Editor’s Note: Workplaces evolve following pandemic and Great Resignation

Workplaces evolve following pandemic and Great Resignation

Sarah Wright | Editor

Municipal management is not an easy business — even in the best of times when a pandemic is not thrown into the mix. When done well, good management can often be underappreciated, going unremarked, unrewarded. A well-run city does not always catch the notice of residents, who simply enjoy the benefits. It also doesn’t always garner headlines outside association awards. However, when the well-oiled machine glitches, that is when you hear about it from constituents. Missteps — and let’s not forget potholes—become headlines. And that’s not even touching on if a scandal or other ethic violation is uncovered.

Instilling strong ethics and transparency is vital to avoid such missteps, as is cultivating solid supervisory employees. Leadership can sink or float any organization. Good leadership can ensure quality services for residents in addition to innovations; it can also mean retaining quality employees versus losing them. A good manager, after all, will support, value and cultivate talent.

Numerous industries are being impacted by staff shortages, and some are even noting a “Great Resignation,” coined for the record rate at which Americans have quit their jobs in 2020 and 2021. FRED Economic Research offers a graph and data that details this shift, which is available here: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JTSQUR.

Many speculate this Great Resignation will lead to major workplace shifts as workers take power and expect more from their jobs — better pay and benefits, good managers, a nice work/life balance, etc.

Like other industries, municipalities have faced staff shortages. In many cases, these shortages began well before even the pandemic. According to Tucson.com’s article “City of Tucson faces staff shortages, new plan could help,” this was the case for Tucson, Ariz., which is now using a consultant to develop recruitment strategies while assisting city staff in advertising positions. The city has also used pay raises to draw qualified candidates. The article’s writer, Sam Kmack, shares, “(Sharon) McDonough (interim director of the Public Safety Communications Department) credits the pay raise for her department’s vacancy rate decrease, which dropped from 45% to 34% in just a few months.”

Each municipality’s path forward will be different, but a competitive edge will be needed to draw qualified candidates.

In Atlantic City, N.J., city officials are developing their supervisory-level employees. Within this issue, writer Beth Anne BrinkCox shares the city’s experiences of sending employees through Certified Public Manager program training and how it is impacting operations.

Also, in this issue, we’ll be exploring a special Sister City relationship between South Berwick, Maine, and Tuskegee, Ala.; how cities are pursuing reparations; Farmington Hills, Mich.’s, outstanding budget practices; and Elmira, N.Y.’s, efforts to enliven its residents’ lives with art.

Until next time, Happy Holidays! And of course, Happy New Year!.

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