Kelly Linton, Partner - eSolutionsGroup

Kelly Linton, Partner

Imaginate Inc. l [email protected]

Town of Essex

Towards Organizational Excellence

Draft Final Report

Version 4.0

DRAFT FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL

August 10, 2017

© 2017 Imaginate Inc. All rights reserved. - DRAFT FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL -

pg. 2Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY pg 4

1.0 Introduction pg 5

1.1 The Context

1.2 Project Introduction

1.3 Direction for Change

1.4 Design Principles

2.0 Recommendations pg 9

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Preferred Functional Model

2.3 High-Level Organizational Chart

2.4 Recommendations

3.0: Action Plan pg 26

3.1 Implementation Key Success Factors

3.2 Timeline for Action

APPENDICES

Appendix A: High-Level Role Summaries pg 32

Appendix B: Current Assessment: Case for Change pg 33


A common theme that emerged during the course of this project was that the Town of Essex generally provides good customer service and are accessible to their community. In moving forward with this Organizational Review, the Town has demonstrated its commitment to establishing a strong foundation that will contribute to meeting the current and future community needs.

The purpose of this project was to review the current organization and recommend positive changes for long-term organizational excellence. A collaborative consulting approach was adopted for this project. Valuable participation and input was received from all levels of staff through combination of group workshops, one-on-one interviews and a staff questionnaire.

This project has resulted in recommendations for change addressing current challenges and embracing future opportunities. The recommendations included in this report are designed to achieve the following outcomes:

Build organizational capacity – a review of current organizational challenges have confirmed that increased organizational capacity is required in several key functional areas to enable the Township achieve its strategic objectives and meet both the current and the future needs of the community.

Establish functional accountability - clustering together similar functions into departments and service areas will contribute to finding new operational synergies and ensure accountability for functional outcomes.

Enhance a citizen-focused perspective - establishing cross-departmental accountability for excellent customer service will contribute to consistency in the customer experience across all facilities, departments and programs.

With a phased-in action plan and a transparent change management approach, I am convinced that the implementation of the recommendations included in this report will result in lasting, positive change for the Town of Essex.

Kelly Linton, Partner

Imaginate Inc.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY pg. 3


pg. 4

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Project Introduction

1.2 Direction for Change

1.3 Design Principles


pg. 51.1 Project Introduction

Project Objectives & Scope The objective of this project is to review and update the organizational structure of the Town of Essex to reach optimal levels of effectiveness

and efficiency in the delivery of its day-to-day services.

To be successful, this project will need to accomplish the following outcomes:

– Ensure that the Town has the capacity to achieve the outcomes identified in the Strategic Plan & Vision. These strategic outcomes will require the right organizational building blocks.

– Review the strengths and weaknesses of the current organizational structure and recommend changes to establish a strong foundation for long-term organizational effectiveness, continuous improvement and innovation.

– Identify opportunities for improvements in effectiveness, efficiency and customer service.

– Conduct a targeted comparative analysis with similarly sized municipalities to identify trends, organizational design features and innovative practices.

– Explore the appropriateness of current staffing levels based strategic objectives and legislative requirements; incorporate a succession planning perspective.

– Assess organizational culture strengths and weaknesses and develop recommendations contributing to positive change.

Deliverables Primary project deliverables include:

– Current Assessment: Case for Change – this deliverable will clearly identify the strengths, weaknesses, any gaps in accountability, unbalanced span of authority, unbalanced workload, service level challenges, duplication of effort and lack of alignment betweenstrategic priorities and operational focus/capacity. A targeted comparative review is also included in this deliverable. The result will be a clearly articulated case for change providing direction for a new organizational model/structure.

– Final Report (this document) – synthesis of all analysis, findings, recommendations and Action Plan accompanied by an Executive Summary Presentation to Council.


The direction for recommended organizational change has resulted from the combination of the following inputs:

1. Alignment to Strategic Plan - the Town has identified its strategic priorities for this term of Council, and the recommendations contained in this report will ensure appropriate departmental alignment, distribution of staff and resource allocations to better reflect the goals of the organization as outlined in the strategic plan.

2. Address current organizational challenges – it is essential that the corporate organizational structure addresses real operational issues/challenges. During the Current Assessment Phase, the key findings were synthesized and summarized into the following categories (refer to Appendix B: Current Assessment: Case for Change for detailed findings):

− Leadership & Decision-Making

− Customer Service & External Communication

− Roles, Responsibilities & Internal Processes

− Teamwork & Collaboration

− Staff Engagement, Career Advancement & Morale

3. Consistent with recognized good practices in organizational design principles - a series of principles were developed by Imaginate and the Senior Team to guide the design phase. These principles were based on a combination of Imaginate’s experience with good practices in organizational design and the Senior Team’s solid understanding of current organizational challenges and future opportunities. These principles were used to evaluate the features of several model options.

4. Active participation and input from the Senior Management Team and Staff - based on the above inputs, a draft Preferred Functional Model was developed and suggestions and ideas from the CAO and Senior Management Team were taken into consideration. Challenge Sessions with selected staff were facilitated by Imaginate and subsequent revisions were made to therecommendations.

1.2 Direction for Change pg. 6


1.3 Design Principles pg. 7

The below draft Design Principles have been established with the Senior Management Team to guide the development and subsequent evaluation of functional model options:

1. Functional Integrity & Accountability

− Core functional areas need to combine similar activities/services under a single manager to ensure effective accountability for results

2. Address Existing Functional Gaps

− Based on the project findings, the organizational structure must address the current issues and functional gaps

3. Clarity of Roles & Responsibility

− Need to clear roles and responsibilities for all positions

4. Effective Span of Authority

− Directors and managers need to have an effective and balanced span of control - both from the perspective of number of direct reports as well as the number of functional areas they oversee

5. Customer Friendly/Intuitive Functional Grouping

− Departments, service areas and position titles should accurately reflect actual functions, responsibilities and level of authority

6. Career Path Opportunities & Effective Succession Planning

− Organization need appropriate depth to enable effective career progression and succession planning


pg. 8

2.0 Draft Recommendations

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Preferred Functional Model

2.3 High-Level Organizational Chart

2.4 Recommendations


From Findings to Recommendations The below process was used to transition from findings to recommendations:

Recognizing that the successful implementation of this model will require time and effective change management, an Action Plan has been developed to sequence the implementation of the recommendations (see Section 3.0).

2.1 Introduction pg. 9

Current AssessmentDesign Guidelines & Functional Modeling

Detailed Org DesignRecommendations &

Final Report

1 2 3 4

• Project launch• Review of Strategic Plan

and other documents• Senior Team interviews• Council interviews• Staff Questionnaire• Sessions with managers

& staff• Open office hours for

staff one-on-ones• Deliverable: Current

Assessment: Case for Change

• Establish Design Guidelines with Senior Team

• Functional Modeling Session with Senior Team

• Deliverable: Preferred Functional Model

• Ongoing discussions and working sessions with Senior Team

• Deliverable: Draft Organizational Chart

• Present Draft Recommendations

• Draft Final Report• Staff Challenge Sessions

(8 sessions)• Review Sessions with

Senior Team• Deliverable: Revised

Final Report (with Action Plan) and Presentation to Council


2.2 Preferred Functional Model pg. 10

CAOCommunications & Citizen Engagement Support/promote strategic initiatives Branding, PR, media relations & corp.

communications Website/social media Internal communications Citizen outreach and engagement

Clerk/Legal/Legislative Services• Legislative/Clerk function• Elections• Freedom of Information• Council/committee support• Agenda & minutes• Bylaws & policy support• Records management

