Checklist for New Managers ICMA provides resources for people at all stages of their local government career, but first-time administrators have unique challenges as well as new opportunities. The first thing first-time administrator should do is read the First-Time Administrators Handbook: https://icma.org/blog-posts/icma-resources-first-time-administrators In addition to this resource provided by ICMA, GovHR has prepared the listRead More
Can Organizational Culture Sabotage Your Business Strategy? Does culture really eat your business strategy for breakfast just as Peter Drucker said? Does culture even have the power to swallow up your strategic plan as its own meal? Peter Drucker was actually directing our attention to the importance of aligning a well-defined people and process strategyRead More
Reflections, Resilience and Reinvention Like many of you have experienced, the current pandemic has created downtime in my schedule that I have not had in years, which has given me an opportunity to reflect on an almost 25-year career in public service and think about the next 15. Reflections: I have had a wide andRead More
Why you should have a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) In addition to having a current Emergency Operations Plan designed to respond to emergency incidents, local government should be positioned to respond to threats on its own operations through a well-defined Continuity of Operations Plan. Known as a “COOP”, the Federal Continuity Director 1 (FCDRead More
Why should you implement digital performance review? (How PRISM can meet your goals.) Performance review is an important opportunity for managers to provide feedback to their employees and receive feedback as well. The goal of performance review is to identify employees’ strengths and weaknesses so that as a manager, you can develop their strengths andRead More
Emergency Preparedness—Planning For Action That usually means that when incidents occur and response and mitigation are critical, Police, Fire, EMS, and Public Works departments are expected to have the knowledge, ability, training and plans to address these emergencies. The scope of this article is a focus on the National Preparedness Goal established by the FederalRead More
Menomonee Falls, WI, Interim Fire Chief Accepts Permanent Position Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin (pop. 35,626) contracted with GovHR to conduct the search for its next Fire Chief. Vice President and retired Fire Chief Tim Sashko, a 38year veteran of the fire service, and Senior Vice President Lee Szymborski from GovHR’s Wisconsin office were tasked withRead More
How to Attract a Diverse Candidate Pool for Your Community I recently had a client reach out to ask how their organization could better partner with us to attract more diverse candidate pools. Here are some of the opportunities we discussed: Be broad in your search: limiting a search to the local area or theRead More
Tips for an Internal Candidate The good news is you are an internal candidate for a position you really want. The bad news is you are an internal candidate for a position you really want. Being an internal candidate is tricky. On one hand you know a lot about the organization, its culture, personalities andRead More
Is Your Organization FEMA Grant-Ready? As state and local governments face unprecedented revenue shortfalls, savvy local officials will be on the lookout for grants that can provide much needed support for critical equipment, large capital items and operational assistance. FEMA is and will continue to be a significant source of grant funds. Unfortunately, many localRead More
