Cohesive Organizational Communication: Tri-City Mental Health Authority

Team TCMHA is comprised of five members who represent different departments within the agency. Each person contributed their time, effort, and experience to participating in this Claremont Lincoln University Vibrant Communities Teams Program. Each member assumed and rotated roles of lead, scribe, logistics, researcher, and evaluator throughout the life of the project.

Kevin Gong

Accountant

Mary Monzon

Housing Manager

Lisa Naranjo

Program Supervisor

Erin Sapinoso

Grants Manager

Nyla Thompson

Human Resources Analyst

1

Tri-City Mental Health Authority (TCMHA) looks to be experiencing organizational fragmentation 1. Staff are separated from each other physically and departmentally. Information and knowledge are disorganized or missing. There is disconnect between what is going on in each of and across departments and staff member support of each other. Scattered, inconsistent, or lack of information contributes to separation rather than unity. Lack of understanding of why certain agency changes are being implemented can lead to skepticism of those changes being introduced rather than openness or empathy and a desire to be part of the solution.

Inconsistent or missing information to staff results in confusion and staff members feeling out of the loop, uncertain, or uninformed about new/updated procedures. Miscommunication can lead to staff coming to their own conclusions that could lead to further confusion. Resulting feelings of confusion, frustration, or discouragement from this kind of miscommunication or lack of communication can lead to low morale, gossip, and unproductive work. This kind of organizational fragmentation impacts the work and corresponding services that are delivered to clients and residents. Furthermore, incoming or newly hired staff who hear gossip or inconsistent information can believe what they hear as truth. They may not know what to think of the varying information and potentially leave to avoid working in an environment characterized by negative talk or inconsistency.

Conklin, E.J. (2006).

Executive Summary (continued)

Improving Internal Communication

TCMHA stands at a pivotal moment with several undefined changes on the horizon that offer an opportunity to transform how staff work together as a united agency. Areas that have been identified as key for agency improvement are internal communication and collaboration. TCMHA’s organizational fragmentation increased by physical separation across multiple buildings creates barriers that hinder the flow of information. Without clear and timely updates, staff often find themselves in the dark, which leads to confusion, speculation, and, at times, feelings of exclusion. A critical opportunity for improvement lies in communication from leadership. Clear, consistent, and transparent updates are essential to ensuring that all staff members feel informed and aligned with the agency’s mission and direction toward its goals. Currently, inconsistent or lack of regular communication from leadership contributes to a sense of uncertainty and disconnection among staff Without knowing what is happening or where things are headed, it becomes difficult for employees to fully engage in their roles, which can lead to a general sense of being out of the loop and confusion about responsibilities.

Executive Summary (continued)

Recommended Solution

To begin addressing the problem of organizational fragmentation, changes in agency communication are necessary. Priority actions include:

Increasing frequency that leadership communicates with staff from sporadically to monthly.

Instituting regular agency-wide emails from executive team/leadership that cover agency changes and updates to policies and procedures.

Facilitating more all-staff meetings from annually to quarterly. This structured approach ensures that changes are communicated effectively and in a timely manner, Regular leadership updates via emails or meetings will reduce feelings of uncertainty and reinforce trust in leadership and the direction the agency is heading.

The

Solution’s Value

The key to overcoming the challenge of organizational fragmentation lies in improving the way information is shared across the agency. Clear, transparent, and timely communication about updates, procedures, and best practices is critical to ensuring that every employee is equipped to perform their role effectively. Additionally, providing regular, structured opportunities for staff to connect with one another will help to bridge the physical divide between staff at different office buildings and foster a sense of unity. Improved communication creates a cohesive work environment, increases productivity, and boosts employee morale. This, in turn, can contribute to effective program operation and service delivery to the local community and potentially reduce staff turnover.

To support staff in navigating upcoming changes and to maintain a high standard of service to the community, it is essential that communication gaps are addressed head-on. By ensuring that information is shared consistently and effectively, silos can be broken down and strong cross-team collaboration can be built.

By providing frequent and transparent updates on organizational changes and the broader vision, leadership can bridge this communication gap. When staff are kept in the know, they feel more connected to the agency’s mission and understand their roles more clearly. This clarity fosters greater confidence, reduces frustration, and creates an environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute toward achieving the agency's goals.

An inconsistent flow of information contributes to inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Through utilization of standardized communication tools and practices such as regular emails or centralized newsletters, frequent all-staff meetings, or shared digital information platforms every team member can have access to the same information, thus reducing confusion and empowering staff to work more effectively and efficiently.

“Communicate downward to subordinates you communicate upward to superiors.”

