
PTO vs. Buckets $
Front Load Benefits $
High Impact, Low Effort
QR Codes on Truck for Recruiting $
No Civil Service or Residence Requirements $
EFFORT • Front-loaded benefits. This additional type of benefit may help attract top talent that is currently happily employed elsewhere. Changing jobs is a huge decision once established in a successful career. To make a move to the town of Needham more attractive, a front-loaded bank of PTO should be offered. Introductory or probationary periods that restrict the use of vacation time are quickly becoming a thing of the past as employers show their staff appreciation and trust by providing this benefit as soon as employment begins.
Recommendations The site visit, as well as the focus groups and employee surveys, helped the team determine if Needham has the components to meet standards of being an employer ideally
situated to recruit and retain top talent among its workforce compared with the research of current trends within the public and private sectors. After analysis, these general recommendations were made to guide Needham to more comprehensively address the wants and needs of their employees, as well as position them to attract new ones: 1. Define the mission and role of Needham’s Human Resources Department to position
the department to be more strategic. Shifting from an administrative department to a strategic department will require better employee on-boarding and ongoing communication, as well as organizational development, training, and recognition programs to ensure that employees understand and appreciate
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the programmatic offerings of the HR department and what individual departments are responsible for within those offerings.
2. Study new benefit offerings to include adopting a paid time off (PTO) bank and implementing a short-term disability insurance program, paid paternity leave, and dependent care subsidies. 3. Adjust the town’s compensation philosophy to be more incentive-based to
encourage continuing education, longevity, high performance, and employees participating in recruitment.
4. Explore options to adjust recruitment strategies,
such as encouraging and advertising workplace flexibility; targeted recruitments for veterans, historically underserved
communities, community and technical colleges, and high schoolers; and developing a more robust internship or summer ambassador program. Hiring supervisors need to understand the process and what can be offered to potential employees. Training to help hiring managers think through equity issues when negotiating pay and paid time off will also help address concerns highlighted in the focus groups.
Human Resources The HR department currently functions in a support capacity and the entire organization and community could benefit from them being a more strategic business partner. The current HR team is excellent; however, it is difficult to focus on the bigger picture and