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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/12/2000 - Study SessionIt CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH City Council Minutes Study Session September 12, 2000 - 5:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Thomson, Adams, Debay, Ridgeway, Mayor Noyes Absent: Glover (excused), O'Neil (excused) CURRENT BUSINESS CLARIFICATION OF ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR - None. 2. STATUS REPORT ON ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES PROCESS. City Manager Bludau stated that he had been waiting for the organizational values process to get underway before reporting to the City Council on what had been accomplished, why the organization is going through the process and what the expectations are. City Manager Bludau stated that when he came into the organization in May of 1999, he had several things to quickly assimilate and understand. He stated that he began with his seven bosses by doing ridealongs with each council member through their districts while sharing information with each other. He stated that he was trying to get a basic understanding of the community and the council members. He stated that he also tried to get a quick read on the people he was going to be working with, which included the management team, the people that report to him, the City Attorney and the City Clerk. City Manager Bludau stated that, finally, he wanted to understand the entire organization, the people, its events and what has created the organizational culture. He stated that he wanted to know what realistic expectations he could have of the organization and what kind of expectations the organization would have of him. City Manager Bludau stated that he learned one of the first things about the organizational culture through the management team meetings. He stated that he felt that there was a lack of good communication between the members of the management team. He stated that there was limited conversation among the team members and it didn't seem like there was a free flow of information within the group. City Manager Bludau also noted that he would see a department identifying a problem within their department and implementing a solution that would affect other departments, without communicating to those departments about the change prior to it being done. City Manager Bludau stated that another thing he learned about the organizational culture was about the human resources function. He stated that it is a weak function in the way it has participated in organizational Volume 53 - Page 580 INDEX Organizational Values (35) City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 12, 2000 INDEX decision making and responsibilities. He stated that a number of departments have developed their own human resource functions, and only use the Human Resources department as a periodic resource. City Manager Bludau stated his belief that the human resources function needs to be strong because it works throughout the whole organization, helps to attract the right people to hire, deals with the selection process and the orientation process, assists with discipline and helps with employee evaluations. He stated that a good human resources function can really bind an organization together. City Manager Bludau stated that another sign about the organization culture that he saw concerned the 115 positions that were eliminated in the mid 1990's through budget cuts. He stated that he learned that it was a traumatic time and really pitted the departments against each other. City Manager Bludau stated that he also met with former City Manager Bob Wynn to get some initial understanding of the organizational culture. He stated that Mr. Wynn informed him that in the twenty years that he was city manager, he only held two department head meetings. ' City Manager Bludau stated that it helped to put everything in perspective for him. He stated that it indicated why departments are strong, but independent. He stated that it explains why there is insensitivity from department to department and results in separate cultures within each department. City Manager Bludau stated that while trying to wrestle with the issues, he and the management team came up with a number of issues that they felt needed to be corrected. He stated that employee orientations was one of the areas listed. City Manager Bludau stated that the management team divided into several task forces, with one task force assigned to looking at employee orientations, how they were being done and how they could be done better. He stated that an employee should feel welcomed and valued when they join an organization and understand where they fit in the overall picture. City Manager Bludau stated that the task force reported back to the management team that employee orientations could be done better and that the process should share with the employee the organization's core values, but the task force stated that they weren't certain what those core values were. City Manager Bludau stated that this reinforced his previous observations and made a big impact, in that the recommendation was coming from people who had been with the organization for many years. City Manager Bludau stated that the management team discussed how an organizational culture could be changed, particularly one that is strong and has been growing over a long period of time and has 700 full-time employees and another 300 part -time employees in the summer. He stated that the management team felt that it was important enough to take on. He stated that the next question was to decide on how to go about it. He stated that it was decided to have a two -day management team retreat. A request for qualifications was sent out to find a facilitator to help with establishing some draft organizational values. He felt that this would be a good start in developing the values and would also provide a good team building exercise for the management team. City Manager Bludau stated that Susan Quinn was hired as the facilitator. He added that he felt comfortable starting with Volume 53 - Page 581 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 12, 2000 INDEX the management team because any segment of employees would most likely produce similar results, since organizational values stem from personal values. City Manager Bludau stated that the draft organizational values are listed in the staff report and are integrity, empathy, service, excellence, creating a positive work environment, unity of purpose, responsibility and loyalty. He added that time was also spent on defining the terms, so that the list could be taken to the organization and provide a beginning for discussions with all employees. City Manager Bludau stated that after the draft organizational values were established and defined, behaviors for each of the values were listed to illustrate the actions that would support the values. Lastly, City Manager Bludau stated that the management team went through an exercise to come up with a mission statement. He stated that this was less important and done more for the exercise of doing it. He read the mission statement, which stated that "Newport Beach is an exceptional community because of its nautical heritage, the natural beauty of the bay and ocean, and its outstanding enhancements. As employees of the City of Newport Beach, we have been entrusted to be the stewards of the quality of life cherished by those who live, work and visit here. In support of that trust, we commit to provide excellent service that respects the uniqueness and diversity of the community." City Manager Bludau stated that the next step was to introduce the draft organizational values to the entire organization and begin the dialogue to make changes where necessary, so that the organization could accept the