Ask Ann

“I’m sure we’re no different than many other agencies but we seem to have a hard time keeping some great employees; the less-than-great always stay. When folks leave we do an exit interview to see what they might like to have seen done in a different manner that might have kept them working for us. This seems a little backward to me but no one here agrees with me. Seems we should ask our folks what they need or value before they leave. Any comments?”

You are so right on several counts. It’s always interesting for me to expect to get any good insight or feedback from an employee that is walking out the door! They usually have either only negative things to say or want to lead you to believe they have plenty to say but you didn’t do anything about it while they were working so why should they bother to tell you about it again! A recent survey of 500 U.S. employees revealed what mattered most to those employees. In order of priority they were: honesty; fairness; trust; respect; dependability; collaboration; genuineness; appreciation; and responsiveness.

Have you considered conducting a “stay” interview? Don’t wait for employees to leave to ask them how things are going. If you use regular “stay” interviews to get feedback, you can compliment high performers, and inspire them to do more. You can use the interviews to gauge how well you are meeting employees’ needs. Ask for their suggestions on what you and the agency can do to improve. Be careful though! Don’t ask questions if you don’t want to hear the answers or plan to use the answers to make a difference. Let’s reward the “good” employees by listening to their comments and building on something positive instead of wallowing in the despair of disgruntled employees on their way out the door.

“OK, now I’ve seen it all! While traveling on vacation over the 4th of July holiday, my friends and I stopped at a restaurant in Michigan to use the facilities. You can’t imagine how shocked I was to have them tell me not to drink and drive! What’s up with this?”

Now that I’ve stopped laughing, I have done some research and found that the Office of Highway Safety Planning in the Detroit area distributed 400 “talking” urinal cakes to bars and restaurants in an effort to keep drunk drivers off the roads on what is historically one of the worst days of the year for drunk driving. The blocks are motion activated so that when someone steps near one, they hear: “Listen up. That’s right. I’m talking to you. Had a few drinks? Maybe a few too many? Then do yourself and everyone else a favor by calling a sober friend or a cab. Oh, and don’t forget to wash your hands.” Printed on the cakes themselves are the words “Call a Ride. Get Home Safe” to visually reinforce the message. I understand the cakes cost $21 apiece and last for three months. Waste of money? Hard to tell until the statistics are in but Michigan didn’t lose any money because the federal traffic safety funds paid for them. Takes all kinds of methods to get some people’s attention!

“Aside from having a good reason not to have to mow, what are the benefits to planting grasses native to your geographic area?”

There are several benefits. One is that choosing native plants and grasses helps to clear the air. They require less mowing and maintenance, reducing emissions that form ground-level ozone. In many areas, an estimated 8 to 9 percent of the volatile organic compound (VOC) pollution comes from mowers, weed trimmers and other gas-powered lawn and garden equipment. In addition, native plants typically require fewer pesticides, which often contain VOCs, because they are adapted to the local environment. Pesticides also impact water quality as they may run off into storm sewers and pollute nearby streams, lakes and rivers. Native landscaping

enhances property aesthetics, reduces maintenance resources and promotes a quality environment. All good reasons! However, educating your community is a big key in making the program acceptable. Doesn’t matter how much money you save or how you are improving the environment if the plantings look overgrown and ragged and unpleasing to the eye. Inform your residents about what you are doing; how they might do something similar on their own property; and then keep the areas you plant maintained.

“Our Director has told us he plans to retire in the next two years. We have begun thinking about his replacement but are finding that most of the qualified candidates within the organization are planning to do the same thing within five years. It seems a little late to start planning for succession when succession is here! Any suggestions?”

Your situation is a common one. Employees looking towards retirement are not always interested in taking on more responsibility. Many are not excited about the extra hours on-call or the meetings with the City Council. They enjoy what they are doing now and are gearing down instead of gearing up! And, there’s nothing wrong with that. However, it does leave the department in a quandary in some cases. William Sterling, Retired Public Works Director, Greeley, Colo., found his city in a similar position. After recruiting, internally and externally, with no success, he developed a Mentoring program. He and the City Manager sought an employee with the current ranks and recruited him for the position. Bill has written his experience in an article in the December 2008 APWA Reporter titled “Succession Planning – A Case Study” and you can find it in the December 2008 online issue of the magazine. The process is a good one and the article gives a good plan if you’re interested.

Please address all inquiries to:

Ann Daniels

Director of Credentialing APWA, 2345 Grand Blvd., Suite 700 Kansas City, MO 64108-2625 Fax questions to: (816) 472-1610 E-mail: adaniels@apwa.net