Disrupting the traditional: a shift in mindset is essential for municipalities on the rise

By: Steve Zorbas, CAO

Municipalities are competing for talent, seeking to gain every competitive advantage to attract professionals who can truly make a difference. The begging question that follows such an impervious statement is how can we, as a municipality, bound by legislation and public funding, disrupt the traditional civic mindsets to compete with those more commonly found in private corporations that operate with vastly different rules and resources? 

For the City of Welland, the pendulum has started its swing to the opposite of the entrenched norm; a new, exuberant focus on corporate culture and visioning guiding our path forward. We're essentially integrating private sector concepts balanced with public sector expectations. Welland is the square peg that doesn't fit conventional round holes, and we're happy to possess such a shape; it sets us apart, certainly in Niagara, but even beyond our borders. 

We are disrupters, and we are proud of it.

Our transition isn't one meteorically adapted overnight. It was cultivated over time and required reframing and rethinking our mindsets, approaches, and policies. It wasn't always smooth, and it wasn't always easy, but what is progress without effort? As the CAO for the City of Welland, I ensure the City prepares for the future, placing the resilient, challenge-enduring building blocks in the appropriate locations. A robust and supported foundation is required if you want to be an employer of choice, not just for those working in the municipal sector but those looking to draw from the private sector. The City continues to change its corporate culture through the principles of being one team, one Welland, and guaranteeing an exceptional customer experience. 

Welland has adopted the phrase "we're ready when you are" in our calls to action. And it's true, we are. But it's more than just being open to new faces, ideas, and visions; it's about being ready to meet the next wave of cresting challenges. It's about fostering and promoting a culture for daring visionaries to thrive, bound by nothing more than their skill, experience, and creativity. That and the Municipal Act, of course.

You may be wondering how you can do this? How can you reshape what has traditionally been a municipally-rigid structure into a forward-thinking, progressive, testing-the-limits corporate culture? To get started, view your municipal structure through these six lenses and map out what you see in front of you and beyond.

Awareness

Welland is a great city to live, work, play, and invest in. I've said many times that the Welland of today is not the Welland of eight years ago, and the Welland of 2030 will be different from today. It may seem like a rudimentary statement, but the fact is, we're planning and preparing for the following in the next 10 years:

• 25,000 new residents
• 3,600 new employees within the City's new businesses (approx.)
• 12,000 new dwelling units
• 2.4 million square feet of non-residential development 

To put our population growth into perspective, in the next 10 years, Welland will welcome more new residents than seven current Niagara municipalities have right now.

Ignoring this reality would be foolhardy and detrimental to the City's viability and long-term health. You must understand your backyard's landscape and then determine how it will affect growth, prosperity, and economic development. Don't worry about other municipalities before your own. Welland is poised to grow faster than any Niagara municipality in the foreseeable future. With that growth comes the expansion of city services, facilities, and staffing, the previous two of which cannot be suitably achieved without the latter.

Simply put, if you are unaware of your current and future state, applying what you see through the remaining lenses won't make much difference.

Competition

Ask your HR team how they're managing recruitment, and – though you shouldn't be surprised if you've viewed your corporation through the awareness lens – you might still pause to digest the fierce competition in the recruitment process and the periodic difficulty in filling and maintaining positions.

Currently, private or public, every sector is engaged in an active and robust recruitment drive aimed at finding the best talent. Municipal jobs, or "government" jobs, once required little more than a job posting to attract loyal, enthusiastic career seekers. The benefits, the pension, say no more. But not anymore.

Today, the game has changed, and what you offer a prospective employee is the difference between onboarding and continuing to search. Remember that as an employer, you're not in the driver's seat at this moment. Preparing options and offering something unique is imperative in achieving your goal of inspiring dynamic individuals to choose you. Municipal jobs must be attractive, exciting, and ambitious to recruit and retain the talent required to operate your organization. Get your people and keep them. Easier said than done, right? So if you're wondering how to achieve this, think about it through the following lens.

People first

A 25, 30, or 35-year career with the same company? It's a thing of the past. But does it have to be? At the very least, one way to extend the longevity of your employee's tenure is to put them first at every turn. This isn't just about a pay cheque, though paying them what they're worth certainly helps.

