First Win Their Hearts and Minds, Then
Consider These Steps
Posted on May 16, 2013 by Dawn Bailey
What’s the key to managing and engaging literally a city of
employees? 2012 Baldrige Award recipient and municipal
role model the City of Irving, Texas, may have some ideas.
“Say what you mean and do what you say,”
said City Manager Tommy Gonzalez. “Your
employees need to understand the
strategic plan and know what role they and
their departments play in implementing changes that drive
the plan’s desired results. You have to really connect the
messaging, strategy, and meaning to inspire and motivate
people.”
Speaking during the 25th Annual Quest for Excellence
Conference©, Gonzalez said, “If you can engage your
workforce and connect mind, heart, and touch, you can fuel
rapid change in your organization.” For example, Irving
employees don’t just memorize the city’s vision to be “a
model for safe and beautiful neighborhoods; vibrant
economy; and exceptional recreational, cultural, and
educational opportunities”; added Gonzalez, “They
understand it. They know they’re part of its success and
they know how that success is measured. They then can
celebrate the progress and take part in continued
improvement.”
The successes of the Irving employees were evident in
remarks by President Barack Obama, conveyed via video at
the Baldrige Award ceremony: “The City of Irving, Texas, is
implementing new ideas that set an example of what a
healthier, safer, more efficient city looks like.”
U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) added his
congratulations, too: “The City of Irving prioritizes feedback
from its residents, achieving high levels of citizen
satisfaction, producing almost $45 million in cost savings
over the past five years. I congratulate the City of Irving on
the receipt of [the Baldrige Award], and I hope that the
federal government of Washington, D.C., can learn from
their example.”
So how did the leadership of the City of Irving guide
employees to accomplish all of this?
1. Plan
One of the first steps to employee engagement is a good,
solid strategic plan, said Gonzalez. For example, Irving’s
plan helped to position the city to renegotiate a contract to
save money; in turn, the city was able to give raises and
market adjustments to staff. ”It helps to continue to
motivate employees especially when we’re asking them to
do more and challenging ourselves as executives,” he said.
Leadership focuses on following the vision statement and
bringing that to life. One way leaders have done this is by
creating 50+ cross-functional teams among departments.
Each team member learns about the processes of other
departments, and this feeds into a succession
implementation plan. This is not just a succession plan, said
Gonzalez, but a motivational tool to help city leaders identify
the next layer of leadership/management.
With a solid plan and with attrition reducing the staff by
11% during the recent, national economic crisis, the City of
Irving didn’t lay anyone off or furlough employees, who were
able to keep the market adjustments in their salaries.
A focus on keeping employees inspired and motivated
includes recognizing employees on the spot, said Gonzalez.
For example, recently more than 600 employees received
recognition for delivering outstanding service levels.
2. Give Them What They Need
Another step to employee engagement: “Give employees
what they need. If you don’t go out and work alongside
them, you won’t see what they need,” Gonzalez said. He
cited examples of working alongside city employees picking
up trash. That experience revealed that workers were
coming into contact with needles and other hazardous
waste during garbage collection. By providing needle stickresistant gloves and stipends for steel-toed work boots, the
City of Irving saved money because workman compensation
costs went down.
In addition, the City of Irving focuses on employees’ health
and well-being with a “wellness program on steroids,” said
Gonzalez. Employees who participate in the program and
improve their health status have the ability to earn up to
$150 month. This effort to attack the national problem of
obesity has resulted in a total loss of 4,000 pounds by
employees and saved the city $26 million dollars in health
insurance costs.
Keeping employees engaged also requires solid, two-way
communication through surveys, town halls, and e-mails,
among other methods. “Doing something with the
information and making proper changes is key,” said
Gonzalez.
3. Earn Their Respect
Gonzalez cited his military experience, where “you have to
win the hearts and minds of the people with whom you
work.” He told a story of serving in Desert Shield/Desert
Storm as a young platoon lieutenant. To earn the respect of
older soldiers in his command, he had to ”let them know
you’re for real and you mean it.” To do this, he carried the
heaviest loads during tasks and even volunteered for latrine
duty, a rather unpleasant tasks that involved burning
waste in the desert; it was to earn the respect of his solders
and to demonstrate servant leadership.
Management should be “working to earn [employees']
respect, and then they’ll tell you more. If you give
employees great service, they’re going to give the
customers great service,” he added.
Employees are similarly taught to respect each other, no
matter what task the employee is accomplishing, whether
filling pot holes or emptying the trash, for example.
4. Look at the Data
Irving’s leadership model includes looking at the data and
benchmarking other municipalities, with a focus on being
proactive for the city’s customers. Gonzalez said a focus on
metrics pointed out the seven most heavily travelled streets
in the city; pot holes on these streets were fixed in advance
rather than waiting for complaints to come in.
“In the end,” said Gonzalez, “if you can connect with
[people] in their minds and hearts and have them touch their
results, that’s how to have them engaged, [and this
includes] not only employees and the organization but the
customer.”