RESOURCE:

Ferndale: A READI City

N JANUARY 2022, FERNDALE CITY MANAGER JOSEPH GACIOCH INTRODUCED THE READI MODEL: A VISION OF LEADERSHIP FOR THE CITY ORGANIZATION.

Being a READI organization means that we value, encourage, and measure:

 

  • Resources: long-term financial planning
  • Education: sustained succession planning and focused professional development
  • Awareness: employee engagement and communications are critical
  • Dynamics of Organization: understanding our history, promoting our culture and values
  • Implementation: driving alignment and activation through systems planning and metrics

FERNDALE READI BUSINESS METRICS

Focus on big-picture performance. Metrics include:

 

  • Strategic Plan management: Envisio is used to manage progress on City Council’s Strategic Plan. Our success measures include Envisio project completeness, triennial community satisfaction surveys, and financial debt capacity.  
  • Department management: Envisio is also used to manage annual performance plans. Our success measures include annual Gallup employee engagement poll, quarterly Gallup pulse polls, and Envisio performance plan progress per our compensation policy.
  • Program Management: Online priority-based budgeting is used to communicate our department programs. The tool indicates whether our capital and human resources are invested and aligned properly with strategy. Our success measures include program capacity, program diversity across departments, and program efficiency–a measure of spending/facility and labor costs.  

FERNDALE READI EXECUTION METRICS

Focus on project management and team dynamics. Metrics include:

 

  • Project management: We are currently exploring use of a common project management platform that integrates with Microsoft Teams. Our success measures include performance against project schedule and performance against project budget.
  • Team execution: Team execution emphasizes the importance of communications and inclusion. Collaboration supports awareness and quality control. Our success measures include communication plan completeness for performance plan initiatives.  

DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT

Our success measures for department management include the feedback that we receive from our employee engagement programs and the requirements of our compensation policy.

 

Employee Engagement Program‍

The Bird's Eye View (global organizational metrics): We have partnered with Gallup to conduct an annual survey of our organization. The purpose of the survey is to measure the engagement of our employees. Gallup measures engagement through 12 questions that capture the most important information needed to attract, focus, and keep the most talented employees.  

 

  • We define employee engagement as the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their work and workplace. Commitment to this must happen at all levels to achieve a positively engaged workforce.  

The Pulse: (daily cultural interactions): We are exploring a social work platform that supports employee engagement, integrates with Microsoft Teams. The platform provides a space for gratitude and employee recognition, promotes awareness, and supports charities on an accessible basis.

 

Compensation Policy‍

READI Annual Performance Plan: The City Manager, department leaders, and supervisors shall be responsible for reviewing the performance of their staff annually beginning in May of each fiscal year. Performance of non-union staff members is measured through an annual goal setting process managed through Envisio.  

 

The annual performance plan includes three phases:

  • Phase 1 – goal setting (early September – early October)
  • Phase 2 – midyear progress check-in (mid January – mid February)
  • Phase 3 – year-end progress report (mid May – mid June