Corporate Services

Finance & Business Services• Budget coordination and support• Purchasing/procurement • Asset inventory system• Accounts payable • Accounts receivable• Tax billing & collection• Payroll

Information Technology• Networks• Application support • Help desk services• Cell phones

Human Resources• Employee/labour relations• Performance evaluations• Training• Health & safety

Infrastructure Services

Operations & Drainage• Transportation system (roads,

sidewalks, bridges, signage, lighting)• Winter maintenance• Traffic management • Storm water maintenance• Fleet & equipment maintenance• Maintain parks, boulevards, trails &

open spaces• Drainage

Capital Works & Asset Management• Project management• Technical services • Development reviews• GIS & Asset Management

Environmental Services• Water operations• Waste Water operations

Development Services

Planning Services• Land use planning• Official Plan & Zoning amendments• Coordinate development review

process• Committee of Adjustment

Building & Bylaw Enforcement Building inspections Sewage inspections Permitting Bylaw enforcement

Economic Development Business retention, expansion and

promotion activities Downtown revitalization (CIP) Liaison with developers of

employment land Tourism coordination and liaison with

regional tourism efforts

Community Services

Community Programs & Services• Recreation & leisure programming• Aquatics program and pool maintenance• Indoor facility booking • Community events

coordination/support• Marketing/promotion of events &

programs• User group liaison

Parks & Facilities• Facility management/maintenance• Arena and community centre booking• Maintain outdoor sports/ recreation

fields/facilities

Fire Services & Emergency Management• Suppression• Prevention• Education & Training• Disaster planning/coordination efforts

© 2017 Imaginate Inc. All rights reserved.

2.3 Target High-Level Organizational Chart pg. 11

- DRAFT FOR REVIEW -

CAO

Manager, Strategic Communications

Town Clerk & Legal Services

Revised Position

Director, Corporate Services

CORPORATE SERVICES

Director, Infrastructure Services

INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES

Director, Development Services

DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

Manager, Finance & Business Services

Manager, Information Technology

Manager, Human Resources

• Assistant Manager, Business Services

• Staff (2)

• Assistant Manager, Financial Services

• Staff (4)

• Deputy Clerk

• Technology Specialist

• Staff (2)

Manager, Operations & Drainage

Manager, Capital Works & Asset Management

Manager, Environmental Services

Senior Planner

• Public Works Sr. Leader

• Staff (8)

• Lead Hand, Environmental Services

• Staff (3)

• Planner

• Specialist, Asset Management

Chief Building Official & Manager of Bylaw Enforcement

• Deputy CBO

• Staff (2)

COMMUNITY SERVICES

Director, Community Services

Manager, Recreation & Culture

• Assistant Manager, Community Programs

• Assistant Manager, Aquatics

• Staff/Students

Manager, Parks & Facilities

• Deputy Fire Chief

• Assistant Deputy Chief

• Assistant Manager, Parks & Facilities

Fire Chief

• Staff

• Specialist, Communications & Citizen Engagement

Economic Development Officer

• Staff (1)

• Building Inspector / Bylaw Enforcement

• Assistant Manager, Operations & Drainage

• Staff (1)

• GIS Technician

• Program Coordinator

• Landscape Technician

• Facility Maintenance Technician

• Staff/Students

• Staff/Students

• Staff/Students New Position - approved in 5-yr forecast

New Position – not in 5-yr forecast


2.4 Recommendations pg. 12

Recommendation 1.0Shift Manager, Legislative Services/Clerkout of Corporate Services to report directly to the CAO; rename position Town Clerk/Legal Services; establish clear roles/responsibilities for the new Deputy Clerk position (already in budget).

Rationale / Expected Benefits• Consistent with Design Principle 3: Clarity of Roles & Responsibility by

making a clear distinction between the treasury/finance role and the clerk/legislative services role.

• Strengthen the role of the Town Clerk function by shifting it outside Corporate Services

• Of the seven comparators, only Centre Wellington has the Clerk and Finance functions in the same department. In five comparators, the Clerk position reports directly to the CAO.

• This recommendation will contribute to addressing a key finding from the Current Assessment that relationship between Council and the administration needs to improve.

• The Senior Management Team, participating Members of Council and staff were asked the same question “On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being poor, 5 being exceptional), how would you rate the overall level of teamwork/collaboration across the organization”. The results were:

• The Senior Management Team’s average score was 3.1.• Council Member’s average score was 2.7.

• Records management was identified as a functional gap. Adding the Deputy Clerk position will provide the capacity to oversee this function and provide ongoing support/back-up for the Town Clerk.

Alignment to Strategic Plan• One of the drivers behind the development of the Town

of Essex Strategic Plan: 2016-2018 was to provide priorities and direction that were consistent for both Council and the Administration. Strengthening the role of the Clerk and aligning this position to report directly to the CAO will contribute to a better relationship between Council and the Administration.

CAO

Corporate Services



Community Services



Recommendation 2.0Shift Manager, Human Resources from reporting directly to the CAO to being part of the Corporate Services Department reporting to the Director; establish formal bi-monthly meetings between the CAO and Manager, HR.

Rationale / Expected Benefits• Given that Human Resources has been established as an important function

within the organization, embedding this function within Corporate Services ensures Director-level support for HR priorities at the senior management table.

• In their online questionnaire, staff were asked “On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being poor, 5 being exceptional), How would you rate the current level of motivation/enthusiasm among those staff members that you frequently work with?” Almost half of all respondents gave this a ‘1’ (poor) demonstrating a significant need for change. This recommendation ensures that a Director-level position is accountable to taking action to contribute to positive morale change across the organization.

• Provides an opportunity to develop day-to-day synergies and efficiencies between HR and Finance.

• The objective of the formal bi-monthly HR meeting with the CAO is to ensure attention/focus on achieving strategic corporate HR outcomes and to ensure direct accountability to the CAO on personnel/sensitive HR matters.

• In addition, all respectful workplace and code of conduct issues with identifiable individuals are matters between the Manager, HR and the CAO. CAO, Director of Corporate Services and the Manager of HR need to establish clear lines of reporting on all HR matters to ensure the success of this recommendation.

Alignment to Strategic Plan• Council and Administration have identified 6

primary objectives for 2016-18. One of these priorities was to manage the Town’s finances and human resources in a responsible manner. Having the same director accountable for both finances and human resources will contribute to more accountability to track progress on this objective.

CAO

Corporate Services



Community Services



Recommendation 3.0Introduce a Specialist, Communications & Citizen Engagement with the responsibility for support/promote strategic initiatives, branding, public/media relations, website/social media, internal communications and citizen outreach and engagement.

Rationale / Expected Benefits• This recommendation is consistent with Design

Principle 1: Functional Integrity & Accountability. Communications and citizen engagement are similar/ dependent functions that will benefit from being under a single Manager.

• Improving internal communications was the number 1 response to the Staff Questionnaire question “if you were the CAO for a day, what two changes would you make?”.

• Internal communications is a better skillset fit with Communications than it is with the Clerk/Legislative Services.

Alignment to Strategic Plan• Council and Administration have identified 6 primary objectives for

2016-18. One of these priorities was to “enhance communications and community engagement”. Having one position accountable for both communications and community engagement will contribute to accountability for results. Several actions were identified:

• Identify methods and activities to engage citizens and obtain input (e.g. surveys, open houses, meet and greets, walkabouts)

• Use appropriate forms of media to inform, educate and communicate with the public

• Identify efficiency tools and techniques to enhance internal communication (e.g. meeting manager software, records retention and storage tools, intranet)

• Create cross-functional working groups, including internal and external participants, to increase collaborative efforts

CAO

Corporate Services



Community Services



Recommendation 4.0Increase the capacity of IT to effectively meet internal departmental needs and external citizen expectations by introducing a Technology Specialist position.

