2002 INNOVATION GRANT RECIPIENT THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO

The NCCIPMA Board of Directors established the NCCIPMA Agency Award for Excellence to recognize the overall quality, accomplishments, and contributions of an agency human resources program that exceeds the normal operation of a good government human resources program.

A maximum of three awards may be given in one year – one in each of the following categories, based on the number of employees covered by your human resources program:

¨      Small agency – under 500 employees
¨      Medium agency – 500 to 1,500 employees
¨      Large agency – over 1,500 employees

The awards will be based on program initiatives, accomplishments, and contributions within a three-year period immediately preceding the nomination. The awards will be presented at the NCCIPMA Spring Conference in March, 2011. Chapter awards may also be submitted to the International IPMA-HR for consideration in their larger award process.

Describe the environment in which the human resources program operates. Address specifically:

¨      Size (i.e., number of employees served)
¨      Types of employees (e.g., clerical, administrative, professional)
¨      Union relations
¨      Budget and human resource constrictions
¨      Relationship to Chief Executive Officer
¨      Whether the program for an operating or central human resources agency

In each of the major functional areas, describe the specific initiatives, accomplishments, and contributions and their results over the past three years. Specifically identify those accomplishments you consider innovative. If the nomination is for a central human resources agency, describe how the accomplishments have benefited the agencies served. If the nomination is for an operating agency, describe how the accomplishments have benefited the management and employees of the agency.

¨      Name of agency
¨      Agency head and title
¨      Agency address
¨      Name, title, and address of person submitting the nomination

Nominations must be received at the address below no later than Friday, February 20, 2011. All nominations will be considered as final entries and are limited in length to a maximum of five pages. Materials will not be returned.

NCCIPMA Awards Committee
c/o Roger Wapner
EBMUD MS 601
375 11^th Street
Oakland CA 94607-4240

OR

Send your nomination via email (with attachments) to rwapner@ebmud.com .

For further information or if you have any questions, please e-mail Roger Wapner at rwapner@ebmud.com or call (510) 287-0380.

the 2009 NCCIPMA Agency Award for Excellence
The awards were presented at the NCCIPMA Spring Conference on March , 2010.

The East Bay Regional Park District is pleased to nominate our innovative and comprehensive new program offering year-round Paid Internship Opportunities to nearly two-dozen high school and college students each year. This program is headed by the District’s Human Resources Manager Susan Gonzales, who reports directly to General Manager Pat O’Brien.

AGENCY OVERVIEW The East Bay Regional Park District is a special district founded in 1934 during the depths of the Great Depression by active citizens concerned about protecting regional open space. Celebrating 75 years in 2009, the District has been a major component of the East Bay’s quality of life index, expanding even during lean times to meet the needs of East Bay residents. Today, the East Bay Regional Park District is the largest regional park agency in the United States operating more than 65 parks, covering over 100,000 acres, and serving more than 2.4 million residents in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. The East Bay Regional Park District is governed by a seven-member board of directors, who are publicly elected to serve four-year terms. Each board member represents a specific geographic area of the Park District.

With a staff size of approximately 650 employees including regular, temporary, and seasonal employees, the District is a full-service public agency with nine divisions: General Manager, Legal/Risk, Public Affairs, Public Safety (Police, Fire, and Aquatics), Land Acquisition, Planning and Stewardship, Management Services, Operations, and Human Resources. Employees in bargaining units are represented by AFSCME Local 2428 and the District’s Police Association.

The District is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities in which we serve. Towards that goal, the District holds an annual public meeting of our Workforce Diversity Committee, comprised of union representatives, management staff, and elected officials to review statistical reports, outreach efforts, accomplishments, and areas needing further development. Diversity is also seen in the wide range of classifications serving the public through clerical positions, field staff, biologists, environmental scientists, professional and technical employees, and supervisors and managers.

PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS As with many public agencies, especially during lean times, there is a significant gap between what we would like to accomplish as compared to what we can accomplish with available resources. Interns help to bridge that gap by providing much needed assistance in areas of “one-time project work.” Acceptable internships are not for routine tasks that are considered ongoing and that would take the place of work done by regular-status, union-represented employees. (Page nine of the enclosed Internships Policies and Procedures Manual provides detail on the differences between acceptable and unacceptable internships.) Along with providing valuable project assistance to the District, interns also bring a contagious enthusiasm to their work unit, fresh ideas, and perhaps most importantly; a strong academic background in the particular internship for which they were selected via a competitive recruitment process.

The District’s Paid Internship Opportunities program expanded from approximately ten annual summer internships in the past, to an additional dozen internships in 2009 and includes spring and fall internships as well. This expansion of our summer internship program created our now year-round program. (Information about the timelines is detailed on the enclosed printout from the Paid Internship Opportunities page of the District’s website.)

Summer internships can be filled with students from any high school, college, trade school or university. Spring and fall internships can be filled with students from our two new partner colleges: San Francisco State University (SFSU) and California State University East Bay (CSUEB). Students from SFSU and CSUEB are eligible to receive academic credit from their schools for their District internship. This new program characteristic added in 2009 represents a great benefit to SFSU or CSUEB students because no longer must they make the difficult choice between paid work and school; they can accomplish both while working on an internship with the East Bay Regional Park District. They receive an hourly wage, academic credit, and an enriching professional experience.

The process for District supervisors and managers requesting an internship is very simple. There are three different open request periods per year with the deadline depending upon whether a spring, summer, or fall intern is requested. Two forms need to be completed and submitted to Human Resources. Thereafter, a screening process is conducted to ensure requested internships meet stated requirements.

Annual funding for this program is allocated in the Human Resources budget at 3.8 FTE, or approximately 21 separate internships at 375 hours maximum for each, with a pay rate in 2009 of $13.53 per hour. Contrasting 3.8 full-time equivalency positions with 21 internships demonstrates the ability to spread a greater amount of resources amongst multiple divisions for maximum agency impact.

Each internship receives Human Resources support from a primary contact, referred to as the Internship Coordinator. Support includes candidate screening and referrals, help with completing requisite paperwork, orientation assistance, performance management, and problem-solving. At the end of each internship, three evaluations are required. The first is an evaluation of the project and experience, to be completed by the intern. The second is an evaluation of the project outcome, to be completed by the project supervisor. The final evaluation is a performance evaluation of the intern, to be completed by the project supervisor.