The TCMHA team began by reviewing already existing data to determine the validity of the team’s initial theory of organizational fragmentation as the agency’s “wicked problem.” Sources of secondary data include results from previous surveys (e.g., exit survey and strategic plan survey) that staff completed and reviews that current and/or former employees completed online (e.g., via Glassdoor). This information is used to establish context regarding organizational culture and communication, to identify particular areas to address and track relevant patterns, and to provide an unbiased snapshot of the problem the TCMHA team aims to tackle.

The TCMHA team is also incorporating primary data gathered from a survey disseminated to all current staff. This employee survey includes questions on satisfaction, communication, teamwork, leadership, and structure and processes to solicit feedback, thoughts, and attitudes about working at TCMHA.

The original intention was to conduct interviews with veteran staff (10+ years of service) to identify reasons why they continue to work at TCMHA, issues they have seen over the years, and feelings about their work and leadership. However, given unforeseen delays, interviews are not being conducted. Instead, staff interviews are being included in recommendations for future action.

Once Team TCMHA identified a problem to address, data regarding communication and cohesiveness were needed. Surveying all current employees at the agency provides necessary information to verify and validate the team’s hypothesis (or not). The survey questions touch on communication, leadership, teamwork, and provide space for staff feedback. The survey provides primary data to identify the problem and allows a safe space for staff to reflect, engage, and express their experiences, concerns, and feelings about being part of the agency.

• Audience – The audience selected to be surveyed includes all active full and part-time staff. Staff members collectively are the backbone of the agency and to get an accurate pulse of agency culture and operations, it is fitting to survey all staff.

• Process – The survey is anonymous, comprehensive, and solicits feedback on communication, leadership, teamwork, and future action. To encourage participation, all staff were emailed a link to the survey on Microsoft Forms to fill out at their convenience between the dates of January 14 and January 21, 2024. Staff were able to participate without having to provide any identifiable information; data were collected anonymously and analyzed to identify key areas of focus.

• Expectations – Many staff members look for ways to participate in TCMHA’s mission and growth. This provides an outlet for staff to get involved and be a part of agency operations and transition in agency culture. For staff who might be on the fence, this survey hopefully encouraged them to think about their roles at TCMHA and ways they can be part of change. Because the survey was created for anonymous participation, the expectation was that more staff would complete and answer the questions and do so openly and honestly without the fear of being identified. Survey feedback provides the ability to identify areas to celebrate, build on, and prioritize efforts towards improvement and opportunities for growth.

Methodology (continued)

Online Reviews

Collecting and analyzing online reviews from job sites like Glassdoor provide secondary research data. Gathering and analyzing online reviews avoids data collection challenges² that can arise with primary research methods. and allows for examination of other potential topics affecting the workplace.

Accessing feedback by anonymous current and/or former employees regarding TCMHA allows the opportunity to obtain insights about staff experiences at the agency. Staff reactions offer a preliminary understanding of what may be occurring (or not) within the agency and how the agency is operating.

The responses left on these online boards help to create background and context in which this project is working and help to establish which areas to focus on for the agency to address. The ratings and comments provided via these sites span various topics and give the Lincoln Vibrant Communities team an opportunity to pinpoint issues (e.g., communication) that this project and subsequently the agency’s executive team can attempt to address and improve.

• Why Exit Interviews: Exit interviews can be a useful tool for companies to gain insight from former employees. They produce information that can be used to improve retention, to learn about certain supervisors'/managers' leadership styles, and to address concerns that are brought up. An exit interview provides the opportunity to let the leaving employee know that their input is valuable and can help the agency’s future.

• Process: An exit interview is conducted on the last day of employment of a departing staff member. The interview is conducted by Human Resources staff and not by the employee’s direct supervisor. The hope is that this scenario allows the former employee to feel comfortable enough to be open and honest and disclose any concerns. Collected interview data can be reviewed and shared with the executive team as necessary to address any raised issues.

• Expectations: The aim of exit interviews is to obtain useful and descriptive feedback on a departing employee’s time with the agency (e.g., what they like the most about their job/agency, things the agency can improve to retain employees, or issues to address).

Survey Results

Tri-City Mental Health Authority Employee Survey

To obtain primary data and gauge employee perspective on communication, organizational practices, leadership, and teamwork, the “CLU LVC”, team administered a survey through Microsoft Forms to all TCMHA staff members (205) who could complete it anonymously. The response period lasted one week from Tuesday, January 14-Tuesday, January 21, 2025.

The response rate was about 38% with 81 out of 213 individuals who completed the survey.

The communication regarding agency goals and objectives is clear.