Rationale / Expected Benefits• Lack of capacity and bench strength was identified as

a gap during the Current Assessment phase of this project. Adding the Technology Specialist position is critical to enabling the Town to leverage/optimize current and future technology tools/applications.

• Staff have completed a review of the IT staffing levels of the County and its member municipalities. All member municipalities have at least two IT resources with Leamington and LaSalle having three and the County having six.

• IT function within Corporate Services Department is consistent with other municipalities. Six of our seven comparators have the finance and information technology functions within the same department.

Alignment to Strategic Plan• One of the Action Items identified in the Strategic Plan under Objective

1: Enhance Communications and Community Engagement is to “identify efficiency tools and techniques to enhance internal communication (e.g. meeting manager software, records retention and storage tools, intranet)”. Achieving this will require additional capacity/skillset for IT.

CAO

Corporate Services



Community Services



Recommendation 5.0Strengthen the asset management function within the Capital Works & Asset Management service area; add a Specialist of Asset Management and shift GIS Technician from IT to Capital Works & Asset Management

Rationale / Expected Benefits• While the Town has been successful in developing a

good Asset Management Plan, the project identified a capacity/skillset gap in operationalizing an effective asset management plan/program.

• This recommendation is consistent with Design Principle 1 and 2:

• Functional Integrity & Accountability – it combines similar / dependent functions under a single manager to ensure effective accountability for results

• Address Existing Functional Gaps - based on the project findings, the organizational structure must address the current issues and functional gaps


2016-18. One of these priorities was to manage the Town’s infrastructure in a responsible and efficient manner. Asset management was identified as a primary area of focus.

• This additional resource - Specialist of Asset Management – will work well with the GIS Technician to address the following Strategic Plan Action Items:

• Work toward eliminating funding gap for infrastructure replacement and renewal

• Develop a 5-year roads improvement/maintenance plan

CAO

Corporate Services



Community Services



Recommendation 6.0Establish a new Department of Development Services made up of three business areas: Planning, Building & Bylaws and Economic Development; introduce a Director position; relocate this department with a single customer counter in Gesto.

Rationale / Expected Benefits• Provides a one-window/counter for customers/applicants that

will contribute to improving internal processing of applications and enhance customer service.

• This recommendation is consistent with several Design Principles:• Functional Integrity & Accountability – pulls together

similar/dependent functions under a single Director to ensure effective accountability for results

• Effective Span of Authority – reduces the span of authority of the current Infrastructure & Development Services Department

• Customer Friendly/Intuitive Functional Grouping – pulling together these functions and having a common counter will result in enhancing level of service to applicants/ customers.

• Provide an opportunity for more synergies to be built between planning, building and economic development.

• The Current Assessment phase identified the need to improve the interaction/connection points between Planning and Building processes. This recommendation will enable this integration/ teamwork.

Alignment to Strategic Plan• Council and Administration have identified 6 primary

objectives for 2016-18. One of these priorities was to enhance economic development activities through business retention and expansion, attraction of light industrial businesses, and downtown improvements. This strategic directive requires that planning, building and economic development service areas are all working together to remove any existing barriers and promote economic growth in Essex. Having all of these functions under the responsibility of a single Director will ensure accountability for results.

CAO

Corporate Services



Community Services



Recommendation 7.0Shift Fire & Emergency Services under the Community Services Department.

Rationale / Expected Benefits• This recommendation addresses Design Principle #1:

Functional Integrity & Accountability that pulls together functions with similarities under a single Director to ensure accountability for results.

• This recommendation is also consistent with Design Principle #4: Effective Span of Authority by reducing the number of direct reports to the CAO.

• This recommendation is not inconsistent with the trend of similarly sized municipalities. Three of our comparators had Fire Services within a department while four have standalone Fire Departments. Of the municipalities that have Fire within a department, all of them have Fire in with Community Services.


2016-18. One of these priorities was to enhance communications and community engagements. Having Recreation & Culture, Parks & Facilities and Fire & Emergency Services in the same Department provide an opportunity for a collaborative approach to undertaking the following actions identified in the Strategic Plan:

• Identify methods and activities to engage citizens and obtain input (e.g. surveys, open houses, meet and greets, walkabouts)

• Continue to use appropriate forms of media to inform, educate and communicate with the public

• Create cross-functional working groups, including internal and external participants, to increase collaborative efforts

CAO

Corporate Services



Community Services



Recommendation 8.0Enhance the Community Programmer position to increase the capacity of this department to expand community-based programs and services across all facilities within the Town of Essex.

Rationale / Expected Benefits• Provides the Department with the capacity to move

forward with additional community programs and services as well as assist community events.

• Consistent with the Design Principle 2: Addressing Existing Functional Gaps.


2016-18. One of these priorities was to promote healthy and active living through recreational and cultural opportunities. There was clear direction from Council to expand programing and service delivery in this area, including the following Action Items:

• Maintain and explore new and creative service delivery methods for programming to all age groups

• Maintain current sport and recreation facilities to ensure maximum usage

• Continue to explore marketing and sponsorship opportunities to promote facilities

• Continue to explore revenue generation opportunities through marketing and sponsorships

CAO

Corporate Services



Community Services



Recommendation 9.0Introduce semi-annual Staff Meetings facilitated by the CAO with the active involvement of the Senior Management Team. Two friendly/casual 30-minute sessions, mandatory for staff, offered on the same day.

Rationale / Expected Benefits• Progressive organizations effectively communicate with their employees. These

semi-annual staff meetings demonstrate to staff that they play a valuable role within the organization.

• Demonstrating to staff that the municipality is ready to take action to continue the momentum of an improved organizational culture.

• Widespread agreement that the Town does a good job interacting with the public and providing good customer service. Agreement that overall there is a good sense of teamwork and that generally people work together to accomplish what needs to be done. These internal best practices could be celebrated at these Staff Meetings.

• Agreement that there is a need for staff meetings to communicate the “big picture” and initiate conversations between managers and staff and among departments.

• 19% of responses from Staff Questionnaire “If you were the CAO for a day, what one change would you make?” said they would “improve internal communications”.


primary objectives for 2016-18. One of these priorities was to enhance communications and community engagement. Primary area of focus has been identified as both external and internal communication. This recommendation will contribute to more effective top-down, internal communication.



Recommendation 10.0Strengthen the succession planning approach across the organization to provide internal career path options for staff and contribute to more organizational consistency and stability; identify one of the senior management team members as the Deputy CAO to provide ongoing back-up and support to the CAO and contribute to an effective future CAO transition strategy.

Rationale / Expected Benefits• The Current Assessment phase of this project identified a staff morale problem. In

their online questionnaire, staff were asked “On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being poor, 5 being exceptional), How would you rate the current level of motivation/enthusiasm among those staff members that you frequently work with?” Almost half of all respondents gave this a ‘1’ (poor) demonstrating a significant need for improvement.

• Almost ¼ of respondents believe there is a lack of effective succession/career planning. Actively promoting internal career path opportunities will contribute positively to improving staff morale.

• One of the questions we asked our comparator municipalities was how they are addressing succession planning. Centre Wellington monitor potential retirements and reviews potential internal candidates for growing into these positions. The Town of Lincoln is investing in cross-training existing employees, thus increasing organizational adaptability.