There is much more information about this comprehensive and innovative program as detailed in the enclosed manual.

IMPACTS and ACCOMPLISHMENTS The Paid Internship Opportunities program makes a significant impact on the central purpose of our specific HR role; to provide high-quality human resources, with great efficiency, at a tremendous value to the agency.

§ Addressing needed, one-time projects that would not otherwise be completed by regular staff.

§ Offering students a paid on-the-job learning experience, relevant to their area of academic study.

§ Continuing the District’s commitment to community service and diversity in the workforce.

§ A total of 21 separate projects were completed agency-wide in six of the nine District divisions.

§ We hired a total of 23 students to complete these projects; two projects had two interns.

§ Of our total interns hired in 2009, 43% are of non-Caucasian ethnicity and 52% are female.

Benefits to the District have been realized by our receiving excellent quality project work completed by highly-motivated students. In many projects, they produce a better product than would have been accomplished otherwise because they are well-connected to current theory and literature and bring valuable academic knowledge to their work. Interns often complete projects that supervisors have been contemplating or planning for some time, but have not had the resources to even begin.

The financial benefit cannot be overstated. At a better than minimum hourly wage, we received hundreds of applications from students all over the country in 2009, including from some of the most prestigious private colleges in the nation. This means that we get to select from an extremely qualified candidate pool, pay a fair wage, and receive an excellent work product.

There are social benefits that cannot be overlooked. The state’s unemployment rate is high with little prospect of changing soon. A recent study conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) showed that what gives new college graduates an edge in the market is experience. Certainly the East Bay Regional Park District’s program provides college students with that opportunity for hands-on experience in a professional organization.

Another beneficial impact to the agency is less immediate, but perhaps greatest of all. As we consistently advertise our year-round Paid Internship Opportunities program and as we consistently select the best qualified students year after year, we are investing into the future. Taking the long term approach, college graduates who have seen our annual recruitment materials over many years may be mindful of the District when contemplating their career path, and those who have served as an East Bay Regional Park District intern, upon graduation may seriously consider us as their employer of choice. Seasonal employees have long been a significant resource from which to hire into regular-status positions. Nearly 50% of the District’s regular-status positions are filled by individuals from our seasonal and temporary workforce. The internship program allows the District to identify and develop talent to fill key positions within the organization, thereby enabling succession planning. We are sewing seeds today in order for tomorrow to bring forth an abundance of highly qualified employment candidates to our agency and into public service for the long term.

As just one example of the caliber of student interns available to contribute to the service of the public, in 2009 Human Resources selected Philip Coffin from San Francisco State University to assist with the development of this very internship program. Mr. Coffin granted permission for us to share his credentials. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California Santa Cruz in Environmental Studies with a minor in Latin American Studies, and he speaks German. He has also been attending classes to earn a double Associate of Arts degree from Laney College (in business administration and landscape horticulture), while also earning his Master of Science degree in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism from SFSU. His non-academic qualifications are equally impressive. The contribution he made to the outcome of this new program cannot be measured. There are perhaps hundreds of thousands of students possessing qualifications similar to that of Mr. Coffin, who are looking for opportunities to intern each year.

SUMMARY The East Bay Regional Park District’s innovative and comprehensive new program offering year-round Paid Internship Opportunities to nearly two-dozen high school and college students each year has been a grand slam, a winning touchdown, the final three-point shot in double overtime, or whatever your favorite competitive analogy. It is a wining strategy for all stakeholders including our agency, our community, those we serve, and for our talented student interns.

Finally, it is with humility that I express my personal belief that public agency employers not only have an obligation to the taxpayers to hire the best qualified individuals to serve them, but also to invest into their communities by helping to create employment opportunities for those needing a chance to gain work experience. Managing this program provides an internal sense of fulfillment as I am so proud of the East Bay Regional Park District’s vision and commitment towards these values.

Sonja Stanchina, IPMA-CP
Human Resources Officer II
East Bay Regional Park District

the 2008 NCCIPMA Agency Award for Excellence
The awards were presented at the NCCIPMA Spring Conference on March 5, 2009.

THE CITY OF LIVERMORE
Department of Human Resources
Holly Brock-Cohn, Human Resources Director

The City of Livermore, California is pleased to nominate our Support Our Staff Program for the NCCIPMA-HR Agency Award for Excellence.

A full-service municipality just short of 500 employees, the City is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and vows to attract, hire and develop a highly diverse, competent and qualified workforce. This commitment is reflected openly in our development of a program to foster such a workforce – a workforce that is truly diverse and inclusive of all differences including developmental and physical differences.

Needless to say that in today’s tough economic times, this is no easy feat. Dwindling fiscal and human capital coupled with increased service demands is a familiar paradox; yet never before have public resources experienced such erosion as today. The “do more with less” expectation is no longer a sufficient means to productive ends in this environment. Today, a new imperative is at hand: “a do better with less” calling which requires public agencies to evaluate their current environment and identify alternative means to meet desirable outcomes more efficiently.

With such a vision, the City of Livermore took an innovative approach by attempting to tackle two seemingly different challenges (improved business efficacy and equal employment opportunity) with the same creative solution – development of the Support Our Staff (S.O.S.) Program. This unique diversification initiative is rooted in management beliefs that increased productivity and efficacy of administrative services can be reached by way of a more broadly diverse workforce. Such a solution relies on inclusion to create and maximize a broader range of workforce talents in order to more productively meet administrative service demands - and so evolved the S.O.S. Program.

THE S.O.S PROGRAM

In partnership with East Bay Innovations (E.B.I.), a non-profit advocacy organization serving people with developmental disabilities throughout Alameda County, the S.O.S. Program was designed to improve core business needs through workforce inclusion and diversity. By purposely employing individuals with developmental disabilities to perform routine, entry-level functions throughout the City, we envisioned increased productivity and effectiveness of administrative services due to a broader pool of talent. Recognizing the potential that this valuable and largely untapped labor market could provide our organization productive and contributing members, the S.O.S. Program was designed with the following two primary purposes in mind:

Develop and maintain a pool of temporary support staff available to flexibly meet the on-going, ever changing routine administrative needs of the City; and

Extend public supported employment opportunities and on-the-job training to individuals with developmental disabilities within the Livermore community.

