People Strategy 2022

Message from the CAO –People Strategy

People are the key to our success, our staff and our customers. We need to have the right roles and resources in place to deliver the highest standard of municipal services to the residents of Kawartha Lakes. It is as simple as that.

No matter what your role is or where you work in the municipality, you play an important part in making Kawartha Lakes a great place to work and live. Supporting the thriving and growing communities within our healthy and natural environment would not be possible without each of your personal contributions.

The pandemic presented countless challenges across our organization and we are still feeling the affects of it, but together we continue to push through and are coming out stronger on the other side. We have started to create more innovative and agile ways to work and you will see that reflected in our strategies. Building on our momentum, the People Strategy will serve as a further guide to help empower you and enable our workforce to grow with the needs of the community.

While a lot has changed, a lot is still the same. Our foundation of core services, our mission as an organization and our vision for a better Kawartha Lakes remains priority. As municipal staff our core values continue to sustain all that we do: Accountability, Teamwork and Respect.

Thank you all for your feedback towards informing our People Strategy and the strategic decisions we make going forward. As we continue to grow there will be even more opportunities to participate and get involved, so stay tuned.

Sincerely,

Ron Taylor, CAO, City of Kawartha Lakes

Message from the Chief People Officer (CPO) – People Strategy

A People Strategy is a critical planning tool for an organization, as it lays out a framework for prioritizing the cycle of improvements that need to occur. As you can appreciate, change is constant and a process or approach that we applied even just a few years ago may no longer be the best approach. The People Strategy, which was developed by a team of employees, asks that we focus our efforts on five key areas – Culture, Learning and Development, Leadership, Attraction and Recruitment and Business Partner model.

The guiding principle of the People Strategy was created by feedback from employees. You told us that the statement, “We are dedicated to a collaborative, supportive, inclusive work environment that demonstrates and respects the value each employee brings to our team”, represents who we are. You demonstrate this principle every day and we are so appreciative of this.

The People Services team members at Kawartha Lakes represent a group of professionals who desire to support the delivery of a positive employment experience for all individuals. We believe in the values outlined in the Employee Code of Conduct of Accountability, Respect and Teamwork. We also believe in partnerships, collaboration and learning from feedback.

The portfolio of employee related programs overseen by People Services includes more than 30 areas of focus to be researched, developed, communicated, maintained and evaluated. By increasing our investment in resources through the People Services team structure in 2022, we are better positioned to provide the necessary programs and supports to achieve the priorities included in this strategy. We are very excited to begin working on the priorities with you.

Every individual employee at Kawartha Lakes is a valuable contributor to achieving our strategic objectives. That contribution is demonstrated by each of you every day when you show up and work with the intent of providing your personal best efforts. Please know that your contribution is noticed and appreciated.

Sincerely,

Liana Patterson

Benefits of a People Strategy

Why a People Strategy?

People strategies focus on building relationships between organizations and employees. The benefits of employee focused plans and programs include:

• Improving the employee experience

• Nurturing respectful communication

• Establishing a feedback culture

• Enabling employee growth

• Fostering inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA)

• Responding to workforce needs

With a renewed strategic focus, the People Services Team is supporting a positive employment experience for all individuals and rolling out programs to further our values of Accountability, Respect and Teamwork through partnerships and collaboration.

Vision

Thriving and growing communities within a healthy and natural environment.

Mission

To deliver the highest standard of municipal services while creating a healthy and sustainable future for all Kawartha Lakes residents and businesses.

People Services’ Strategic Framework People Strategy

Vision Thriving and growing communities within a healthy and natural environment.

Mission

To deliver the highest standard of municipal services while creating a healthy and sustainable future for all Kawartha Lakes residents and businesses.

Guiding Principles

We are dedicated to a collaborative, supportive, inclusive work environment that demonstrates and respects the value each employee brings to our team.

Strategic Priorities

Culture Focused

Leader Excellence

People Attraction and Retention

People Development

Promoting Partnerships

Values

Accountability

Good Government

Respect

Teamwork

For more information on People Services and Programs, please visit the Employee Website at employeewebsite.kawarthalakes.ca

The People Strategy Priorities Defined

Culture Focused

Foster a collaborative approach throughout the organization that exemplifies the corporate values and objectives in the interactions of staff.

• Create a framework that guides how and when collaboration will happen

• Identify options for collaborative communication channels

Leader Excellence

Equip leaders with the skills and resources to enable an exceptional workplace.

• Develop a competency-based leadership program that satisfies organizational and employee needs

• Develop ongoing supports and learning for all leaders

People Attraction and Retention

Facilitate the attraction, retention and advancement of people to meet the needs of the organization.

• Enhance recruitment practices

• Evaluate methods to improve employee retention

• Establish plans for the future

People Development

Create a culture of continuous and effective people development to support the ability to achieve individual, team and corporate goals/results.

• Considering current and future needs, create a people development philosophy for the organization

• Establish and implement a learning and development program

Promoting Partnerships

Develop and utilize partnerships to proactively address organizational opportunities and plan for the future.

• Using best practices and a strategic foundation, develop a partnership framework to connect People Services with department leaders

• Align roles and responsibilities with partnership framework

People Services and Programs

People Strategy Programs and Policies

Organizational Design Change Management

Culture Wellbeing

Recruitment/ Acquisition

Employer Brand

Workforce Planning Internal Mobility

Business Partnership

Analytics

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility

Candidate Sourcing

Succession Planning

Total Rewards Strategy Recognition Programs Benefits

Learning and Development Planning Instructional Design

Learning Delivery

Employee Communication Payroll Health and Safety

Employee Relations

Labour Relations Absence Management

HR technology Metrics and Reporting

Employee Engagement

Candidate Selection

Performance Management

Employee Compensation

Compliance Training

For more information about the People Strategy, visit our website: employeewebsite.kawarthalakes.ca or email:

humanresources@kawarthalakes.ca

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@CityofKawarthaLakes