• Stability and predictability at the CAO-level is needed. This recommendation to identify a Deputy CAO would positively contribute to organizational stability.


primary objectives for 2016-18. One of these priorities was to Manage the Town’s finances and human resources in a responsible manner. One of the actions identified to meet this objective was to develop a succession plan that addresses retirements and anticipates staffing needs.


pg. 22

3.0 Action Plan

3.1 Implementation Key Success Factors

3.2 Timeline for Action


3.1 Implementation Key Success Factors pg. 23

Below are several key success factors for effective implementation:

1. A phased-in, action-oriented implementation plan - it is critical to develop a carefully phased approach with timelines that recognize the Township's priorities, resource constraints and change management sensitivities. This Plan must provide a blueprint for action that ensures that implementation is “do-able” and will achieve the expected benefits.

2. Establish an internal Project Coordinator to oversee the Action Plan. Involving and engaging staff at all levels during the implementation process will contribute to early buy-in and careful attention to operational details.

3. Ongoing communication with staff – as changes are being implemented, it is critical that staff are kept informed of the progress. It is recommended that a very open and transparent change process be followed to keep staff updated on changes as they unfold.

4. Ensure that progress and success are recognized and celebrated to ensure continued momentum for change.

5. Active senior level support - the transition process will require significant change and relies heavily on the active support of the CAO and all members of the Senior Management Team.


3.2 Timeline for Action pg. 24

Successfully implementing the recommendations and action items requires a phased approach that recognizes the reality of limitedresources and budgets:

– Phase 1: Quick Wins & Addressing Functional Gaps– focusses on making some immediate improvements to improve workplace morale and address critical functional gaps.

– Phase 2: Building Capacity – focusses on building organizational capacity that will enable long-term organizational excellence in several service areas.

Phase 2: Building Capacity

(Within 5 Years)

• Recommendation 5.0 –Introduce Specialist of Asset Management and shift GIS Technician to Capital Works & Asset Management

• Recommendation 3.0 –Introduce a Specialist, Communications & Citizen Engagement position

$105,000-$130,000 $125,000 - $145,000 $270,000

CostEstimates

Phase 1: Quick Wins & Addressing Functional Gaps

(Within 2 years)

• Recommendation 9.0 –Semi-annual Staff Meetings facilitated by the CAO with the active involvement of the Senior Management Team

• Recommendation 1.0 - Shift Manager, Legislative Services/Clerk to reporting to CAO; introduce a Deputy Clerk position

• Recommendation 2.0 - Shift Manager, HR to report to Corporate Services Director

• Recommendation 6.0 – establish Development Services Department with Planning, Building & Bylaws and Economic Development; relocate this department to Gesto.

• Recommendation 10.0 – Identify succession planning priorities; establish a Deputy CAO position

• Recommendation 7.0 – Shift Fire & Emergency Services under Community Services Department

• Recommendation 4.0 – Introduce a Technology Specialist position

• Recommendation 8.0 – Enhance the Community Programmer position

21



Phase 1: Quick Wins & Addressing Functional Gaps (Within 2 years)

Action Items When? Who ‘owns’ this?

Who else is involved?

Estimated Cost

Conduct the first Semi-Annual Staff Meeting facilitated by the CAO with the active involvement of the Senior Management Team (Recommendation 9). The purpose of this first session would be to explain the upcoming org review changes, timelines and approach.

First month upon Council approval

CAO Senior Team $0

Implement Recommendation 1.0 to shift Town Clerk & Legal Services to reporting directly to CAO; establish clear roles/responsibilities for the new Deputy Clerk position (already budgeted for).

First 3 months

CAO Senior Team HR

$0

Implement Recommendation 2.0 to shift Manager, HR to report to Corporate Services Director.

First 3 months

CAO Senior Team $0

Implement Recommendation 6.0 to establish Development Services Department with Planning, Building & Bylaws and Economic Development; introduce a Director position and relocate this department to Gesto.

First 8 months

CAO/Senior Team

HR $20,000-$30,000 Internal moving

costs

Implement Recommendation 10.0 to identify succession planning priorities and establish a Deputy CAO position.

First 8 months

CAO/Senior Team

HR $0

Implement recommendation 7.0 to shift Fire & Emergency Services under Community Services Department.

First 12 months

Implement Recommendation 4.0 to introduce a Technology Specialist position.

First 16 months

Director, Corporate Services

CAO/Senior Team HR

$65,000-$75,000

Implement Recommendation 7.0 to enhance the Community Programmer position.

First 18 months

Director, Community Services

Manager, Recreation & Culture

HR

$20,000-$25,000



Phase 2: Building Capacity (within 5 years)

Action Items When? Who ‘owns’ this?

Who else is involved?

Estimated Cost

Implement Recommendation 5.0a to introduce Specialist of Asset Management

Within 3 yrs


CAO/Senior Team Manager, Capital

Works & Asset Management

HR

$65,000-$75,000

Implement Recommendation 5.0b to shift GIS Technician to Capital Works & Asset Management

Within 3 yrs


CAO/Senior Team Manager, Capital

Works & Asset Management

HR

$0

Implement Recommendation 3.0 to introduce a Specialist, Communications & Citizen Engagement position.

Within 5 yrs

CAO Manager, Strategic Communications

HR

$60,000-$70,000


pg. 27

Appendix A: High-Level Role Summaries for New & Revised Positions


High-Level Role Summaries for New & Revised Positions pg. 28

High-Level Role Summaries

New Position Title Current Position Title

High-Level Role

Specialist, Communications & Citizen Engagement

NEW Reports to the Manager, Strategic Communications; responsible to assist the Manager in all internal and external communications and to play a key role in all citizen and community engagement activities.

Technology Specialist NEW Reports to the Manager, Information Technology; responsible to assist the Manager in all IT-related functions playing a key role in ongoing technical/application support for all departments.

Specialist, Asset Management

NEW Reports to the Manager, Capital Works and Asset Management; responsible to assist the Manager in building and maintaining a comprehensive asset management program. Position will require ongoing interaction with departments, especially Corporate Services.

Lead Hand, Environmental Services

NEW Reports to the Manager, Environmental Services; responsible to assist the Manager in completing key work, including establishing scheduling staff time.

Facility Maintenance Technician

NEW Reports to the Manager, Parks & Facilities; responsible to assist the Manager in maintain the Town’s indoor facilities. This position will also be required to liaise with outside maintenance contractors.

Director, Development Services

Senior Planner Report to the CAO; oversee all planning, building, bylaw enforcement and economic development functions.

Town Clerk/Legal Services Manager, Legislative Services/Clerk

Reports to the CAO; only change to this position now reports to the CAO instead of the Director, Corporate Services

Assistant Manager, Financial Services

Financial Analyst Reports to the Manager, Finance & Business Services; upgrading this position to better reflect current roles and responsibilities

Senior Planner Policy Planner (PT Temp) Reports to the Director, Development Services; shifting this to a full-time position to increase capacity within this service area.

Deputy Chief Building Official

Chief Building Official Reports to the Chief Building Official; addresses the current two CBO structure (anticipated that this change will be initiated upon the retirement of one of the current CBOs)

Community Programmer Community Programmer Reports to the Assistant Manager, Community Programs; Responsible to assist the Manager to develop and facilitate the delivery of programs and events.


pg. 29m

Appendix B: Current Assessment


pg. 30Table of Contents

Introduction

Project Introduction

Case for Change Overview

Summary of Key Findings

Comparative Practice Review

Comparators

Organizational Charts & Design Features

Comparative Finding Highlights

Attachment: Staff Questionnaire Results


pg. 31

Introduction

Project Introduction

Case for Change Overview

Summary of Key Findings


Project Objectives & Scope The objective of this project is to review and update the organizational structure of the Town of Essex to reach optimal levels of effectiveness

and efficiency in the delivery of its day-to-day services.