Through this program the City has directly hired, trained, and currently maintains a pool of temporary employees with developmental disabilities. They each work a set schedule of 20 hours per week on a wide variety of programs and activities throughout the City. Supported employment is a crucial part of the program and a professional job coach provided by E.B.I. is at the worksite at all times that the S.O.S. team provides services and at no cost to the City. The job coach’s role is to assist with assigning, prioritizing, observing, and tracking work assignments, meeting deadlines, instructing and coaching, and quality assurance of services.

While providing supported employment opportunities to individuals with developmental disabilities is a key part of this program, so too is improving administrative services vital to its success. There is no question that in every city department there are routine tasks that all too often are pushed aside when more urgent priorities require attention. Pushing aside less urgent priorities may lead to inaccurate record keeping, untimely distribution of information, and even noncompliance with regulatory requirements. By creating a team specifically dedicated to providing pooled support for routine and as needed tasks and special projects, we are better able to flexibly meet and adapt to the on-going, yet ever changing administrative demands of our City.

The program title reflects the essential reason for this programs’ existence. In nautical terms, S.O.S. is used as a distress signal for help; it too serves this same purpose in Livermore City Hall. However, here a request for S.O.S. support signals a need for additional administrative help beyond what current resources are available. The program name has proven fitting; with a team of three members and a job coach, the SOS team now provides routine support four days a week for five hours a day to most every city department and has proudly not declined any projects nor missed any deadlines since program implementation.

PROGRAM OUTCOMES

Workforce Diversity - Through Equal Employment Opportunity

In the Livermore community, 12% of our population has some form of a disability. According to the National Organization on Disability, 2/3 of this population can and wants to work and yet they still remain underrepresented in our local workforce. Sadly, while the unemployment rate for persons with disabilities in all sectors is high at 70%, the unemployment rate for individuals with developmental disabilities is even higher and can reach as high as 90%.

Despite underrepresentation, public sector employment is of considerable interest to individuals with disabilities, but has been difficult to enter into partially due to the competitive nature of these positions and partially because of the lack of experience of the individuals. Programs created to bridge this gap, such as the Step-Up Program in Alameda County, have been somewhat successful for people with physical disabilities. However, despite a positive track record of contributing to the success of a business, as far as we know, until now no other local government in California has a program specifically designed to provide direct hire, supported employment opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities.

This program was designed to overcome such barriers by providing on-the-job training and work experience to S.O.S. team members in order to better prepare them to meet entry-level job qualifications and improve their competitive testing results in public sector testing processes. Our hope is that by providing on-the-job training opportunities we can expose program participants to public sector employment while enhancing their talents so they are able to successfully compete for public sector employment opportunities on their own merit.

The S.O.S. Program has been largely a success because it is centered on abilities and contributions, rather than on disabilities and obstacles. This program has opened up new opportunities for individuals of all abilities to contribute to the success of our organization and community based on their own strengths and capabilities. Yet creating opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities to participate civically and productively provide local services is only one of the evident positive outcomes of this program.

Workforce Diversity - Through Workforce Development

Another valuable outcome of this program is the further growth and development of our entire workforce as a whole. The supplemental support provided citywide not only helps balance ever shifting routine work priorities, but also provides growth opportunities for journey and advanced administrative staff by freeing them from routine tasks and instead providing them with progressive opportunities to take on more challenging responsibilities. A survey of stakeholders showed that 83% of respondents felt the program enabled them to focus on more critical functions of their job. It has also provided regular opportunities for staff at all levels to work side by side with individuals with a disability which has helped to decrease stereotypes and dispel stigmas associated with employing persons with disabilities.

Even more impressive, however, is the progress of the individual S.O.S. team members and their work productivity and valued contribution to our organization. Below is just a small sample of the breadth and diversity of tasks/assignments for which S.O.S. team members are currently responsible:

Collect, open, sort and deliver mail throughout City H

Inventory and stock office supplies.

Restock and perform light janitorial work in the employee break room, seven conference rooms, three kitchenettes, and the City Council balcony, lobby and library areas.

File and shred confidential materials.

Duplicate, prepare and organize files and packets.

Data-entry in Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook; address look-up using GIS software; researching and verifying data using Windows Internet Explorer.

Stock and fill paper in over 40 printers/copiers/facsimiles daily.

Prepare booklets and bind material (approximately 2600 in one year)

Collate, tri-fold, staple, stuff and label material for public distribution. (approximately 18,200 distributed in one year)

Special Event Support: produce bookmarks, host bags and boxes, and various gifts for City functions (countless produced in one year).

Go-Green Initiatives: battery collection & disposal; and collection for Cartridges for Kids.

The success experienced through the implementation of this program has far exceeded expectations. Since program inception in September 2007, the City of Livermore has hired five individuals with developmental disabilities who combined in the first year worked in excess of 2500 hours bringing proud representation to a group which has been historically underrepresented in the workplace.

Increased Productivity - Through Workforce Diversity

By increasing diversity in our workforce we have managed to increase productivity and thus maximize cost savings of administrative operations. With a wider range of talent within the organization from which to call, we are now able to use our resources smarter by carving out routine tasks from journey and advanced level positions in the City and assigning such tasks to the S.O.S. Team. In fact, after the first year, it appears there is a financial benefit in continuing our diversification efforts via this effort with an estimated cost savings of up to $20,000 per year. This estimate is based on a cost analysis which compared the costs of the work performed with and without program services over a one year period. Below is a representative sample of the cost savings for general services provided to City Hall as well as three key departments which clearly reflects the financial gain from which this estimate was based.

