HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/18/1998, 1 - STUDY SESSION ON ORGANIZATIONAL VITALITY council °���-•s -��
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CITY OF SAN LUIS O B I S P O
FROM: Ann Slate,Personnel Directo �
SUBJECT: STUDY SESSION ON ORGANIZATIONAL VITALITY
CAO RECOMAMNDATION
Receive a status report from the Organizational Vitality Committee on its activities and endorse
further efforts.
DISCUSSION
As part of the 1997-99 Financial Plan,the City Council adopted as a major city goal"Long Term
Fiscal Health". Under a subheading of that goal, Organizational Productivity, organization-wide
training was identified as an activity in support of that objective.
In identifying specific training needs that should be addressed through a comprehensive City
training program, it was determined that training around organizational values was essential.
The process for identifying those values began. On September 30, 1997 the City's management
employees met and took an opportunity to answer questions like`what are the key characteristics
of a vital organization" and `what should the City organization do to sustain and improve our
vitality". Through those discussions it was clear that managers felt that the City should:
• Create clear organizational values and visions, and ensure that these are clearly understood
and communicated throughout the organization.
• Develop employees to become empowered and to take responsibility for acting on our values
and vision.
• Celebrate our accomplishments (and our failures, especially when they resulted from an
honest effort to live-out our values and vision).
Involving all other City employees in these discussions was the next step. A group of
management employee volunteers formed the original Organizational Vitality Committee (OVC)
and were later joined by a number of other employees. This newly organized OVC, with the
assistance of facilitator, Don Maruska, organized sessions in April where almost 200 non-
management employees discussed the same questions management had discussed.in September.
These sessions led to the conclusion that the City of San Luis Obispo needs immediate and
continued efforts to sustain the Organizational Vitality program and gain city-wide benefits.
Employee interest and enthusiasm were high at the April meetings as demonstrated by the broad
and involved participation and the number of ideas generated. Communication, teamwork,
leadership, trust and respect emerged as key concerns. Employees expressed the need to see
Council Agenda Report—Study Session on Organizational Vitality
Page 2
results. Some expressed skepticism that anything will change and nearly all agreed that efforts
within the weeks immediately following the sessions would set the tone.
As our employees have grappled with questions about our organization, a common set of values
has emerged as important to employees. They are important not only in how they may relate to
citywide training but also in how we manage projects that cross departmental lines and approach
the delivery of City services. Attachment A is the list of values.
The most recent session held on June 10, 1998 involved almost 100 employees including
management employees and almost 40 other employees who have volunteered to be involved in
Organizational Vitality. It dealt primarily with assessing how well or not so well the values are
present in our work, and/or resulted in the development of specific action steps to enhance those
values.
The action steps fall into three broad categories: (1) department-based initiatives (2) City
projects; and (3) City-wide training. Staff is currently compiling the information developed on
June 101e and will be able to report on priority projects at the study session. Once again,
employee interest and enthusiasm were high. It is important to note that as we examined the
values we were impressed with how we are already putting the values into action in a number of
our programs, processes and policies.
The study session is designed to enable the City Council to hear from a number of employees
who are involved in the Organizational Vitality and to learn about the advantages to the
organization of these efforts and how.that translates to community benefits.
As the Organizational Vitality program continues, the Council will be updated from time to time
with specific information on the status of the various initiatives that are undertaken as well as
how the values in action are supporting our organization and the community we serve.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Key Values for the City of San Luis Obispo
Organizational Vitality Committee:
Darren Drake Fire Department Ann Slate Personnel Department
Linda Fitzgerald Parks &Recreation Dave Smith Public Works
Tim Girvin Utilities Department Diane Stuart Community Development
Ken Hampian Administration Jill Sylvain Personnel Department
Tim Hedges Police Department Paul Takagi Finance
Gary Henderson Utilities Department Mark Williams Public Works
Sharon Lininger Public Works
Peggy Mandeville Community Development
g:OV/OV Agenda Report
Key Values for the City of San Luis Obispo
We, as an organization, embrace opportunities to improve our services and the
quality and effectiveness of our relationships with the community and our
teams. The following values guide and inspire our efforts.
Shared vision, mission, and goals—we have a sense of common purpose and
direction pursued with passion and translated into concrete actions.
Service—we are dedicated to the best use of resources to fulfill identified
community goals and needs.
Leadership and support—we recognize that the ability to lead can be found
at all levels and that to create an environment to succeed requires leading by
example.
Communication—we foster open and clear discussion that encourages the
willingness to speak up and to listen, within a framework of respect and
understanding.
Team players—we encourage effective working relationships within and
between departments and the public to address issues and achieve valuable
results.
Honesty, respect, and trust—we honor commitments, acknowledge
legitimate differences of opinion, and accept decisions reached with integrity.
Initiative and accountability—we take personal responsibility to do what
needs to be done and report the results in a straightforward manner.
Innovation and flexibility—we are open to change and willing to try new
ways to fulfill the organization's vision, mission, and goals more effectively.
Employee development and recognition—we encourage and support each
employee to improve relevant job skills and celebrate personal and team
accomplishments.
Stewardship and ethics—we promote public trust by using City resources
wisely, and through consistent fulfillment of these values.