To be successful, this project will need to accomplish the following outcomes:

– Ensure that the Town has the capacity to achieve the outcomes identified in the Strategic Plan & Vision. These strategic outcomes will require the right organizational building blocks.

– Review the strengths and weaknesses of the current organizational structure and recommend changes to establish a strong foundation for long-term organizational effectiveness, continuous improvement and innovation.

– Identify opportunities for improvements in effectiveness, efficiency and customer service.

– Conduct a targeted comparative analysis with similarly sized municipalities to identify trends, organizational design features and innovative practices.

– Explore the appropriateness of current staffing levels based strategic objectives and legislative requirements; incorporate a succession planning perspective.

– Assess organizational culture strengths and weaknesses and develop recommendations contributing to positive change.

– Establish recommended performance indicators to monitor change impacts.

Deliverables Primary project deliverables will include:

– Current Assessment: Case for Change (this document) – this deliverable will clearly identify the strengths, weaknesses, any gaps in accountability, unbalanced span of authority, unbalanced workload, service level challenges, duplication of effort and lack of alignment between strategic priorities and operational focus/capacity. A targeted comparative review is also included in this delivearable. The result will be a clearly articulated case for change providing direction for a new organizational model/structure.

– Final Report - synthesize all analysis, findings, recommendations and Action Plan accompanied by an Executive Summary Presentation to Council.

pg. 32Project Introduction


pg. 33Case for Change Overview

Collaborative Process for Current Assessment Activities A collaborative, investigative approach was utilized to complete this fact-finding phase, including:

– Review of existing documents, including the strategic plan and organizational charts.

– Project launch meeting with the Senior Team;

– One-on-one interviews with Senior Team and all Members of Council;

– Group session in each functional area;

– Targeted review of organizational structures and practices of comparative municipalities;

– Working strategic brainstorming session with the Senior Team; and

– Online staff questionnaire feedback (34 responses).

Current Assessment Theme Areas This section represents Imaginate’s synthesis/interpretation of findings that have been compiled from a variety of sources, including the

review of documents/reports, common themes/findings from the one-on-one interviews, comparative review, staff questionnaire and group sessions.

These findings have been categorized into the following themes:

1. Leadership & Decision-Making

2. Customer Service & External Communication

3. Roles, Responsibilities & Internal Processes

4. Teamwork & Collaboration

5. Staff Engagement, Career Advancement & Morale


1. Leadership & Decision-Makinga) Widespread agreement that current Council dynamics is causing some strain on the organization. There is a need for a greater level

of professionalism at Council level.

b) Recognition within the organization that the Town is going through a difficult transition period and that there is a level of tension at the senior management team level.

c) The relationship between Council and the administration needs to improve. There is a perception at a staff level that Councillors are getting too involved in day-to-day operations.

d) Agreement that top-down, internal communication needs to improve.

e) Numerous comments that the organization needs to get better at seeing the “big picture”, setting strategic priorities and establishing a long-term vision. There is a sense that Town is overly reactive.

f) Responses from Staff Questionnaire “If you were the CAO for a day, what two changes would you make?” provide staff’s perception of the improvement priorities for their leaders

Summary of Key Findings pg. 34

Common Themes % of the questionnaire responses(42 total responses)

1 Improve internal communications 19%

2 Improve customer service / one counter / consolidate customer service

11.9%

2 Improve Council's level of professionalism / Council stop micro-managing / clarify Council's role

11.9%

3 Reduce number of management positions 7.1%

4 Hire more staff 4.8%


2. Customer Service & External Communication a) A common theme in the interviews, sessions and questionnaire responses was that Town staff generally provide good customer

service and are easily accessible to the public.

b) Agreement that external communications/promotion has improved, and there is a sense that the Town is using all channels, especially social media, to get information to the community.

c) Several members of Council recognized that they have good, dedicated staff with solid subject matter expertise.

d) Mixed messages on whether the North-South divide was getting better or whether is still a primary citizen concern.

e) Several positive comments about the Town’s ability to provide the community with exceptional parks, trails and active living opportunities. For a Town Essex’s size, citizens have access to many amenities that contribute to a high quality of life.

f) Several comments that indicated that customer service needs to improve. There is a perception that levels of customer service are not consistent across all departments/facilities/locations.

g) Question 3 from the Staff Questionnaire asked “What are the top three complaints that you hear from citizens about the Town of Essex”:

Summary of Key Findings (continued ...) pg. 35


1 Poor customer service / staff not answering phones / phone system

14.9%

2 Council behaviour/actions 13.5%

3 Taxes / Fees too high /not getting enough value for tax dollars 10.8%

4 North vs south-related complaints 8.1%

4 Condition of roads 8.1%

5 Condition of the downtown 5.4%


3. Roles, Responsibilities & Internal Processes a) In general, there were numerous comments about lack of bench strength in several functional areas.

b) Need to improve the interaction/connection points between Planning and Building processes.

c) There is a need to clarify the expectations of who does what in Community Services between Facilities and Programming when itcomes to cleaning up facilities after programming takes place.

d) There is a need to clarify and formalize the relationship and reporting structure with the Manager, Parks & Facilities and Assistant Manager, Facilities & Marina.

e) As the organization matures, a number of current functional gap/limited capacity areas will need to be addressed, including:

Internal communications

Asset management

Customer service oversight

Records management

In house legal / Clerk support

CAO/Senior Team administrative support

Bylaw/property standards enforcement

Tourism priorities

Information technology capacity


Common Themes % of the questionnaire responses

(55 total responses)

1 Management-staff issues 14.5%

2 Poor internal communications 12.7%

3 No issues / nothing 10.9%

4 Negative organizational culture / morale issues 7.3%

5 Feel “micro-managed" 5.5%

6 Perception of Council / political "interference" 5.5%

7 Unclear / blurred lines of responsibilities / roles / who does what

5.5%

f) Findings from the Staff Questionnaire: When asked the question “What processes, procedures or rules frustrate you and/or limit your ability to be effective in your job?”


4. Teamwork & Collaboration a) Need for better top-down and cross-departmental internal communication.

b) Agreement that there is a need to breakdown departmental silos and improve cross-departmental connection points.

c) The Senior Management Team, participating Members of Council and staff were asked the same question “On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being poor, 5 being exceptional), how would you rate the overall level of teamwork/collaboration across the organization”. The results were:

− The Senior Management Team’s average score was 3.1.

− Council Member’s average score was 2.7.

− Staff’s average score was 2.0.

d) In the Staff Questionnaire, staff were asked “If you were the CAO for a day, what two changes would you make?”. 19% of respondents said they would improve internal communications.

e) In the Staff Questionnaire, staff were asked “On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being poor, 5 being exceptional), how would you rate the overall level of teamwork/collaboration across the organization?”. The results were:


Answer Options (32 responses)Response Percent

Exceptional (5) 3.1%

Very good (4) 9.4%

Good (3) 18.8%

Fair (2) 25%

Poor (1) 43.8%

Common Themes (optional)

1Improve cross-departmental communication / teamwork / silos / turf protection (40.6%)

2Staff work together when something needs to get done (18.8%)

3 Attitudes of "us" (union) vs. "them" (management) (15.6%)

4Senior management teamwork/communication needs to improve (12.5%)


5. Staff Engagement, Career Advancement & Moralea) Staff retention is not currently an issue. People seem to stay with the Town.

b) Agreement that staff morale is fairly low. Several commented that it is not a “fun place to work” right now. Several commented that there is a lot of “negativity in the office” right now.

c) Mixed messages about training opportunities. Some recognize that the Town provides opportunities for training and courses while others have a perception that they see others taking training but they do not have the opportunity.

d) Several comments that indicated that the organization needs to demonstrate that they appreciate/value staff. One of the examplesthat was provided several times was the quality of the staff lunchroom.

e) In their online questionnaire, staff were asked “On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being poor, 5 being exceptional), How would you rate the current level of motivation/enthusiasm among those staff members that you frequently work with?” Almost half of all respondents gave this a ‘1’ (poor) demonstrating a significant need for change.