Department	Costs Without S.O.S. Services	Costs With S.O.S. Services	Cost Savings
City Hall General Services	$16,900	$10,236	$6,664
City Manager	$4,963	$2,858	$2,105
Community Development	$7,064	$4,035	$3,029
Human Resources	$8,681	$3,580	$5,101

Total Savings: $16,899

The S.O.S. Program and the efforts and contributions of the S.O.S. Team are valued by stakeholders, executive and community leaders alike. City Manager Linda Barton extends full support to maximize opportunities for employment for persons with disabilities and views our efforts to further develop a qualified workforce that is truly representative of our community a key City priority. Another example which reflects the value of the program is seen in a note of support from Evan Levy, Financial Services Manager, who wrote about the program:

“On a personal note, I feel a sense of honor knowing that my employer has value for all people and has made a place in our organization for the SOS staff and program. I am touched by the fact that many of our employees know all the SOS staff by name and acknowledge them with warm greetings each day. The SOS staff has become a part of our working community.”

Community and State leaders have also recently recognized our efforts by awarding the City a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate signed by Senator Ellen Corbett for the dedication, service and outstanding leadership shown in our community by implementing the S.O.S. Program.

A program so uniquely modeled that no other like it has been discovered requires a committed organization willing to take risks and see beyond common barriers – one with a vision to foster diversity and the many rewards it offers – one inspired by the contributions that individuals with different abilities can make if only provided the opportunity. The City of Livermore is such an organization which has reaped many benefits through this new commitment to workforce inclusion. Our hope is that through the success of this unique program we will inspire other public employers to follow our lead. Receipt of an award of excellence extended by a reputable professional organization such as NCCIPMA-HR, will only help to further this effort.

City of Livermore
Holly Brock-Cohn, Human Resources Director
1052 South Livermore Ave
Livermore CA 94550-4899
Submitted by: Robin Young, HR Programs Manager

the 2005 NCCIPMA Agency Award for Excellence
The awards were presented at the NCCIPMA Spring Conference on March 16, 2006.

OVERVIEW
EBMUD’s Human Resources Department has spent the last five years preparing to face a critical shortage of skilled workers caused by demographic shifts, including the “Baby Boom Retirement Bubble” and the fact that far fewer young people are in the workforce to replace retiring skilled workers. Through a multi-part strategy of research, education, engagement, teamwork, leadership and HARD WORK we have elevated “Workforce Planning” to the level of an explicitly stated Strategic Goal in EBMUD’s Strategic Plan, and have successfully made the case that this is an issue worthy of organization-wide attention and resource allocation. The immediate fruits of our efforts are three new developmental academies, all launched within the last two years. All were designed to help current employees prepare themselves to be better candidates for the many current and future promotional opportunities. The programs’ success has fostered an overall focus on employees as a vital component of the organization’s infrastructure. This is especially dramatic, as EBMUD is a public sector utility with an engineering and construction culture. Planning for the future has typically focused on water resources and capital construction projects. This, combined with a civil service system that impedes succession planning were significant obstacles to overcome.

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION
Early in the year 2000, HR staff began to educate the organization by making presentations to highlight recently published reports on national and local workforce demographics. Like many public agencies, a large proportion of EBMUD’s employees are Baby Boomers nearing retirement. Combined with the smaller size of Generation X, and the skills deficits in the emerging California labor market, we saw a need to take action. Educating management about important trends was an important first step, and through the efforts of our Recruitment and Classification Manager and Human Resources Information Systems Manager we were able to provide very specific data that described not only job groups where we were vulnerable to large-scale retirements, but also highlight recent recruitments where candidates were few at best, and often not as qualified as we would have hoped. Ongoing communication from the HR Manager with the Senior Management Team kept this issue on the table. By 2002 EBMUD’s annual “Key Initiatives” included a workforce planning goal for the first time, “To be the employer of choice in our market and industry.”

ENGAGEMENT & TEAMWORK
In 2002, HR managers began a collaborative project with Operations and Maintenance Department (OMD) managers to develop a program or programs to address these emerging issues. Facilitated by the Employee Development Manager, this group included the Recruitment and Classification Manager, the Affirmative Action Officer, and HR staff analysts, as well as Division level managers from OMD. Because of the varying stakeholder perspectives, many ideas were proposed and explored. But by focusing on retirement eligibility data, we were able to define the most pressing problem and craft a solution that addressed the highest priority need. The outcome of that nearly two year’s effort is EBMUD’s LEAD Academy, a voluntary training program launched in early 2004 consisting of eight hours of training weekly for 12 weeks, designed to prepare journey-level trades workers to successfully compete for first-line supervisory positions in OMD (see Enclosure 1, LEAD brochure).

The driver for the LEAD Academy is the fact that between 2003 and 2008, about 65% of first line supervisors in operations and maintenance areas reach retirement eligibility. Additionally, first-line supervisors in these areas are typically drawn from internal ranks, as these experienced workers have the requisite technical knowledge of our systems and operations to make them effective. In designing the Academy, we not only identified desirable skills benchmarked on current “star performers,” but also sought to strengthen awareness and skills for the challenges we anticipate in the future.

Other features of the LEAD Academy include an application process, and minimum pre-requisites in the areas of current job performance, English and math skills. Experienced internal Mentors meet regularly with participants, to share valuable real-life experience and perspectives. Classroom learning was supplemented by mandatory readings and homework. Each participant leaves the program with a completed Individual Development Plan to help them continue their learning and development. Additionally, the program is conducted half on paid time and half on personal time. All of these elements were designed collaboratively based on the needs of the operating department, with input from the full range of HR expertise. Recruitment and Selection staff created an equitable selection process and were able to tell us where internal candidates typically did not perform well on promotional exams to facilitate course selection; Employee Relations staff provided input on union contract issues, and facilitated the final communications with the unions about the program; Employee Development staff crafted and implemented training and other readiness activities to strengthen both skills and commitment in the participants.

The LEAD Academy is an outstanding success. By the end of 2005, we conducted three LEAD Academies and graduated 59 enthusiastic, committed, and high performing employees. Many have gained the promotions they sought, and based on feedback from hiring supervisors, we anticipate many more will achieve their goals as more promotional opportunities emerge. We anticipate opening up the program to develop other employees for first-line supervisory opportunities throughout the organization in 2007. The programs success is based, above all, on HR leadership and the collaborative process engaged with OMD managers. In addition to the fact that the program is tailored to meet their needs, they know it is tailored, and their buy-in and sponsorship for the program is unquestioning. They are committed to ensuring that the best candidates are selected, and encourage their best employees to apply. They have devoted their own time to recruit, select and participate in various readiness and celebratory events. They have made participant attendance a priority, and guaranteed that staff would not be called out of class, except for genuine emergencies. They are our best ambassadors!