values. He stated that it was decided that he would meet with all of the full - time and permanent part -time employees in the organization. He stated that he did this over a period of five weeks through approximately 25 meetings. He stated that he covered much of the same information that he has covered at the current meeting and that he asked the employees for their input. City Manager Bludau stated that the meetings produced about twenty suggestions for changes to the organizational values and only one that was major, which was the addition of communication as a value. He stated that it was a very educational process and included quite a bit of venting about pent -up frustrations. He stated that the employees want to feel empowered and know where they fit in. City Manager Bludau stated that, after the meetings with all of the employees, a focus group of sixteen employees was developed with representatives from every department. He stated that he gave the focus group the feedback from the employees about the values and tasked them with making the appropriate changes. He stated that this resulted in values that represented input from the entire organization. City Manager Bludau stated that the next step was to give the employees the same opportunity that the management team had in deciding on actions and behaviors that represent the values. He stated that as with the focus group, volunteers representing all departments were sought to fulfill the role of facilitator. Eighteen facilitators, in teams of two, met with all employees Volume 53 - Page 582 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 12, 2000 INDEX in 25 meetings over a seven -week period. In addition to providing input on the organizational behaviors, he stated that the process also included a "parking lot" which provided a way to list issues that needed attention in the organization. He stated that the "parking lot" generated approximately 350 comments. City Manager Bludau stated that the 350 comments were broken into categories and each and every comment will be responded to. He stated that the categories include supervision, benefits, other and the organizational value process. He stated that the categories will be assigned to the management team, himself, various departments or the focus group, as appropriate. He stated that it is a big undertaking, but is important to build credibility. He stated that communication has been stifled for a long period of time in the organization, and that he wants to see the walls between the departments torn down. He stated that he wants the departments to be strong but not independent. He stated that better communication will mean better coordination which will mean better service to the community and the organization itself. He stated that he's seen a lot of support from the management team on the process. City Manager Bludau stated that some major steps have already been accomplished in terms of time, meetings and commitment. He stated that there is a lot of enthusiasm, but also a lot of skepticism that anything will be followed up on. City Manager Bludau stated that he's trying to change the organizational culture and that the process has already made it known to those that have been here for quite some time that the walls between the departments do exist and do cause quite a detriment. He stated that the values used to be defined department by department, but now the values are organization wide. He stated that the department actions may be different, but the values will be the same and will bind all of the departments together. City Manager Bludau stated that this will occur along with the improvements that will come out of the 350 comments that are being addressed. City Manager Bludau stated that the process won't be over any time soon and really shouldn't be over, ever. He stated that it is a process that is intended to empower employees and generate new ideas to do things better. He stated that the values will also be a part of performance evaluations to make the values more meaningful. He clarified that the organization hasn't been operating poorly, but it has become more important to have departments working together. In response to Council Member Ridgeway's question, City Manager Bludau stated that the management team consists of the department heads that report to him, the City Attorney, the City Clerk, the Assistant City Manager, the Deputy City Manager and the Executive Assistant to the City Manager. He stated that this totals thirteen people. Additionally, Council Member Ridgeway asked if the safety and staff personnel of the Police and Fire Departments were included in the process. City Manager Bludau stated that six of his employee meetings were just with the Police Department and that the Fire Department attended other employee meetings. City Manager Bludau stated that the facilitated Volume 53 - Page 583 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 12, 2000 INDEX meetings included the Fire Department, but he did allow an abbreviated process for the Police Department. He stated that if all of the Police Department personnel attended a facilitated meeting, it would have required 45 total facilitated meetings, so not all employees were included. City Manager Bludau added that the input from the Police Department indicated that the meetings were taken seriously. City Manager Bludau clarified for Council Member Ridgeway that the Fire and Police Chiefs were not included in the facilitated meetings because the management team already went through the exercise themselves. Council Member Ridgeway complimented the City Manager on the process. City Manager Bludau stated that the first step in changing an organizational culture is to recognize what exists and how it got that way, and then deciding that it needs to be changed. He stated that he sees better communication and cooperation on a daily basis as a result of the process. Council Member Debay stated that management changes and times change. She stated that there was a period at the City when the departments did operate very independently. She stated that it was important that City Manager Bludau met with Mr. Wynn, since he was city manager for twenty years. She stated that the he should also meet with former City Manager Kevin Murphy to fill in a lot of the details. She stated that 1992 included the recession, the embezzlement in the Utilities Department, the sexual harassment issue in the Police Department and direction by the City Council to reduce the number of employees in the City. Council Member Debay stated that it was a difficult time and she stated that the process by City Manager Bludau would be completed if he would talk to the City Manager who served during that period. Council Member Ridgeway agreed that Mr. Murphy served a very useful purpose during a difficult time in the City. He stated, however, that he outgrew the need and that it is why City Manager Bludau is with the City today. Council Member Ridgeway agreed that it would be appropriate for City Manager Bludau to meet with Mr. Murphy and try to understand those times. Council Member Thomson stated that it appears that the process has established a method for employees to express their concerns. He complimented the process and the communication that has begun. City Manager Bludau stated that it was exciting to get employees from different departments together. He agreed that communication is the key. Council Member Ridgeway complimented the efforts of City Manager Bludau. PUBLIC COMMENTS - None. ADJOURNMENT - 5:45 p.m. The agenda for the Study Session was posted on September 6, 2000, at Volume 53 - Page 584 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 12, 2000 2:15 p.m. on the City Hall Bulletin Board located outside of the City of Newport Beach Administration Building. City Clerk Recording Secreta Volume 53 - Page 585 INDEX k