I feel the communication tools [e.g. email messaging apps, meetings etc.] used are effective .

I'm satisfied with the frequency of communication from leadership.

Team

Team

My opinions and contributions are valued within the team.

Team goals are clearly defined and shared to all members.

I feel comfortable sharing ideas or concerns with my manager, supervisor, or team.

Leadership listens to employees and takes their feedback into account when making decisions.

You feel respected and valued by the leadership team.

Do you understand the agency's mission and how your role contributes to it?

Do you feel your work aligns with the agency's mission and values?

Are your responsibilities and performance expectations clear?

No Not sure

Do you receive support from your supervisor and/or colleagues to complete your work?

Do you have the tools and resources needed to perform your job well?

How

Date

Comments

January 3, 2025 Great starting point

Pros

Great pay/ flexible schedule with time off

October 20, 2024 Good Pay Bad Upper Management

The base team i work with is very good. All great therapists and supervisors are awesome.

Cons

Overloaded caseload with too much emphasis on productivity then actual client care

Past the manager role i feel things deteriorate. There is a "take care of yourself" model but it gets increasingly difficult to put in for vacation time or similar especially when burning out.

Advice to management

July 8, 2024

Great Starting Point

This is a great non-profit for those wanting to work in community mental health. It is a great place to get your foot in the door and gain valuable mental health experience and training. Room for professional growth and job satisfaction can be a great pro for Tri-City MHS.

All the pay is comparably low to other job opportunities, but I do believe it is compensated with the experience and guidance you receive. Another great point is to keep in mind there is a time in which you may need to move on and expand your professional growth.

Understand and speak to employees more. Just because you did something in the past does not mean you should expect that of others in the future. There's a difference between above average and trying to squeeze every last drop of productivity out of your employees who then harm relationships with clients. Staying here long term is a rarity because of this pressure.

More school internship opportunities.

November 4, 2023 Flexible

October 30, 2023 Management Support

May 6, 2023 Great Employer

Great benefits flexible schedule that fits your needs.

If you get involved with management, don't be afraid to ask questions. You will get the support you need. Don't sit back and wait.

Great Management and Supervisors. Everyone is positive and caring

Long work hours. High caseload

Too many meetings at times.

Lower Paying. Late work hours.

Date

November 2, 2022 Good

October 3, 2022 Great intentions

May 11, 2022 Good people but consistently overworked.

Steady work decent benefits easy commute

Lower caseload, multiple supervisors available for support

Great people to work with. Gratifying work to help the community.

Top down management made it hard.

HR is basically unreachable, some supervisors will forget about you

Poor leadership from executive to middle-management level. Heavy focus on billing. Constant changes that are WILDLY counterproductive.

Management disregards real-time intel from staff. Pay seems to be high upon starting but then you realize HOW MANY tasks they have you do. Heavy burnout and high turnover rate.

Decide what you want to be and stick to it.

December 10, 2021 Wonderful mission and growth opportunities

Management cares about growth opportunities

October 29, 2021 Little balance

July 23, 2021 Okay

People I worked with; Supervision offered

Amazing supervisor, great coworkers, good benefits

Nothing too bad to indicate. The usual low to mid-level concerns that come with working in a nonprofit organization. Yet the management cares about you.

Too many meetings; Too high of an expectation for productivity

The pay , the stress, difficult clients

Date Comments Pros Cons Advice to management

July 20, 2021 RUN! Don’t apply! I had great coworkers! They made the place better.

MANAGEMENT! They are the absolute worst. Starts with CEO or whatever she is and trickles down to all her managers. They are rude and careless. They don’t think anything is wrong, when everything is wrong with the company. They can’t hire, let alone keep staff. They have placed GIANT “we are hiring” signs outside of all their buildings because they are DESPERATE! No one wants to work there and for good reason. Don’t even waste your time applying. It’s TOXIC.

January 12, 2021 FSP HAS OPENINGS CONSTANTLY FOR A REASON. DONT FALL FOR IT

all staff had similar grievances in our department that we could lean on each other with and vent about it with

upper management is so oblivious to how poorly they treat everyone and couldn’t care less. it’s not worth the paycheck. my mental health plummeted when i was working here. eff this place. unreasonable expectations for hours when you have to spend most of your week caring about one to two clients per your supervisors.

Date Comments Pros Cons Advice

April 26, 2020 STAY AWAY! The only thing positive were my supportive co-workers.

Pretty much everything. The CEO and manager are best friends, so it is their word against everyone else. Admin/ Management are not supportive and will run you to the ground. They only care about themselves and not their employees. Unrealistic billing expectations. Lack of support and self-care. Unable to express your concerns without them making you feel bad. There is a lot of turn over and even then, management won't change or do something to keep their good employees. They did nothing to keep me around.