1 Genuine / caring staff / work well together (26.7%)

2 No accountability for good / bad behaviour /results (26.7)

3Workplace drama / gossiping / "walking on eggshells" / unfriendly working environment (13.8%)

4 Being short-staffed negatively impacts motivation / enthusiasm (10.3%)

5Poor communication / interaction between senior managers and staff (10.3%)



Very good (4) 12.5%

Good (3) 15.6%

Fair (2) 15.6%

Poor (1) 46.9%


pg. 39

Comparative Analysis

Approach & Comparators

Organizational Charts & Design Features

Comparative Finding Highlights


Objectives, Approach & Participants The objective of this phase is to review the structures and practices of comparable municipalities to provide some context and document

organizational design features, trends and to innovative practices.

The criteria for selecting comparable municipalities were primarily a similar population (based on the 2011 Statistics Canada Census). Four municipalities within the County of Essex and three municipalities within a two-tier environment outside of the County of Essex.

1. Amherstburg (21,936)

2. Kingsville (21,552)

3. Lakeshore (36,611)

4. Leamington (27,595)

5. Woolwich (23,145)

6. Centre Wellington (26,693)

7. Lincoln (23,787)

In addition to reviewing publically available material to produce high-level organizational charts, Comparative Questionnaires were emailed by the Town of Essex CAO to the CAOs of the selected municipalities. Lakeshore and Centre Wellington responded to the survey and their answers are provided.

Approach & Comparators pg. 40


Key Org Design Features 10 direct reports to the CAO, including Clerk and HR positions

Planning, building, bylaw enforcement and licensing merged into one department

Drainage Supervisor reports to the Manager of Engineering and Operations

Clerk function is not part of Corporate Services but is merged with the risk management function

Fire is a standalone department

No corporate communications position

CAO has an Executive Assistant

Amherstburg (21,936) pg. 41

CAO

Municipal Clerk / Risk Manager

Manager, Human Resources

Director, Engineering

& Public Works

Director, Planning,

Development &

Legislative Services

Fire ChiefDirector, Corporate

Services & Treasurer

Manager, Municipal

Facilities

Manager, Recreation

Services

Manager, Parks &

Naturalized Areas

Manager, Tourism &

Culture

Manager, Environmental

Services

Manager, Roads and Fleet

Manager, Engineering and

Operations

Manager, Licensing and

Enforcement

Manager, Planning Services

Manager, Manager, Building

Services and CBO

Manager, Financial Services

Manager, Information

Technology

Deputy Fire Chief

Assistant Deputy

Fire Chief


Key Org Design Features 6 direct reports to the CAO

Municipal Services includes Parks & Recreation, Public Works and Environmental Services

Corporate Services function and Finance function are in separate departments; IT resides with Finance

Corporate Services/Clerk Department is the office of the Clerk and Town Solicitor.

Bylaw enforcement function is with the building function

The Chief Building Official reports directly to the Manager of Planning & Development

Kingsville (21,552) pg. 42

CAO

Director, Financial

Services

Director, Corporate

Services/Clerk

Chief, Fire and

Emergency Services

Director, Municipal

Services Manager of Planning

& Development

Services

Manager of

Recreation Programs

Manager, Public

Works

Manager,

Environmental

Services

Chief Building

Official

Manager, Parks &

Recreation

Deputy Treasurer


Technology

Deputy Clerk


Lakeshore (36,611) pg. 43

Key Org Design Features 5 direct reports to the CAO, including the Manager of HR and the Clerk

Development Services, Community Services and Fire are all in one department

Building and Planning functions reside in one department

Manager, Communications & Strategic Services reports to the Director, Community and Development Services

Manager of Recreation, Leisure and ATC reports to the Director, Community and Development Services

Clerk and Finance/Corporate Services functions are split into different departments

CAO

Director, Engineering

& Infrastructure

Services

Manager of Engineering

Services

Director, Community

and Development

Services

Director, Finance

Services

Manager of Environmental

Services

Manager of Public Works

Drainage Superintendent

Manager of Communications

Manager of Recreation &

Leisure

Manager of Development

Services and Town

Planner

Fire Chief

Manager of Accounting

Manager of Revenue

Services

Manager of IT

Manager of Financial Analysis

Manager of Human Resources

Manager Building Services

and Chief Building Official

Clerk


Responses to Questionnaire:1. What elements of the current organizational structure have been effective?

– Creating synergies within the departments, for example Engineering working with Public Works and Drainage on infrastructure projects.

– Creating an effective organizational design and Human Resources assisting through effective recruitment.

– Senior Management Team

2. Are you aware of any resource or skillset gaps that your municipality will need to address in the future?

– We have several positions facing retirement within the next 5 years where the incumbents are long standing leaders. In addition, we are experiencing growth. Areas specifically affected with specific skillsets will be Engineering, Public Works, Recreation, and perhaps Planning.

3. Many small and mid-sized municipalities require staff to wear several functional “hats”. Which of your multi-functional positions would you consider to be most effective?

– Director of Finance is the Treasurer.

– CAO is also the “Director” for Administrative Services and Human Resources.

– Public Works includes Parks.

– For management purposes water distribution is combined with water treatment. We have the opportunity to use water distribution operators for snow removal through Public Works because of the heavy equipment operation skills.

– Human Resources is combined with Health & Safety

– Engineering and Infrastructure Services has an admin pool who work for Engineering, Public Works, Water and Drainage.

4. What is your economic development focus as a municipality? What internal positions contribute to achieving success in thi8s area?

– Supplying infrastructure to the growth and development of additional employment lands.

– Supplying infrastructure to the growth and development of increased numbers of residential housing including new subdivisions.

– Providing recreational services to meet the demands of the residents. (For example, we just opened our indoor pool in 2016).

– Attracting more retail, hospitality resources to this area.

– Creating community partnerships: minor hockey, soccer league, etc.

– All positions. Mostly the CAO, Council, Director of Communications and Development, Manager of Communications and Strategic Initiatives, Manager of Development Services (Planning), Manager of Recreation, etc.

Lakeshore (cont.) pg. 44


Responses to Questionnaire (cont.):5. Recognizing that succession planning has become a significant challenge for many local governments, what has your municipality done (or

is in the process of doing) to address this issue?

– Human Resources is working on a succession plan including development plans.

– Human Resources is working on a leadership development plan for new or developing leaders.

– Human Resources working on an overall training and development plan.

– We have a tuition reimbursement policy.

– We have some language in our collective agreements for tuition and courses.

– Human Resources is working on business continuity plan.

6. What practices/protocols have been put in place to ensure a positive and effective working relationship between Council and staff?

– Council is asked to go through the CAO when asking questions to the staff. Staff are asked to raise questions through their Director.

