ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC SECTOR
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT:
CLACKAMAS COUNTY MODELING THE WAY
Tiffany Hicks
Portland State University
Mark O. Hatfield School of Public and Government Affairs
Executive Masters of Public Administration – Cohort 2013
BACKGROUND
 Employed at Clackamas County Children,Youth and
Families since 2012
 Human Resources Class inspired this employee engagement
project
CHARACTERISTICS OF EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT
The emotional commitment an
employee has to an organization and
it’s mission, goals and values
The motivation to contribute to
organizational success
WHY IS EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
IMPORTANT?
Studies have shown
employee engagement
is directly related to
Enhanced work
performance &
The reduction of
costly employee
turn over
PROJECT GOALS
Memorialize
Measure
Justify
SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
 Identify Programs
 Stakeholder interviews
 Employee Survey
 Survey Analysis
 Recommendations
PROGRAMS
 Morale Enhancement and Networking –
Team”
 Awards and Recognition
 Wellness
 Leadership and Professional Development
The “A
MORALE ENHANCEMENT &
NETWORKING – THE “A TEAM”
 Mission: “….to build connections and help make Clackamas County a
better place to work”
 Goals: Develop opportunities for interaction between staff,
acknowledge value of employee contributions & improve customer
service through teambuilding
 Activities: Chili & cornbread contest/feast, employee picnic, employee
nights at sporting events, blueberries & ice cream event for
Independence Day celebration
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
PROGRAM GOALS
Encourage positive feedback
Motivate employees
Emphasize the value of teamwork
Support employee retention
FORMAL RECOGNITION OPTIONS
“Bravo” Awards”
“Bravo Excellence Awards”
“Team Excellence Awards”
TEAM EXCELLENCE ACHIEVEMENT
LEADERSHIP AND
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 In Human Resource Management in the Public Sector John
Daly refers to continuous training opportunities as a “key
factor” for achieving employee engagement
 Clackamas County has demonstrated a commitment to
creating a robust leadership and professional development
program starting with employing a fulltime manager to
coordinate the efforts
INTERNAL TRAINING
OPPORTUNITIES
 Seminars: Frontline Leadership HR, Core Communication Skills,
PeopleSoft Intro (software program), Employee Data Entry, Meeting
Facilitation, Frontline Supervision, Blood borne Pathogens, Worker’s
Compensation, Franklin Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and
5 Choices, Project Management, Conflict Resolution, Strengths Finders,
Resiliency and First Aid
 Leadership Academy
 Brown Bag Lunch and Learn
WELLNESS
 County embraced the concept that healthier employees will
equal more productive employees and hired a fulltime
coordinator
 Programming includes:
 Exercise classes offered at employee cost at lunch time
 Weight watchers is hosted onsite in multiple locations
 A competitive pedometer contest
 A walking club
 Onsite employee community garden plots
 A one mile walking trail around the campus
 Locker rooms with showers available for employee use
 Wellness Rooms
EMPLOYEES TENDING TO THEIR
GARDEN ON A LUNCH BREAK
EMPLOYEE SURVEY – THE PURPOSE
Three Goals
Measure the impact of existing programs
Link existing programs to employee
engagement
Measure overall engagement
EMPLOYEE SURVEY – THE DESIGN
 Two Concepts
 Informed by Gallup
 Q12 – Validity proven over 60 years of research, 22 million employees,
189 countries and 69 languages
 Gallup determined several applicable characteristics for measuring
employee engagement
 Specific questions about existing programs.
 Are employees aware of programs
 Are employees participating in programs
 Do employees personally value the programs
 Do the programs enhance employee’s feelings of engagement
Q12 APPLIED TO CLACKAMAS
EMPLOYEE SURVEY
 Specific questions based on Gallup science
 Are you friends with any of your co-workers?
 Do you feel trust with your co-workers?
 Do you feel trust with your supervisor?
 Do you feel your opinions count?
 Is there anyone at work who encourages your development?
 Do you feel like someone cares about you at work?
 One more question based on Clackamas County History
 Are you proud to tell people where you work?
AN ETHICAL PERSPECTIVE
 In Dr. Morgan’s Ethic’s Class we were required to formulate our
individual ethical framework.
“Throughout my public service career I am committed
to practice moral goodness, cultural intelligence, legality,
transparency for accountability and objectivity with an
emphasis on constituency dialogue and education.”
Tiffany Hicks
ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES
Measure employee engagement
Measure effectiveness of current
programming
Inform future programmatic efforts
LEADERSHIP IMPLICATIONS
 Capstone Project
 Took on a project outside the scope of my normal work
 Contribution to the County beyond regularly assigned duties
 Collaboration with new partners through stakeholder interviews
 EMPA
 Broadened perspective and understanding of my own leadership abilities
and style, my personal value of public service, enhanced critical thinking,
public policy, organizational development, cultural intelligence, HR
Management and budgeting.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 My family: HoneyMitch!, Mom & Dad, Jake & BJ I could not have done this
without you.
 The Incredibly Inspiring and sometimes Intimidatingly Brilliant EMPA Faculty
you have impacted my life beyond words
 Catherine LaTourette thank you for keeping me grounded through this capstone
process, there’s still work to do.
 Cohort 2013, I feel so blessed to know you and share this journey with you. I
know your intelligence and strength will take you to great heights. Now let’s go
make a difference!
 Brian Lawler my Capstone Buddy, your encouragement & guidance is greatly
appreciated
 Laurel Butman my amazing mentor you are always there for me and my
gratitude is exponential. I am so very happy to have you in my life.
RESOURCES
 Clackamas County Website, retrieved 2/8/2015. http://www.clackamas.us/onboarding/
 Cox, T. (2001). Creating the multicultural organization: a strategy for capturing the power of diversity. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
 Daly, J. L. (2012). Human resource management in the public sector: Policies and practices. Armonk, NY: M.E.
Sharpe.
 Forbes Inc. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2012/06/22/employee-engagement-what-and-why/
retrieved 5/29/15
 http://www.gallup.com/services/176708/state-american-workplace.aspx retrieved 5/30/15
 Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2002). The leadership challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
 Wellins, R.S. & Bernthal, P (2004) employee engagement: the Key to Realizing Competitive Advantage.
Development Dimensions International. Online publication.
http://www.ddiworld.com/DDIWorld/media/monographs/employeeengagement_mg_ddi.pdf?ext=.pdf