HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff ReportCity Council Staff Report
July 3, 2012
ITEM
Staff Report: Amending the criteria for the City of National City Employee Performance
Recognition program.
BACKGROUND
The City's current employee performance recognition program was adopted in 2003. As
outlined, the program:
• Recognizes one employee each month (February through December)
• Specifies the department(s) eligible for employee recognition by month
• Limits eligibility to permanent, non -probationary employees
Under the conditions of the current program model, part-time, management and executive
employees are not eligible for consideration.
The purpose of this report is to present modifications to the program model based upon current
staffing and the current organizational model.
DISCUSSION
With one exception, the City of National City has a relatively low turn over rate. As such, the
work force (defined as employees eligible for this program) has remained fairly consistent over
the last ten years. The exception to the history of low turn over is the 2010 Employee Voluntary
Separation Program resulting in the separation of 24 employees in a span of two weeks. As
employees have left the organization, either through normal attrition or mechanisms such as the
voluntary separation program, the majority of their positions have been left vacant in response to
fiscal constraints. As a result, the workforce is both smaller and relatively stagnant, resulting in a
reduced pool of eligible employees, many of whom have received the recognition, particularly in
the smaller departments. As a direct result of reduced staffing, managers are absorbing some of
the duties of line staff.
In addition to the above, through a series of organizational realignments, the organizational
structure has shifted significantly. These realignments have further lead to reduced staffing in
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Staff Report — Amending the criteria for the City of National City Employee Performance
Recognition program.
July 3, 2012
some departments/divisions. As such, the current schedule or groupings of departments/divisions
for purposes of this recognition program are unbalanced.
Current Employee Recognition Program Schedule
Month
Departments (employee count)
Month
Departments (employee count)
January
Dark
July
Police Safety (81)
February
Library (5)
August
Mayor & Council/Clerk/ City
Manager/City Attorney (8)
March
Public Works (36), Engineering (6)
September
Fire Safety (33)
April
Police Non -Safety (26)
October
Planning (3), Building & Safety (1)
May
Finance (9)
November
Fire Non -Safety (3), HR (3)
June
Community Development (22)
December
Community Services (6)
RECOMMENDATION
Based on the above, it is the intent of staff to amend the program as follows: include managers as
eligible employees; and amend the program from monthly to quarterly. By adding managers, the
program will be broadened to include eighteen (18) additional current employees. The inclusion
of managers is in recognition of their increased responsibility for performing daily operational
tasks in response to the decrease in workforce.
Migrating to a quarterly format will address the overall reduction in workforce while still
providing a critical opportunity for employee recognition. The program will include two safety
employee recognition quarters and two general employee recognition quarters, drawing from the
City-wide pool. The quarterly recognition will be given in arrears to an employee that has
performed in an exemplary manner for the previous three month period. As such, employees will
be recognized as follows:
Quarterly Employee Recognition Program Schedule
Month
Eligible Employees
March
General Employees (City-wide)
June
Police Safety
September
General Employees (City-wide)
December
Fire Safety
The amended program will be effective in January, 2013, following the completion of the current
recognition cycle.
Alternative
As an alternative, should the City Council recommend that staff continue with the monthly
recognition program, consideration could be given to amending the current program to include
managers; and to reconfigure the departmental groupings. The purpose of the reconfiguration
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Staff. Report — Amending the criteria for the City of National City Employee Performance
Recognition program.
July 3, 2012
would be to both create more balance and to more closely reflectthe current organizational
structure. The alternative modification would move the program from eleven months of
recognition to ten, with no recognition given in January or December.
Amended Monthly Employee Recognition Program Schedule
Month
Departments (employee count)
Month
Departments (employee count)
January
Dark
July
Police Safety (82)
February
Library (5), Community Services
(8)
August
Mayor & Council/Clerk/ City
Manager/City Attorney (8)
March
Public Works (38)
September
Fire Safety (33)
April
Police Non -Safety (26)
October
Planning (4), Building & Safety
(2), Fire Non -Safety (5)
May
Finance (12)
November
Engineering (7), HR (3), MIS (3)
June
Housing & Grants (14),
Neighborhood Services (10)
December
Dark
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this action.