Lakeshore (cont.) pg. 45


Leamington (27,595) pg. 46

Key Org Design Features 6 direct reports to the CAO, with Economic Development and Communications reporting

directly to the CAO

Clerk/legislative function and finance function in separate departments

Building, planning, recreation, culture and fire in the same department

Human resources and legislative services/legal in the same department

Information technology in the same department as finance

Bylaw enforcement and building functions in separate departments

CAO

Director,

Infrastructure

Services

Manager of Engineering

Services


Communications & Public Relations Manager

Director, Legal &


Director, Community

& Development

Services

Manager of Building

Services

Manager of Planning

Services

Manager of Recreation

and Culture

Fire Chief

Director, Finance &

Business Services

Manager of Accounting

Manager of Financial

Analysis

Manager of Information

Technology

Parks Manager

Environmental Services

Manager

Manager of Public Works

Clerk/Manager of


Human Resources

Manager

Drainage Superintendent

Manager, Bylaws


Woolwich (23,145) pg. 47

Key Org Design Features CAO has 7 direct reports with economic development and human resource functions

reporting directly to the CAO

Clerk and Finance functions are in separate departments

Engineering, public works, planning, building and environmental services are in a single department

Information technology is in the Council & Information Services/Clerk Department

Bylaw enforcement and municipal drains are in the Council & Information Services/Clerk Department

Fire Services is a standalone department

CAO

Director of Council &

Information

Services/Clerk

Manager, Legislative &

Council Services

Economic Development & Tourism

Bylaw Enforcement Officer

Director of

Engineering &

Planning Services


Technology Services

Manager, Engineering

Manager, Chief Building

Official

Manager, Planning

Director of

Finance/Treasurer

Director of Recreation

& Facility ServicesFire Chief

Manager, Accounting Superintendent, Recreation

& Facilities Services

Operations

Deputy Fire Chief

Manager, Revenue

Financial Analyst

Development

Engineering Supervisor

Superintendent, Public

Works

Supervisor, Water & Sewer

Facility Supervisor

Human Resources Manager


Centre Wellington (26,693) pg. 48

Key Org Design Features CAO has 6 direct reports with communications and human resources functions reporting

directly to the CAO

Clerk and Finance functions are both in the Corporate Services Department

Public works, engineering and environmental services are in a single department

Information technology included within Corporate Services Department

Planning, building and economic development are all within Planning & Development

Bylaw enforcement is with building function with the CBO overseeing both functions

Fire Services is part of the Community Services Department

CAO

Managing Director,

Corporate Services

Clerk

Communications Coordinator

Manager, Financial

Services

Managing Director,

Infrastructure

Services

Director, Information

Technology & Systems

Engineering Services

Coordinator

Superintendent, Public

Works,

Roads Superintendent

Managing Director,

Planning &

Development

Managing Director,

Community Services

Senior Planner Parks & Facilities

Operations Manager

Manager, Building &

Bylaw Services (CBO)

Economic Development

Officer

Supervisor, Capital

Projects

Program & Event Services

Manager

Human Resources Manager

Fire Chief



– Smaller SMT (CAO & 4 Managing Directors)

− allows for quicker decision making

− more focus on corporate priorities

− linking budgets to priorities & asset management plan

− more consistent communications throughout the organization


– As CW is mandated to grow to 52,000 population by 2041 we will need to ensure we put in place the proper staff resources to meetthese demands.

– We will need skills in urban design, urban forestry, by-law enforcement, etc., (i.e. more specific technical skill sets).

– Our largest challenge is that we also need to address additional middle level staff positions in the organization to keep the processes effective, efficient, and timely. Also to take workloads off the SMT so they are able to spend a larger position of their time focusing on strategic priorities and corporate issues and less on hands on work (i.e. managing the organization).


– We currently share several positions with other government organizations which are working very well

− Fire Training Officer & Source Water Risk Management Officer (County of Wellington pays for position, and CW is manages the position which supports 6 County area municipalities)

− Source Water Protection Inspector – partnership between 5 Wellington municipalities and financially support by all based on use of position. Again position managed by CW

− A position we have recently changed was a Customer Service/financial Analyst into two separate positions as this workload for each role was increasing and was not being effective to share the role anymore

− Human Resources & Payroll Coordinator – this position also is an executive assistant to the CAO and Mayor. This position is working okay now but will need to be redefined as the HR function grows and Cao needing a more strategic planning support position.

− We have moved away from shared positions in the past few years as the workload in our size of municipality has increased and required direct roles.

Centre Wellington (cont.) pg. 49


Responses to Questionnaire (cont.):4. What is your economic development focus as a municipality? What internal positions contribute to achieving success in thi8s area?

– We have one FTE for Economic Development which is managed within our Planning & Development Department (Planning, Building &ED). This allows for one stop coordination for our business community to link with required planning and building processes fortheir business expansion or new businesses.

– The County of Wellington does provide ED services and we work with their staff as they focus on more regional ED marketing.

– Our EDO person also works very closely with our Tourism Coordinator and Cultural Coordinator (Part-time), who are within the Community Services Department, and our Communications Coordinator to help promote, market and educate the community and potential business expansion and growth.

– The EDO also works closely with the CAO

5. Recognizing that succession planning has become a significant challenge for many local governments, what has your municipality done (or is in the process of doing) to address this issue?

– We monitor potential retirements through our HR division and review potential internal candidates for growing into these positions.Training opportunities are identified for these individuals.

– At our SMT we review succession planning as part of our annual budget process and discuss possible changes in position responsibilities


– Weekly meeting with Mayor and CAO

– Monthly CAO written report emailed to all of staff and Council

– Mayor and Councillors have access to all of SMT as needed.

– Regular email updates and forwarding of key other organizations emails (i.e. AMO, FCM, GRCA, etc.)

– CAO meets with individual Councillors on specific issues as they arise (not all Councillors make their time available for these meetings)

Centre Wellington (cont.) pg. 50


Lincoln (23,787) pg. 51

Key Org Design Features CAO has nine direct reports, including the communications, human resources and economic

development functions.

Clerk and Finance functions are in different departments.

Planning, Building and Bylaw Enforcement are in the same department.

Fire Department is a standalone department.

IT and Finance functions are in the same department.

Parks & Facilities are in Community Services.

CAO

Director, Corporate

Services/Clerk

Deputy Clerk

Communications Advisor

Human Resources Coordinator

Director, Finance &

Administration

Director, Public

Works

Director, Community

Services

Director, Planning &

Development


Legislative Coordinator

Manager of Revenue

Senior Financial

Analyst

IT Coordinator

Manager, Technical

Services

Manager, Roads &

Fleet

Manager, Water &

Wastewater

Associate Director,

Rec, Culture &

Special Projects

Manager, Parks &

Facilities

Fire Chief

Manager, Planning

Chief Building Official

Manager of Bylaw &

Enforcement Services

Deputy Fire

Chief



– We have found that the flat structure of the department and the organization has been very effective in increasing productivity and communication. In addition, the organization is modelled around functionality which allows subject matter experts to align better.


– Financial resources will be the biggest challenge in the coming years. We will need financial resources to attract and retain talent.


– The most effective would most likely be the combination of Health & Safety and Human Resources as well as the placement of Municipal By-Law and Enforcement Services within the Planning and Development Department.

– The most challenging has been to find the right fit for Crossing Guards and the broad range of services that fall under Community Services.

4. What is your economic development focus as a municipality? What internal positions contribute to achieving success in thi8s area?

– We have recently hired an Economic Development Officer, it is the first time the municipality has invested in an employee dedicated solely to Economic Development. While the Town is focused on balancing the agricultural industry with residential growth, theOfficer is also focused on finding grants and other sources of potential revenue.

