Team City Employee Survey

The following demographic insight themes were identified for:

1. Respect felt: Most employees reported the City does a good job fostering a respectful atmosphere. 
2. Safety concerns: Individual experience in the workplace differed along demographic lines on feeling safe, concealing parts of one's identity, and experiencing harassment and unfair treatment.
3. Field/Office divide: Field staff and staff in public spaces reported lower satisfaction with organizational essentials and less confidence that the workplace was free of violence or harassment, though field staff were more likely than office staff to see a career path at the City.

The following organizational needs were identified as findings for action planning across the City from custom question data:

1. Increase decision-making input mechanisms and be explicit with employees regarding how input gathered is considered.
   1. Prioritize improvements to critical communications regarding employee experience with APM 3-5.
      1. Reinforce an environment that reassures diverse employee identities are welcome in the workplace.
         1. Prioritize attention to gender and age concerns in the workplace.
         2. Increase the felt sense of mutual support and accountability at all levels.

Employees expressed strong satisfaction with their jobs and alignment with organizational values.

• Nearly 9 in 10 employees were satisfied with their job overall (88% excellent or good) and felt their personal values align with the City’s values (85%).
• About 8 in 10 indicated that the City of Madison’s mission and vision make their work feel important.
• Most employees (88%) planned to still be working for the City one year from now, and about 8 in 10 saw a career path with the City.

Supervisors are valued at the City of Madison.

• About 7 in 10 employees positively rated their supervisor’s communication of expectations.
• A similar share approved of supervisors providing opportunities to learn and grow, as well as offering specific,constructive feedback.
• Roughly two-thirds rated supervisors positively for applying discipline fairly and consistently, higher than the national benchmark.
• Recognition of high-performing employees also received above-average ratings (61% excellent or good).

Results indicate that employees value their work group.

• Several aspects of employees’ immediate work groups received strong ratings and were generally in line with national benchmarks, including:
• Working relationships (80% excellent or good)
• Collaboration among staff (76%)
• Communication among staff (72%)

Opportunities emerged to strengthen collaboration and encourage new ideas across the organization.

• Ratings for valuing creativity were moderate (55%), similar to the benchmark but lower relative to other organizational strengths.
• The City’s openness to new ideas and initiatives scored below the national benchmark, with 44% rating this positively.
• Collaboration between departments received relatively fewer positive ratings (41% excellent or good) and scored below the benchmark.

Communication is a potential focus area.

• About half of employees (54%) felt the City communicates information effectively to help them understand key issues; while similar to the benchmark, this lower overall rating may suggest room for clearer communication.
• The speed of response to important issues or change was rated positively by 44% of employees, below the national benchmark.
• Organizational efforts to show appreciation for employees were positively rated by about half of respondents, also below benchmark.
• Helping new employees feel connected and integrated received positive ratings from about 6 in 10 employees, lower than the national benchmark.

Three City focus areas highlight action planning related to:

1. Create a culture of safety and belonging
   1. Improve communication and input gathering
      1. Facilitate an exceptional employee experience for every member of TeamCity through standard performance management.

See page 17 of the report for more information on focus areas and specific actions. 

Three themes emerged across Agency action planning processes citywide. This includes:

1. Performance management 
   1. Appreciation and culture of safety and belonging, and 
      1. Input and communication 

See page 14 of the report for more information on focus areas and specific actions. 

Themes appeared across Affinity Groups (+) recommendations for needed improvement organization-wide. This includes:

1. Improve employee confidence in the process through APM 3-5 policy reimagining.  
2. While maintaining confidentiality, improve speed and transparency of the process following APM 3-5 complaints.
3. Increase awareness of process and create accountability for communications expectations with a trauma informed approach.
4. After revision of the 3-5 process, provide an annual report of 3-5 outcomes.
5. Strengthen existing accountability mechanisms to allow supervisors to intervene earlier, respond more promptly to problems brought forth by employees, and resolve concerns more consistently.
6. Consider changes to the frequency (increase) and content of mandatory employee training, including a greater focus on preventing harm, being more inclusive regarding gender identity, and providing more concrete examples of the type of behavior that is prohibited in the workplace.
7. Continue to support and promote Affinity Groups as a resource for employees.

