The Client:
The Lewes Board of Public Works is responsible for establishing, controlling and regulating electric, water and sewer utilities for the city of Lewes, Delaware. The Board consists of five elected members and administrative, planning and service staff. The Board has a general manager, who Board officials hire to handle administrative affairs.
The Challenge:
The Lewes Board of Public Works initially approached RKL about completing an assessment of its human resources operations and conducting a compensation analysis. After that engagement ended, the current general manager left to pursue a new opportunity, and the Board now needed help finding the best candidate for the role. But, they first wanted to understand the sentiment of other staff members before making their decision. The Board was looking for broader insight into the general manger role and expectations from the team on the job description and who would be the best fit to fill it.
The RKL Approach:
RKL’s Human Capital Management team met with members of the Board to understand their concerns and what they were hoping to learn. Knowing the answers the Board was looking for helped the HR advisors develop a survey that would get the information the Board needed in order to feel confident in their selection decision.
The customized survey included general employee engagement questions, and also more pointed questions about the general manager role. It also utilized open-ended questions to allow employees to openly share their input. RKL designed the survey to understand the qualities, skills and knowledge base that staff members expect the right candidate to possess. With RKL as a third-party administrator, employees felt comfortable sharing their honest insights and opinions on the matter through the anonymous survey. RKL then synthesized the feedback and insights to provide direction to the Board.
The Results:
The answers gleaned from the survey gave the Board the guidance they needed to help gauge employee sentiment and allowed employees to have a say in the decision-making process. The Board then identified a candidate who was the right fit for the role and had all of the qualities employees listed as important, as well as gaining deeper insight into the relationship between the Board and staff members.
“Working with RKL to engage our employees in a survey was the right choice for our organization,” said Tom Panetta, current President of the Board. “It helped us to hear directly from our employees about what they needed, which allowed us to hire the best candidate for the job.”
To learn more about how RKL can drive real results for your organization, send us a message or contact one of our local offices.