5. Recognizing that succession planning has become a significant challenge for many local governments, what has your municipality done (or is in the process of doing) to address this issue?

– The Town has invested in cross-training existing employees, which increases organizational adaptability. In addition when recruiting we look for generalists and candidates that have varied backgrounds and experiences.


– The Town is currently in the final stages of implementing a clear Code of Conduct for Council. Regular meetings between Councillors and Staff representatives have increased the trust level as has more regular bilateral communication and updates.

Lincoln (23,787) (cont.) pg. 52


Comparative Finding Highlights pg. 53

Recognizing that the objective of this comparative review was to provide some context and identify any best practices and lessons learned, below are several comparative org structure design highlights:

– The Town of Amherstburg has the highest number of direct reports to the CAO with ten and Lakeshore is the lowest with four. With 7 direct reports to the CAO, Essex is right on the average of 7.

– Three of the comparators had Fire Services within a department while four have standalone Fire Departments. Of the municipalities that have Fire within a department, all of them have Fire in with Community Services.

– Of the seven comparators, only Centre Wellington has the Clerk and Finance functions in the same department. In the five comparators, the Clerk position reports directly to the CAO

– Of the seven comparators, only Woolwich has the Infrastructure/Public Works and the Planning functions within the same department.

– Of the seven comparators, all of them have Planning & Building in the same department.

– Four comparators have the human resources function report directly to the CAO (Amherstburg, Woolwich, Centre Wellington, Lincoln) and two comparators (Leamington and Lakeshore) have the human resources function with the Clerk/legislative services function.

– Woolwich, Leamington and Lincoln have their Economic Development Officer report directly to the CAO.

– Centre Wellington, Leamington and Lincoln have the communications functions reporting directly to the CAO. Lakeshore has the Manager of Communications reporting directly to the Director, Community & Development Services.

– Six of the comparators have the finance and information technology functions within the same department. Woolwich has IT within the Council & Information Services/Clerk Department.


pg. 54

Staff Questionnaire Results

Introduction

Results by Question


Approach & Level of Participation Recognizing that staff input is critical to the success of this assignment, the Staff Questionnaire gave staff an opportunity to provide

honest feedback and input in areas ranging from management effectiveness, organizational culture and staff morale, level of career satisfaction as well as their vision for the Town’s future.

Responses were completely anonymous and only seen by Imaginate. Information about ‘who said what’ were not be shared with anyone, including the CAO and Senior Team.

All staff were provided with an opportunity to complete this questionnaire online (using Survey Monkey). Imaginate received 34 completed questionnaires, representing over x% of full-time staff.

Key findings from this Questionnaire have been included in the Phase 1 Report: Case for Change Summary of Key Findings Section.

Questions: The Staff Questionnaire included the following questions:

1. What three things do you think that the Town does really well?

2. If you were the CAO for a day, what two changes would you make?

3. What are the top three complaints that you hear from citizens about the Town?

4. How would you rate the current level of motivation & enthusiasm among those staff members that you frequently work with?

5. How would you rate the overall level of teamwork/collaboration across the organization? Explain.

6. How would you rate your opportunities for growth, learning and career advancement?

7. What processes, procedures or rules frustrate you and/or limit your ability to be effective in your job? Examples?

8. What five words do you feel describe the values of our organization?

9. When you think about Essex in ten years, what is especially exciting for you?

Introduction pg. 55


Results by Question pg. 56

1. What three things do you think that the Town does really well?


1 Good communication/promotion/information provided to the public/community

19%

2 Good/friendly customer service 19%

3 Good recreation programs & promotion of healthy/active living 11.9%

4 Good staff team/get the job done 9.5%



2. If you were the CAO for a day, what two changes would you make?


1 Improve internal communications 19%

2 Improve customer service / one counter / consolidate customer service

11.9%

3 Improve Council's level of professionalism / Council stop micro-managing / clarify Council's role

11.9%

4 Reduce number of management positions 7.1%

5 Hire more staff 4.8%



3. What are the top three complaints that you hear from citizens and about the Town of Essex?


1 Poor customer service / staff not answering phones / phone system

14.9%

2 Council behaviour/actions 13.5%

3 Taxes / Fees too high /not getting enough value for tax dollars 10.8%

4 North vs south-related complaints 8.1%

5 Condition of roads 8.1%

6 Condition of the downtown 5.4%



4. How would you rate the current level of motivation & enthusiasm among those staff members that you frequently work with?

– Less than 10% of respondents rated this a “5” while almost 47% rated this a “1”. This suggests a significant morale issue that needs to be addressed.

– Over ¼ of all respondents provided optional comments that there is a lack for accountability for behaviour/performance.


1 Genuine / caring staff / work well together (26.7%)

2 No accountability for good / bad behaviour /results (26.7)

3Workplace drama / gossiping / "walking on eggshells" / unfriendly working environment (13.8%)

4 Being short-staffed negatively impacts motivation / enthusiasm (10.3%)

5 Poor communication / interaction between senior managers and staff (10.3%)



Very good (4) 12.5%

Good (3) 15.6%

Fair (2) 15.6%

Poor (1) 46.9%



5. How would you rate the overall level of teamwork/collaboration across the organization? Explain.

– Almost 44% of respondents gave this question the lowest rating of “1”, while only 3% rated this a “5”.

– Almost 70% of respondents rated teamwork/collaboration either a “1” or a “2”.

– 40% of optional comments were related to poor cross-departmental communication/ teamwork.



Very good (4) 9.4%

Good (3) 18.8%

Fair (2) 25%

Poor (1) 43.8%


1Improve cross-departmental communication / teamwork / silos / turf protection (40.6%)

2 Staff work together when something needs to get done (18.8%)

3 Attitudes of "us" (union) vs. "them" (management) (15.6%)

4 Senior management teamwork/communication needs to improve (12.5%)



6. How would you rate your opportunities for growth, learning and career advancement?

– Over half of all respondents rated this a “good” or better.

– Almost 40% of respondents believed that there are opportunities for training, education and/or courses.

– ¼ of respondents believe there is a lack of effective succession/career planning.



Very good (4) 21.9%

Good (3) 18.8%

Fair (2) 18.8%

Poor (1) 31.3%


1 Lots of opportunity / resources for training / education / courses (38.7%)

2 Lack of career planning / succession planning (25.8%)



7. What processes, procedures or rules frustrate you and/or limit your ability to be effective in your job?


1 Management-staff issues 14.5%

2 Poor internal communications 12.7%

3 No issues / nothing 10.9%

4 Negative organizational culture / morale issues 7.3%

5 Feel “micro-managed" 5.5%

6 Perception of Council / political "interference" 5.5%

7 Unclear / blurred lines of responsibilities / roles / who does what 5.5%



8. What three to five words do you feel describe the values of our organization?

Common Words % of the questionnaire responses(118 total responses)

1 Honesty / integrity / truthful /ethical / transparent / open 8.5%

2 Caring / respectful 5.1%

3 Accommodating / customer focused / helpful / service oriented 4.2%

4 Creative / creative thinking / innovative 3.4%

5 Reliable / dependable / responsible 2.5%

Negative comments / words 35.4%



9. When you think about Essex in ten years, what is especially exciting for you?


1 Retirement / "I'll be retired" 14.9%

2 Positive quality of life changes / new facilities 12.8%

3 Positive growth / new opportunities 12.8%

4 Retirements at Town providing new opportunities 10.6%

5 Positive changes to the waterfront / harbour 8.5%

Documents

Kelly Linton, Partner - eSolutionsGroup