January 2024-February 2024

How Long at TCMHA (total respondents n=18)

January 2024-February 2024

Factors in Decision to Leave (Total respondents,

n=18)

Factors in Decision to Leave TCMHA

January 2024-February 2024

Liked Best about Working at TCMHA (Total respondents, n=18)

Helping Clients/Participants Professional Development Relationship with Supervisor Salary Benefits Seeing the Professional Growth of my Team

Liked Best about Working at TCMHA (Total respondents, n=18)

Vision and Goals

1. Increased communication across agency

Team TCMHA started the project with a hypothesis that the agency has poor communication practices and from that, staff are disconnected from what is occurring, are misinformed about agency-wide changes, or receive no information. Because of the various programs, departments, and locations within the agency, providing consistent information is a challenge. If information is shared, it is sometimes unclear and left open for interpretation, which has resulted in confusion and frustration and could potentially lead to dangerous situations.

Feedback from the Employee Survey makes it clear that communication is a challenge and an area many staff members feel needs to be improved. Recommended action steps particularly address cross-departmental communication, communication regarding agency goals and objectives, and frequency of communication from leadership. The goal is to create effective means of communication through continued assessment, evaluation, and appropriate action.

GOAL: Create effective means of communication.

Priorities:

Increase frequency that leadership communicates with staff from sporadically to monthly.

Institute regular agency-wide emails from executive team/leadership that cover agency changes and updates to policies and procedures. Facilitate more all-staff meetings from annually to quarterly.

Explore potential tools, resources, and technology to enhance communication across departments.

Encourage buy-in and support from upper management and staff to utilize selected forms of communication. Call on staff to participate in discussion on how to continue assessing the effectiveness of the communication across the agency.

2. Culture of cohesiveness that unites staff

With this understanding that communication is a challenge within the agency, this obstacle also leads to organizational fragmentation. If staff are unaware of what each other and their programs are doing, this ignorance contributes to continual operation in silos and leads to missed opportunities for collaboration and optimal services to clients, participants, and community members TCMHA is meant to serve.

Without a system or space for staff across departments to engage, collaborate, identify and work toward shared goals that optimize program success, TCMHA works harder not smarter. The goal is to create time and space to develop teamwork, collaboration, and build cohesiveness.

GOAL: Provide time and space for staff to engage and connect

Priorities:

• Invite staff to participate in a committee that collaborates on ways to engage all agency employees.

• Plan, organize, and host staff meetings, events, and activities that provide agency updates and a space to connect with colleagues.

• Facilitate more all-staff meetings from annually to quarterly.

• Interview staff or conduct focus groups of different categories (e.g., long-term staff) to learn reasons people continue their employment at TCMHA.

3. A workplace where employees feel valued, supported, and motivated to grow

Organizational fragmentation that stems from poor communication, misaligned goals, and siloed operations can contribute to employee turnover and poor productivity. Results from the exit survey and feedback from the employee survey illustrate these situations.

A positive work environment that includes competitive salary and benefits, opportunities for growth, and a spirit of teamwork and collaboration supports work productivity, staff retention, and attracts quality talent .

GOAL: Increase employee retention and reduce turnover

Priorities:

• Review current incentives and areas (including salary) where TCMHA can stay competitive with the current market.

• Review current benefit options that may help support work-life balance.

• Continue administering employee surveys and take corresponding actions on provided feedback.

• Continue to review exit interviews and assess reasons for separation to implement improvements.

• Improve career development and growth opportunities.

• Explore creating new positions such as a Communications Manager or Efficiency Coordinator.

Executive leadership:

• Develop an effective communications plan that delivers necessary information effectively and efficiently for all staff, fosters employee engagement, and provides a unified platform for interaction.

• Send out a monthly update or report that includes a summary of board and commission meetings to all staff.

• Establish a dedicated team or committee to ensure the successful implementation of initiatives based on survey results that align with outlined goals.

• Create a staff position to oversee agency communication that includes public news and notices (e.g., newsletters) for the community as well as internal information dissemination and messaging.

The vision, goals, priorities, and actions described in this plan are collectively a place to start. Working to solve organizational fragmentation and create cohesion are endeavors that require ongoing direction, commitment, and resources.

Enhancing agency communication (from executive leadership to line staff, between departments, and across buildings) can aid in fostering a cohesive organizational culture and supportive workplace. This effort along with providing opportunities for staff engagement and feedback and ensuring employees feel valued can create an environment where staff are motivated to do their work, support their colleagues, and grow with the agency.

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