20050714 Westminster prepares to survey employees cct

20050714 Westminster prepares to survey employees By Robert Brodsky for the Carroll County Times

Westminster prepares to survey employees By Robert Brodsky for the Carroll County Times

Westminster prepares to survey employees

By Robert Brodsky, Times Staff Writer

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Hey, Westminster City employees. How do you like your job? Do you feel appreciated by your supervisor? Are you overworked? How about underpaid?

City workers will have the opportunity to answer questions like these and others as Westminster prepares for its first employee opinion survey.

The survey, which will be done by a yet unselected private consulting firm specializing in human resources work, will look at how the city's 160 employees view their jobs and examine what can be done to improve worker satisfaction, said Westminster Mayor Thomas Ferguson.

"It's a physical checkup of the [city's work force] environment," he said.

The employee opinion survey was a central point in Ferguson's campaign for mayor last spring. He said morale among employees had declined in recent years and wanted to find a way to improve relations between the city and its work force.

"One of the major reasons in doing this is to send a message to employees that we will listen to what you have to say," Ferguson said.

The survey's success will be based on two essential elements, Ferguson said. Employees must be assured their answers will be kept confidential and that they will result in meaningful change.

"If nothing comes of it, they're going to say 'Don't ask us again,'" Ferguson said. "We're planning to take these answers and factor them into our strategic planning process."

The survey will not result in any hirings or firings, nor any immediate shift in how the workforce is structured, Ferguson said. Rather, the survey could help determine which departments are lacking adequate equipment, which personnel may need increased training and whether employees as a whole believe they are fairly compensated and appreciated for the work they perform.

The city has received four bids by firms interested in performing the survey, Ferguson said. The bids range from $7,500 - a questionnaire that would be sent to all employees and then analyzed by the firm - to a $27,000 proposal that would include one-on-one interviews, group meetings and focus groups.

The city's personnel committee, composed of Finance Director Joe Urban, City Councilmembers Robert Wack and Suzanne Albert and Human Resources Administrator Darlene Childs, will hear presentations from the four consultants Monday and Tuesday.

Urban anticipates the committee will make its decision based not only on cost but on the services that would be most beneficial to city employees.

"Just mailing out a questionnaire may not inspire the most amount of confidence from employees," Urban said. "We want to structure the process to create the highest level of confidence from employees."

The city plans to pay for the survey by diverting resources from a $100,000 fund set aside to cover the cost of potential salary increments that could be suggested in an upcoming salary study, Urban said.

That study, which will be conducted by a different firm, will compare the salaries of Westminster City employees to those in the private sector and in other neighboring cities.

If needed, funds for salary increases could be supplemented through the city's emergency fund or through it's unappropriated surplus, Urban said.

The personnel committee plans to make a decision on a consulting firm for the employee opinion survey next week. The proposal would then go before the Westminster City Council on July 25.

If approved, the study could start in August and take between 60 and 90 days to complete.

Reach staff writer Robert Brodsky at 410-857-7865 or Rbrodsky@lcniofmd.com.

20050714 Westminster prepares to survey employees By Robert Brodsky for the Carroll County Times