The launch of the LEAD Academy was a strong beginning, but not sufficient. Immediately after the first graduation and “proof of concept,” a subgroup of the original team came together to address the next priority need, for operations and maintenance Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents, 60% of whom were reaching retirement eligibility. The Pathways Program aims to develop the next level of leadership beyond first-line supervision. Created using the roadmap developed for the LEAD Academy, this effort began with identification of a “success profile” and key skills and behaviors for the positions. Candidates for the Pathways Program have highly varied education and experience backgrounds so the program was built around individual development needs, determined at the program outset by a number of assessments to determine their current skill levels and leadership attributes. These assessments include writing and cognitive skill exercises, an in-basket exercise, and a 360-degree leadership and management assessment. Results from the various assessment tools are coupled with the participants’ career goals and EBMUD’s superintendent success profile to create individual career development plans to be realized over the 12 months of the program. Participants were paired with Division manager-level coaches for support. The Pathways participants met once initially for a program kick-off, and then attended workshops focusing on shared development monthly for the last four months. However, most of the coursework and development activities were pursued individually. Additionally, due to the number of vacancies at this level, the District was able to provide temporary promotional assignments for the majority of participants as part of the learning experience. The first Pathways Program was conducted in 2005 (see Enclosure 2, Pathways brochure).

EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP
In 2004, EBMUD embarked on its first-ever Strategic Planning process. In anticipation of this, the HR department prepared a 35-page white paper on workforce planning, Building EBMUD’s Future (see Enclosure 3). This report updated our research on national, state-wide, local and internal workforce trends and projections and compiled that with a summary of workforce planning activities already underway as well as a plan for the future. In it we articulated HR’s strategic goal for the organization – Ensure ample talent to do the District’s work today and tomorrow. Additionally, we outlined five strategies to support goal achievement:

§ Develop and implement workforce plans that ensure critical work is performed, identify new ways to perform work, and meet future workforce needs

§ Enhance the District’s ability to recruit future leaders and a highly qualified, diverse staff

The five strategies developed to move the goal forward represent an integrated and comprehensive approach to human resource management. They remind the organization that no one approach (not even successful developmental academies) will address the workforce challenges we face today and anticipate tomorrow. They are also framed in such a way as to remind us that these approaches and the more specific objectives that fall under them are the responsibility of the entire organization, not just HR.

This goal, with its accompanying strategies and objectives, has been included in the EBMUD Strategic Plan. There, it represents one of the six key areas in which the organization is directing attention and resources to accomplish. This would not have been possible without the foundation laid by educating the organization on workforce issues, the proven success of the LEAD Academy, or the leadership of the HR manager who could envision the organization-wide benefits to be gained from the strategic application of HR expertise and consult (see Enclosure 4, EBMUD Strategic Plan).

RESEARCH, EDUCATION, ENGAGEMENT, TEAMWORK, LEADERSHIP AND (more) HARD WORK
By late in 2004, it was apparent that HR’s strategies were bringing about successful outcomes. Just as the recruitment and selection for the Pathways program was underway and the program components were being finalized, District leadership requested a new developmental academy, one that would prepare experienced supervisors and professional staff to move into management positions at the District. Based on our internal demographic data, we all knew that this was the next priority. The fact that senior leadership made the request before we proposed it is a demonstration of how embedded our vision had become!

For this initiative, a Steering Committee of three top leaders volunteered to establish the program goals and guide the work of the HR team. With their initial input, based on further research into best practices combined with our past experience, we were able to proactively recommend a framework that was fleshed out over time. The Management Leadership Academy (MLA) that has evolved was launched in December of 2005. Fifteen participants were selected from among over 50 applicants to participate in a year-long program that will include individual assessments, including 360 assessment; Individual Development Plans based on personal career goals and assessment feedback; regular coaching from an assigned Senior Management Team member; nine workshops held over eight months; individual Action Learning Projects; and monthly Leadership Forums where participants share experiences, explore opportunities to integrate and apply their learnings in new venues. Additionally, eleven incumbent Management Team members are participating, receiving assessment feedback and attending the workshops and Leadership Forums (see Enclosure 5, MLA Brochure).

One of the first steps was to establish a common vision with District leadership for desired competencies. Through an expedited process using a purchased set of “leadership competency cards,” HR staff guided Senior Management and selected Management Team members to identify and define those competencies requisite for leadership success at EBMUD. From these, we created a Leadership Model that has served as the foundation for all program elements.

Another early step was to create a pilot Action Learning Project, to prove the concept that demonstrated skills and expertise in one area of the organization could be a foundation for work in another area. An Engineering Supervisor was selected to lead an MLA Project Team, comprised of HR managers, HR Analysts and Affirmative Action Officer, to fully develop the MLA. With careful leadership and guidance from the HR Manager, this proved to be a wonderful success. It was an opportunity to share HR values and expertise with an emerging leader in another part of the organization, as well as an opportunity for us to learn more about successful methods in other professions.

Moving forward, the Senior Management Team was solicited to submit project proposals. These were drawn from the District’s Strategic Plan, ensuring that they were meaningful and beneficial for the organization. Based on HR’s experience with Pathways, the MLA Project Team selected assessment instruments, including PDI’s Profilor. We researched options for curriculum and made recommendations to the Steering Committee which were adopted. UC Davis Extension was awarded a contract to be primary provider, with supplemental courses and providers identified. The Team also researched and recommended a short list of providers for coaching training for the Senior Management Team, with a final selection being made by the Steering Committee. Throughout this, the MLA Project Team met regularly to ensure that program elements were integrated as they were developed, and to monitor progress on all fronts, including the immediate marketing, recruitment and selection activities.

As the launch date neared, plans were finalized for a series of orientations, kick-off’s, and readiness activities. These activities, designed to address the needs and concerns of the various stakeholder groups involved in the program, have helped set us up for our successful launch and start-up.