No, this is about genuinely caring for your staff and ensuring they have the foundation to build a career in whatever length of time that takes. At the City of Welland, we've identified the changing needs of our employees and have instituted:

• Wellness days: five days to be taken within the calendar year for any reason, even if it's just to hit the beach or sit in the backyard reading a book. Take care of your employees so they can take care of themselves.
• People plan: The City of Welland is committing itself to its employees, creating and executing a people plan focused on health and wellness, professional development, communication, recognition, and inclusivity and diversity.
• Check-ins: It's a small but essential step. Check-in with your employees and remind them of what they have available through the corporation. For example, during COVID-19, there was a global increase in mental health stressors. As CAO, when we updated staff, we reminded and encouraged anyone who needed assistance to access it through our Employee Assistance Program. Our messages around the holidays – long and short – included this reminder. 
• Right to Disconnect Policy: This policy is provincially-mandated, but it doesn't mean it has to be boilerplate or cookie cutter. Think about how this affects your employees, and don't use a one-size-fits-all approach to simply check it off the list. For example, Welland's policy includes best practices and tips for workload, understanding that our workforce is unique across all positions.

Flexibility

I'm hearing from employees, especially those in the earlier stages of their careers and with younger families, that flexibility, more so than pay or additional vacation, is the single most significant benefit they could receive from their employer. To succeed and show value to our staff, the City strives to be compassionate, empathetic, and understanding. Whether it's raising kids, caring for elders, or managing the anxieties and pressures of daily life, as a first-rate employer, we must factor this into our corporate culture and follow through on our promises with tangible policies.

Hybrid work models have become increasingly popular, but one size does not fit all. You need to consider it strongly if you don't already have a hybrid work model. The pandemic showed us how well this model could work, but it's up to you to tailor it for your purposes. In Welland, we've adopted work from home, flex hours, and a compressed work week with a fully-developed work-from-home policy on its way. These options help in the competition for new talent but greatly increase the likelihood of keeping employees who may have otherwise begun to look elsewhere.

Brand

If you think of your corporation, your municipality as a brand, what does it say to you? What emotions does it evoke? Are you excited? Your employees are your most ardent champions; it starts and ends with them. But what are they champions for? Looking back through the awareness lens, revisiting your brand may be a productive activity. As the City of Welland embarks on a comprehensive rebranding process, our communications manager instructed the agency to conduct our rebrand to "brand us as a sports team". I was supportive of this idea because when we think of our sports teams, we think of passionate fan loyalty, pride, and unwavering excitement for the season ahead. Our residents, alongside our staff, can and should be our biggest fans. Give them something to cheer about, even if it means getting creative and reinventing yourself as your municipality grows and changes.

Our rebrand will be bold, showcasing the City and who we are. It will be a cornerstone of civic pride and a welcoming message to our new residents and investors. And remember, a brand is more than a logo. It's more than a tagline or a font. Your brand is who you are, how you make people feel, and the recognizable attributes on the tips of tongues, ready to either sing your praises or castigate your failures. One's volume will be louder, and though you relinquish some control as a municipal entity, you are not without influence.

Internal communication

So how do you make sure all of this filters to your employees? Communication is critical; we all know this. But, unfortunately, it's also something of a buzzword, having lost its core meaning and too often used as a scapegoat.

In Welland, we're working towards an internal across and up communication approach. This means that not every direction cascades down from the top. Instead, we're empowering our employees to develop and pitch solutions to old problems and concepts with new ideas. With an employee innovation committee created through our people plan, we will encourage our staff to be part of the process, a proactive part of the decision-making fabric of the municipality, regardless of position or tenure.

We understand that an informed staff member is a champion of our mission and values.

The assumption that those who work in our buildings know what is happening is unwise. Welland is prioritizing communications plans and internal staff sites while rethinking our approach to old assumptions of how employees digest information. An effort on internal communication is an absolute necessity. Don't let external communications dwarf what is being shared internally.

As a municipality, we must be cognizant and respectful of taxpayer dollars, ensuring we all work together to deliver and improve the quality of life and municipal services for our residents. This is our goal and our mandate. So, if you're noticing stagnation or something that doesn't quite seem to be fitting within your corporation, view those issues through the lenses outlined above and evaluate your findings.

You might be surprised at what you see.