City of Hamilton Staff Survey- Then and Now

Our readers may recall that in 2013, the City of Hamilton released the results of a staff survey that, while not all bad, revealed some disturbing findings. As the city recently conducted another staff survey, we thought it appropriate to ask about some of the areas that posed concerns from the 2013 survey, to see if the situations described had worsened, remained the same or improved. We directed our queries to City Manager Chris Murray who ensured that a response was furnished by Lora Fontana, Executive Director of Human Resources & Organizational Development for the City of Hamilton.

Here are our questions and Ms. Fontana's answers: 

In a staff survey conducted between March and April of 2013, whose results were revealed in 2013, some troubling findings emerged. Amongst these:25.7 per cent of city employees felt they'd been pressured to compromise their ethics and values.

• Only 50 per cent of employees felt they can report misconduct without fear of retaliation.
• And almost 60 per cent were unsure or disagreed that their code of conduct concerns are handled properly.

Given the seriousness of those findings, and with respect to the more recent “Our People” survey, can you identify where in the “Our People:” survey that measurements were taken to determine whether the above mentioned indicators have improved, stayed the same or worsened.
Yes, we did include measures within the ‘Our People Survey’ to reflect those asked in the 2013 survey and to allow us to measure improvements. Specific questions pertaining to the City’s Code of Conduct are as follows, with respondents answering based on a 7-point Likert scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree:

• I would say my direct supervisor demonstrates high ethical standards consistent with the code of conduct
• I would say that I have not felt pressure to compromise my ethics and values while working at the City of Hamilton
• Overall, senior leaders (Directors and above) demonstrate high ethical standards consistent with the code of conduct
• I would feel comfortable reporting a breach of the code of conduct within my division
• I believe that a breach of the code of conduct would be handled appropriately

It is important to note that on the advice of the survey vendor, Metrics@Work, the questions asked in 2017 regarding the City’s Code of Conduct were reworded for greater clarity. As such, the questions differ slightly in wording from 2013, but have been designed to measure the same themes.

As indicated through the ‘Our People Survey’ results, City employees generally agree that their direct Supervisor demonstrates high ethical standards that are consistent with the City’s Code of Conduct and that employees have generally not felt pressure to compromise their integrity within the workplace. Having said that, there remain opportunities with respect to the application of the City’s policies and procedures as well as employees’ comfort level in raising concerns with Divisional leaders.

Can you cite those comparative measurements if they exist and what actions have been or are being taken, if follow up is necessary.

The 2017 ‘Our People Survey’ is the tool that we will be using to measure progress made since the 2013 Ethics Survey. In addition to the City’s Code of Conduct specific questions, the ‘Our People Survey’ also asked other questions pertaining to workplace ethics and integrity that are benchmarked against other municipalities. Through both measures, we will be able to assess any progress made, both internally and also against our comparators.

As we cascade the survey results throughout the organization, action plans will be developed that are specific to problematic areas, as appropriate. Any area of opportunity respecting our progress with matters arising out of the City’s Code of Conduct, will be actioned accordingly.

Can you describe all efforts that have been made since learning of the 2013 above mentioned findings, to address those concerns.

Since 2013, a number of initiatives have been put in place to address raised concerns. In 2013, we launched our Corporate Culture Pillars and began socializing them throughout the organization, making real and sustained changes to our Corporate culture. We also implemented a number of changes and enhancements to the City’s Code of Conduct. Specifically, the Code of Conduct was revised and reapproved by Council, a procedure was put in place, a number of controls were introduced including the introduction of disclosure processes, an annual review process, and the requirement of staff to review and sign off on the Code of Conduct annually. The City has also introduced Code of Conduct training for all new employees and City leadership, and will be developing an all employee training program.

In addition, there will be a number of action items flowing from the ‘Our People Survey’ responses, at the organizational, departmental, divisional and sectional levels, and such actions will be reflective of the specific issues raised through the Survey, as appropriate.

Your thoughts? Are you satisfied that things are being adequately addressed, or do you remain concerned?