CONCLUSION
To date, the developmental academies can be seen as a significant success in more than one arena. First, and most importantly, EBMUD is better positioned to address the now growing retirement bubble. In addition to a new, explicit strategic focus on workforce issues, a number of program graduates continue to compete successfully for regular civil service promotions and many have been appointed to Temporary or Limited Term promotions. Hiring supervisors tell us that as candidates, our graduates overall are far better prepared than their competition, and perform at a higher level than the typical newly-promoted supervisor.

Second, the collaborative effort to build these programs has strengthened HR’s working relationships with operating departments and enhanced the image of HR in the organization. The high level of visibility for the programs and the caliber of the graduates have created a new focus on workforce development, which represents a cultural shift for the District.

Looking forward, there is much more work to do. In addition to the ongoing support for the MLA, and new development work required to expand LEAD and Pathways offerings more broadly in the organization, HR faces new challenges. One will be facilitating the continuing the positive cultural shifts that have begun. More work needs to be done to further engage both the senior leaders and the rank and file to become the kind of learning organization that continually improves itself. Another will be reinforcing the message that employee development is only one approach to workforce issues, and that management must continue to apply the full range of strategies to create comprehensive solutions in the future.

the 2004 NCCIPMA Agency Award for Excellence
The awards were presented at the NCCIPMA Spring Conference on March 17, 2005.

The City of Redwood City is proud to submit this nomination for the NCCIPMA Medium Agency Award for Excellence.

We Move the Organization Forward by Dedicating Ourselves to the Human Aspect of Work

The Redwood City Department of Human Resources staff is comprised of 9 professionals serving approximately 550 full-time employees. The types of employees the Department of Human Resources serves ranges from public works maintenance workers, clerical & administrative, police officers, firefighters, to professional workers such as engineers and attorneys.

Our staff includes specialists in staff development, recruitment, training, facilitation, and customer service. We are part of a progressive, values-driven organization with a successful track record in employee satisfaction and management endorsement. We are committed to enthusiastically providing our internal and external customers with quality human resources products and services that directly address their needs with results that exceed their expectations. The core products and services provided to City Departments, City Council, individual employees, the public, retirees, bargaining groups, employment candidates, and outside agencies include:

The Department of Human Resources works closely in matters relating to employee relations with five different bargaining groups:

The Department of Human Resources’ annual budget for the two programs managed (Human Resources and Workers’ Compensation) is $3,630,102 for Fiscal Year 04-05. The “Chief Executive Officer” for the City is our City Manager. The Director of Human Resources reports directly to the City Manager. The Department of Human Resources is the central human resources agency for the entire City of Redwood City.

Since 1997, the Department of Human Resources began providing outside agencies with HR consultant services in areas such as recruitments, training & facilitation, and managing the HR function. As a public agency we recognized the need for these types of services from outside agencies. Human Resource Departments traditionally has not had the staff or expertise in a variety of areas to meet the ever-changing demands of the Human Resources field.

In the City of Redwood City, the Human Resources Director along with various staff members had proven skills in areas such as facilitation, recruitment and selection, and employee and organizational development. The Department recognized that outside agencies could benefit from our expertise and we could provide these services for a fee. As a department that understood the day-to-day challenges of a public sector agency, the real-life experience brought into the programs offered a valuable contribution not currently available elsewhere. One of the reasons our programs are so effective is that we do not offer an “off-the-shelf” program; each program is designed to meet each agency’s unique needs and objectives. Program design, implementation and evaluation are some of our critical success factors.

In the past three years the City of Redwood City Human Resources Department’s Consulting Services has generated $64,234 in revenue. This revenue has allowed us to avoid layoffs within the department and to finance department enhancements, such as computer automation and the purchase of much-needed office equipment. These enhancements have in the end improved our service to our core constituency, namely the employees of the City of Redwood City. Technological advancement has reduced the staff time required in administrative functions thereby providing the time for program development and outside consultant services.

Revenue generation is just one of the benefits derived from the department’s HR Consulting Services, staff development is another. The City of Redwood City embraces employee development. In providing services to other agencies the Redwood City staff members grow professionally and their skills are enhanced. The staff also benefits by exposure to different programs and policies/procedures in other agencies.

It has been said that word-of-mouth is the most effective marketing tool. Most of the clients we have served in the last three years have been referred to us by customers we have already served, a sure indication of the overall level of satisfaction we have been able to attain. This is a partial listing of organizations we have served:

To be sure, it is extremely rare, especially in the public sector and especially in the field of public-sector human resources, to see such an innovative, proactive and successful endeavor. Most government organizations operate in a traditional personnel function setting. The City of Redwood City’s Human Resources department has truly embraced the concept of becoming a “business partner” and has gone one step further by providing this partnership opportunity to go beyond the city boundaries. This is truly an innovative agency worthy of the NCCIPMA Medium Agency Award for Excellence.

The City of Livermore, California is pleased to submit our dynamic Communication Strategies for consideration for the Annual Agency Award for Excellence.

The two words ‘information’ and ‘communication’ are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through.

Communication plays an essential, but especially challenging role in our organization. The challenge is not unlike that facing most full service public entities whose operations include just short of 500 employees working at various locations with differing work schedules and conditions, many of which support 24 hour, seven day a week operations. How do you communicate a vast amount of information about the organization’s goals, priorities, challenges and daily activities, efficiently and consistently amongst departments and to a broad spectrum of management, professional, technical, support and safety personnel, when a majority of those employees work outside the traditional 8 to 5 schedule?

The purpose of developing our Communication Strategies was not simply a question of how to best share information with staff, it reached further. The principle purpose was to ensure that ALL employees in the organization were aware and knowledgeable about key issues including City Council priorities; the status of City finances and the budget; achieving and celebrating goals and accomplishments; and educating employees about their employment relationship. We envisioned an organization of excellence. One with better educated employees who understood how their specific jobs relate to Council goals and priorities; how their individual roles had common ground with others in the organization looking to achieve the same thing ~ City success. That is the fundamental reason we put forth the extraordinary effort we did in developing our Communication Strategies and it is that same reason we keep actively utilizing these strategies.

