This article describes the development and delivery of a
comprehensive
management training program in Gallatin County,
Montana. The author developed the curriculum and served as
the lead facilitator for the course. In addition to describing all
phases of the development and delivery of the program, the article
includes
brief summaries of each of the sixteen topics covered in the
course.
Early in my tenure as Gallatin Countys administrator, I recognized
that professional development for staff members at all levels of
the organization,
especially in areas broadly related to public management, was
lacking. Many of Gallatin Countys 460 employees were participating
in
technical training related to their disciplines, and some
compliance training
was provided for groups of staff members. An orientation program
was delivered to all new employees, offering them an overview of
county
policies, organizational structure, benefits, and procedures.
However,
a systematic training program in public management practices of
importance
to all county departments was lacking.
Similar to most units of general local government, Gallatin County
has a number of departments that provide specialized functions. The
county administrator oversees most of them, while others report to
elected
officials, including the county sheriff, clerk and recorder,
auditor, treasurer,
and superintendent of schools. In addition, the county has several
entities directed by appointed boards as well as a few areas of
responsibilityshared with the state of Montana. As a result,
organizational
dynamics are complex and shared definitions of goals,
best management practices, and accountability have
been elusive.
Gallatin County has averaged 3.4 percent growth annually
over the last ten years. Consequently, the demand
on county government resources has increased dramatically,
and the size of the organization has also increased
significantly. Improvements in organizational communication
failed to keep pace with the needs of a growing
organization, periodic conflicts arose, and a number of departments
became increasingly isolated.
Although training is not a universal remedy for the
growing pains of local governments, a well-conceived professional
development program can have a catalyzing effect
as a component of the organizational change process. Some
of the objectives of our program included providing Gallatin
County managers with a broad overview of contemporary
management techniques, creating a common
frame of reference, and increasing understanding of personnel
practices and of the legal and statutory environment
in which they work. Although idea sharing, networking,
and building esprit de corps were not overlooked
as potential program benefits, their impact was far
greater than expected. Participants were uniformly positive
about the program overall and voiced great enthusiasm
concerning the benefits of becoming better acquainted
with their peers, identifying practical solutions
to common problems, and refining their mutual understanding
of the political-administrative landscape of Gallatin
County.
Program Development
The first phase of program development entailed informally
surveying county managers about their needs and
preferences with respect to a relatively comprehensive training
program. We also needed to determine whether the
idea of conducting such a program would be generally
accepted. Suggestions for course topics were made, and
a preliminary outline was vetted with county department
directors. From this preliminary affirmation of the course
content, the lengthy and laborious process of compiling
the course material began.
Compiling and distilling information took nearly six
months and several hundred hours of labor. In addition to
the county administrator, the human resources (HR) director,
chief deputy attorney, a safety expert from the countys
insurance carrier, and a representative of Montana State
Universitys Local Government Center contributed to program
development. The product was a draft participant guide,
comprising sixteen chapters, including ninety-three pages
of original material, various articles, appendixes, and a
bibliography.
After the assistant to the county administrator
edited the draft, it went to Training Solutions Plus in Manassas,
Virginia, for curriculum design services, and subsequent
production was performed in-house. Table 1 lists the
topics covered during the ten sessions of the Management
and Supervision Course.
Program Content
The course was intended simply as an introduction
to the topics, and some participants have requested follow-
up training in certain areas. In the case of strategic
to tactical planning, several departments have asked the
county administrator to facilitate events as a demonstration
of the techniques discussed in the course. Brief summaries
of the sixteen topics follow.
Contemporary Management Theory
and Practice
Contemporary management theory and practice developed
throughout the twentieth century as the U.S.
economy moved from agriculture and manufacturing to
services and then to knowledge-based work. Education
levels rose and so did the expectations of workers. Earlier
generations were content with laboring for a paycheck,
but contemporary workers expect to be engaged in activities
they consider meaningful and to be respected as
integral parts of the team.
Despite the seemingly more humanistic attitudes that
prevail in contemporary management, productivity continues
to be an important focus and ever-increasing productivity
has helped to buoy the American economy despite
intense global competition. Although misperceptions
regarding productivity in public employment abound,
broadening mandates and shrinking resources are driving
the need for higher productivity in government, a closer
alignment with citizen-driven outcomes, and a more
business-like approach.In recent decades, public administration
has been quick
to adopt management practices that originated in the private
sector. From reinventing government to Joe Sensenbrenners
adaptation of Total Quality Management in
Madison, Wisconsin, we have embraced the idea that successful
private-sector management practices and even outsourcing
are good solutions for government problems at
all levels.