See page 13 of the report for more information on focus areas and specific actions. 

The following actions were identified for priority action citywide to create a culture of safety and belonging:

• Develop a customer service framework that includes clear safety protocols, employee expectations, customer expectations, and incident response guidelines. (In progress, Mayor's Office/HR/Streets & Urban Forestry)
  • Re-imagine and redevelop the APM 3-5 process and related training in alignment with Affinity Group (+) recommendations. (In progress, DCR/HR)
    • Create and implement de-escalation training and a Citywide standard. (In progress, HR/PHMDC)
      • Define and implement a workplace response model which moves from policy compliance to one that also prioritizes equity skills, inclusive practices, preventing harm, repairing workplace relationships, and supporting employees who experience harm. (In progress, HR)
      • Explore and create restorative interventions (e.g. facilitated mediation spaces) to address ongoing concerns from this survey. (Not started)

The following actions were identified for priority action citywide to improve communication and input gathering:

1. Develop and implement Citywide communication standard expectations that feed all other communications plans and allow for growth and skill-building pathways around communication. To address custom question findings and needs, expectations regarding feedback gathering and report back loops need be made clear. (In progress, Mayor's Office)
   1. Increase use of existing supervisor/manager tools and training to improve their ability to gather and more effectively use front-line employee input in decision-making. (In progress, HR)
   2. Host a regular gathering to discuss Performance Excellence work plan progress and other organization-wide updates related to employee survey accountability. (Not started)
   3. Develop a strategy to keep front-line office and field employees informed about decisions that impact them as major issues the City is focused on. Continue to build a culture of Team City for interagency coordination and to reduce divide between field and office employees. (Not started)

The following actions were identified for priority action citywide to facilitate exceptional employee experience for every member of TeamCity through standard performance management.

• Develop systemwide standards and consistency related to performance management across the organization in alignment and coordination with implementation of the Human Resources Management (HRM) System. (In progress, HR/IT)
  • Continue Executive Team Development program, including 360 reviews. (In progress, HR)
    • Increase effective use of existing feedback tools that are included in the employee check-in process and other places as needed. (In progress, HR)
      • Continue trauma informed supervision training. (In progress, EAP)
      • Train mid-level management on Performance Management practices, beginning with reinforcing micro-learning content provided to Mayor's Management Team in 2026. (In progress, HR)

1. Each action item is assigned for project advancement, 
2. Communication updates are shared with those who stand to be impacted, and 
3. Each action item reaches a point of project closure.

1. Progress on actions within their Agency and soliciting organizational support as needed.
2. Department Equity Team review their department's employee survey results and create actionable goals related to improving workplace culture and belonging
3. Department Equity Teams submit annual updates on these actions. 
4. Report back to HR as part of a formal report out in 1 year on completed actions on agency actions

1. The HR Director and DCR Director are responsible for checking progress on employee survey response planning and reporting back to the Mayor on agency interventions and progress made citywide. 
2. Successes in the next steps will be communicated Citywide on our website and through the quarterly Human Resources Newsletter
3. Ensure informal report out in six months on progress of organization-wide actions
4. Ensure formal report out in 1 year on completed actions on organization-wide and agency actions

Madison has partnered with Polco, a leader in the field of municipal online engagement and surveying, to issue the National Employee Survey. All employees are invited to participate!

By taking this survey and participating on Polco, we’re getting input from you that will help us ensure that we understand your values in a clear, identifiable way. Results will be compiled in a report by Polco and will be shared upon completion.

Polco:

Polco is an external, independent firm that has been contracted to conduct this employee survey on behalf of the City of Madison. Polco specializes in research and evaluation to assist government and nonprofit-sector clients. Polco was designed to be a safe and civil place to provide input and feedback to community leaders.

The National Employee Survey (The NES):

• Uses rigorous and statistically valid methods
• Offers benchmark comparison to a database comprised of over 60,000 employees from across the United States
• Uses a questionnaire developed by survey research and local government experts
• Allows Madison to track trends across 8 key aspects of organizational climate
• Is completely anonymous and ensures employee privacy