So you see the reasons are clear: we wanted to better educate our staff; we wanted to share common goals and objectives; we wanted to truly create an organization that collaborated fully to achieve excellence. We believed our success would come through the vehicle of active communication. Our next objective was developing Communication Strategies that would best accomplish our purposes in light of the challenges that a dynamic organization such as ours has. The tactic used to meet these challenges was NOT the traditional top-down approach used to communicate with staff, but rather the development and implementation of Communication Strategies that included a variety of mediums to ensure equal opportunity and availability of information for all. But it went further, because communicating with employees is much more than simply information sharing. It is sharing the responsibility to become an active participant in the city’s successful delivery of programs and services. It is recognizing the value that each employee contributes to the organization and ensuring they understand how their efforts fit into the big picture. It is celebrating achievements and successes. How we accomplish this mission combines a number of methods mostly centered around effective Communication Strategies.

At this point, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. What type of information are we talking about here? What is so hard about communicating with employees and why not simply send out a memo? Most importantly, what sets our strategies apart from those practiced in other organizations? Good questions… To understand the uniqueness of our Communication Strategies, first you will need to know the answers to these questions.

What type of information? All types of information ~ from individualized to mass distribution of information, from Council priorities, goals and objectives to the status of ongoing City programs and projects, from employee benefit statements to new policies and procedures, from job announcements to training opportunities, from City sponsored events to community events. Our Communication Strategies allow us to share a variety of information in ways that are flexible and fit the specific needs of our diverse staff and dynamic organization.

What is so hard about communicating with employees and why not simply send out a memo? If information is power, then the various mechanisms used to communicate the information are just as powerful if used effectively. Recognizing this is essential in an organization as dynamic as ours. With only one third of our employee population working the typical Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm schedule and with multiple site locations operating 24 hour facilities, it is especially difficult to share information equally with employees. Today, the old standard of sending out a memo is not the most effective way to communicate with employees, especially those that work alternate shifts and schedules. However, the need to do so still exists. The need to communicate does not simply disappear Friday evening at 5pm when City Hall shuts down. It is just as critical to communicate information to a Typist Clerk that works a regular schedule as it is to communicate the same information to a Police Officer working the weekend grave shift. By providing all employees with flexible access and availability to a variety of tools and medium used to communicate, and by supporting and encouraging them to use these tools, we ensure that pertinent information is shared with all employees in the most effective ways to meet their needs. So that brings us to the most important question…

What sets our strategies apart from those practiced in other organizations? Variety, flexibility, range and consistency– those standards are what sets our Communication Strategies apart from others. Variety – in that we employ a multitude of methods to share information. Flexibility – in that the information is available AND accessible using flexible means to suit the different needs of our employees. Range – in that we share a plethora of information from individualized to mass distribution, from HR initiated to employee sought. Consistency – in that we use these flexible means to disseminate and share information as a standard of communication excellence. Actively exercising comprehensive Communication Strategies to share a mass amount of information in ways that are flexible and meet the diverse needs of the organization and individual employee – those standards are what differentiate our strategies from others typically utilized.

So, what is all the fuss about? The goals when developing our Communication Strategies were to ensure consistent communication and information sharing amongst all City employees equally, use a variety of technology to its fullest capabilities, and empower employees to understand how their roles fit into the big picture so that they can make a valuable contribution to our organization’s success. But something much more exciting was accomplished with the implementation of these strategies ~ something much more valuable.

Through the use of our Communication Strategies, we have cultured an organization of learning. Through our support of these strategies, we have nourished an organization of caring. Through our commitment to these strategies we have founded an organization of trust. Now, how did we accomplish all that?

Before we can answer that question, allow us to first describe the key elements of our Communication Strategies that enabled us to not only accomplish the initial purposes, but to surpass them. Our strategies of sharing information include the use of publications & printed material – a traditional approach to communication; technology – an innovative approach to communication; and face-to-face interaction (a lost, but sacred skill) – an open, personal approach to communication. We use these strategies in a variety of ways, and often for communicating the same information. For example we may send a newsletter to individual employees electronically via e-mail, but we also place it on our City Shared Network and Intranet so that it is available at any time, from any city computer. Flexibility is imperative for our strategies’ success.

Publications & Printed Material: Yes ~ of course we still use the traditional approaches to communicating with staff including distribution of memo’s, rules, regulations, policies and procedures ~ but what we find most appreciated by staff, is our effort to publish other printed material unique to the City such as publications including the Budget-In-Brief newsletter, developed to share information related to the overall Citywide budget; The Grapevine newsletter, developed to share general City and employment information directly with employees; and The City of Livermore newsletter, community news developed initially for the public, but also utilized by employees in order to learn about vital information to better help the public. We make all of this information available in hard copy, but also distribute it electronically as well as ensure its’ availability on our Internet and/or Intranet ~ remember flexibility is one of the driving factors for our strategies’ success.

The Grapevine ~ The employee newsletter is designed to keep employees and departments connected to what’s happening in the city and to help employees understand how their jobs fit into the big picture. The objective is communication. The Grapevine provides a forum for employees to relate as co-workers and friends, and reinforce the city’s mission and values as well. It is published monthly and “delivered” electronically to employees. Hard copies are also provided to each department for distribution to employees without assigned computers.

Technology: With the evolution of computer technology, comes the flexibility to meet the communication needs of our organization and employees of today. We provide the tools and use the technology not only to disseminate information, but more essentially, to provide flexible access to that information. Some of the tools we use include electronic mail, a City Shared Network, BOTH an Intranet and an Internet, and the availability of video training.

Intranet/Internet ~ Most Cities have developed Internet sites and the City of Livermore is no exception. Our Internet website (www.ci.livermore.ca.us) was developed in response to our commitment to being a customer service driven organization. It provides the public and employees with an array of information about city government services and programs, and is accessible 24/7. The City wanted to take our commitment to customer service one step further by providing that same commitment to employees ~ and so was developed the City’s Intranet which provides employees with flexible access to frequently requested information. With just a click of the mouse, they have access to a plethora of information including: Personnel Rules, salary and benefit plans, job descriptions, various forms and documents, and even links to provider websites. We wanted to empower employees to take the lead in managing those areas of their employment that don’t need city intervention. Unlike the Internet, the Intranet is accessible only by city employees.

Shared City Computer Drive ~ In addition to the Internet and Intranet, departments also have the ability to post frequently used forms, policies, budget documents and other frequently requested information on a shared network computer drive. All departments have access to this shared drive which makes relaying and sharing information very convenient.

Face-To-Face Interaction: Information sharing using printed material and technological tools allows a more flexible way to communicate with employees and both are essential for our Communication Strategies to be successful. However, nothing can replace the lost art of face-to-face interaction. Through the planning and production of various informational meetings and social gatherings, our organization encourages face-to-face interaction amongst all departments, sections and staff and acknowledges the importance of this medium of communication.

New Employee Orientation ~ Every new employee receives a formal welcome and introduction to their new role as a City of Livermore employee. This five hour program is held three times a year and includes a welcome from the City Manager and introductions by the Leadership Team (Department Heads). The City Manager takes this opportunity to share information about the City’s mission and values, but more importantly to share the City’s strong customer service philosophy, spirit of teamwork, commitment to quality, and our commitment to continuous improvement. A bus tour of the City is included in the orientation and is followed by a luncheon buffet. Feedback from participants is overwhelmingly positive and the employees appreciate the global City perspective they get from their participation.

All Employee Briefing ~ The purpose of this program is to brief employees about organizational priorities and future challenges. This meeting also provides an excellent forum for departments to share updates on major projects/developments that impact the city and city operations. This is an annual program for all employees. Those unavailable to attend can still view the program at their convenience as it is video taped and available through the Human Resources Department lending library.

Management Networking Meetings ~This is a monthly program for management employees to network, hear updates from the City Manager on key issues, and share with other management employees updates on major projects or programs. A round robin component gives all managers a chance to give updates. Meetings usually last 90 minutes and past agenda topics have included: Legislative Updates, Water Resources Overview & Tour, Tips & Tricks for Increasing Organizational Communication and a General Plan update.

Social Events ~ As part of our Communication Strategies, the City implemented a Social Committee consisting of representatives from each city department and charged with coordinating and publicizing citywide activities throughout the year. These social events are designed to foster team spirit and provide employees with an opportunity to meet others from differing departments/locations. Activities range from large celebratory events such as the Citywide picnic, annual Fall Fest, Pie Fest and Year End Gala, to smaller specialized events such as Take Your Child To Work Day, departmental open houses, new employee meet & greets, and safety fairs. Employees are encouraged to participate in these events and activities in order to get to know each other and network with colleagues they otherwise would have no interaction with.

You can see by now that the City of Livermore makes every effort to actively communicate with employees, but as we mentioned in our introduction, communicating with employees is much more than simply information sharing. It is ensuring that employees are involved and educated. It is helping them understand how their efforts fit into the big picture so that they can contribute to the City’s success. Through the use of our Communication Strategies, we have not only accomplished this, but so much more. We put at employees’ fingertips the means by which they can take charge of their own knowledge. We provide them with a variety of information and opportunity and encourage them to use this information to learn and grow to better themselves, both personally and professionally. We support them in their efforts to pass on what they have learned to others. This is how we have surpassed our original goal of simply communicating with staff, and have cultured an organization of learning. Through all our inclusionary efforts to involve employees in the city’s successful delivery of services and by providing flexible communication and learning alternatives to meet their individual needs, employees become active participants. An organization of learning, caring and trust – that is what we have accomplished through the development and use of our Communication Strategies.

Now that leads to the final question you’re bound to ask – How do we know that we have been successful? Our success is proven in our accomplishments…

The successes of our staff and City in the last three years are phenomenal and have been recently demonstrated by a community satisfaction survey with impressively high ratings. Further exhibited by the smart growth of our community, our success as a City lies in staff achievements including a newly approved general and downtown specific plan, a newly built and opened City Hall, community library and downtown parking structure, approval of several development agreements for the downtown area, and downtown revitalization efforts which in the next ten years will see downtown Livermore with upgrades to streets and infrastructure, a planned performing arts theater, a multiplex movie theater, and additional commercial and residential development that will make the City an even better place to live, work and play. Incredible accomplishments such as these, in a considerably short period of time, would not be possible if not for staff knowledge, expertise and their commitment to learning and growth. Our recent successes would not feel so triumphant were it not for staff teamwork, collaboration and caring. These feats would not have been attainable if not for staff trust in our organization and its’ dedication to excellence. All of which were made possible through the use of our innovative Communication Strategies – And that in its’ simplest form, is how we measure our strategies’ success.

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2003 NCCIPMA-HR AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Our local chapter awards were presented at the March NCCIPMA-HR Conference in San Leandro with a winner in the categories of:

The District was recognized for its efforts developing a Mentoring Program as an employee development initiative and in support of future District succession planning. The Program is operated by HR/Employee Development. Any employee in good standing can join the mentoring pool and will be selected by a potential protege, who take the lead in setting the objectives, tone, frequency of meetings, and structure of the mentoring relationship.
Mary Gordon           HR Manager
Frances Robustelli    HR Supervisor
Kristin Esty-Ibarra    Employee Development Specialist

CITY OF REDWOOD CITY http://www.redwoodcity.org/hr/def_ie.htm

RWC HR was recognized for transforming a traditional personnel department into an active and collaborative HR business partner with the City. The department developed an HR business plan which included a "Scorecard", followed by brochures, flyers, intraweb sites, newsletters, and other ways to reach out to employees.
Maria Rivera-Pena    HR Director
Sophie Oberstein       Employee Development Manager
Araceli Fierro            Management Analyst

CPS HR Services and IPMA awarded a $25,000 grant to the City and County of San Francisco for the implementation and utilization of innovative human resource programs. San Francisco's THE LINK PROJECT will feature the development of an interactive database that will link the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the customer with specific position classifications with the city and county. Customers will be informed of current, available positions and will have an option to complete online interest cards for notification of future position availability. Visit the web at: http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/working_index.asp?id=6665

IPMA's Executive Director, Neil Reichenberg, said that San Francisco, along with Georgia Merit System "...were selected to receive the $25,000 awards from a well qualified pool of 39 applicants. While the selection process was difficult, the Georgia Merit System's and the City/County of San Francisco's proposals stood out for their innovation, thorough design, and link to the strategic plan of the agency."