Workers Compensation and
Safety Management
Developing and implementing a safety program is in
the interest of both the employee and the organization.
U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration studies
indicate that for every $1 spent on a safety program
in tandem with a managed workers compensation program,
$4 to $6 is saved as illnesses, injuries, and fatalities
decline. Effective program implementation requires management
commitment at all levels and an unwavering devotion
to maintaining the various elements of the program.
In addition to improving quality of work life and
protecting employees, effective workplace safety programs
increase productivity due to less downtime while reducing
workers compensation premiums. Other benefits are associated
with workplace safety, and program success hinges
upon effectively reinforcing the importance of safety, eliminating
unsafe conditions, and training employees to avoid
unsafe acts, since an estimated 80 to 90 percent of workplace
injuries are attributable to unsafe behavior.
Strategic to Tactical Planning
Modern strategic planning became fashionable
decades ago and has probably existed in some form for
centuries, with roots that extend back to Greek military
strategists. Today, many variations exist. Simply stated, strategic
planning is designed to enable organizations to optimize
the benefit of future opportunities through the advantageous
deployment of resources. Despite some
disillusionment over the creation of strategic plans that
merely collect dust, organizational leaders are often
drawn to the methods of strategic planning with the expectation
of improving institutional effectiveness and more
clearly defining mission and goals. These objectives are
laudable, but experience suggests that a much higher degree
of effectiveness can be achieved by moving from the
strategic to the tactical level in the planning process.
At the tactical level, actions are performed through
specific assignments of responsibility and within established
periods. Results are then evaluated for their effectiveness
in achieving strategic goals. Consequently, senior officials,
operations personnel, and stakeholders are able to evaluate
outcomes and adjust for emerging needs as well as
resource availability.
This becomes a dynamic process that involves stakeholders
and creates ownership while optimizing results. People
often fail to recognize that strategic planning should be
a dynamic, iterative process as opposed to a single event.Changing
Workforce Trends
In contemporary America, as well as other advanced
societies, dramatic changes in attitude have transformed
the way in which effective managers and HR professionals
must deal with employees. The new or
emergent worker is motivated in different ways than traditional
employees. Attributing the changes to Generations
X and Y is an overly simplistic conclusion. In fact,
globalization, outsourcing, contract employment, economic
and social uncertainty, and a variety of other trends have
produced paradigmatic shifts among workers of all ages,
especially knowledge workers.
Although supervisors sometimes question the loyalty
of these new workers, they are largely a product of an
environment that is far less certain than that of earlier times.
Realigning the public work environment to meet the
needs of the contemporary worker will be a challenge, as
the traditional values of stability, long-term employment,
and regular advancements based on tenure are fading as
prime motivators. Expectations have changed, and successful
organizations are well advised to focus more on
issues such as professional development, creating a fulfilling
work environment, recognition, and performance-based
advancement as a means of attracting and retaining highperforming
employees.
Legal Framework of Supervision in Montana
The litigiousness of American society is obvious to
the most casual observer, and public employers are a comparatively
easy target for litigation since government pockets
are generally deep enough to satisfy claims and citizens
can be taxed to pay judgments. The American public
has been conditioned to believe that the legal system can
be manipulated advantageously. However, public managers
can help to mitigate the risk of both spurious and legitimate
claims if they consistently do the right thing.
Perhaps the most common circumstances in the workplace
that lead to significant judgments and settlements are
claims associated with terminations and other personnel
actions. The segments of the course dealing with hiring
and firing, employee performance evaluation, and progressive
discipline provide insights into mitigating the risk
associated with bogus claims. In states like Montana, employees
have a great deal of protection under the law and
public managers are well-advised to be acquainted with
applicable laws and personnel policies to minimize risk.
Consultation with HR professionals and civil attorneys is
generally a wise course of action.
Progressive Discipline
The need for discipline in any form is reduced through
the application of good management practices. Poor performance
and inappropriate conduct are often a result of
ineffective supervision, a lack of familiarity with expectations,
poor understanding of rules and regulations, or
the perception that employees are not treated fairly. Effective
communication and setting clear performance expectations
can help to eliminate poor performance, particularly
if employees are confident that they will be treated
fairly.
Despite our best efforts, however, discipline is appropriate
at times. In these instances, progressive discipline
moving through a defined set of steps that are increasingly
punitiveis most likely to produce the desired
result of correcting performance and behavioral problems
as well as reducing the probability of successful litigation.
Progressive discipline must be well documented, and supervisors
are encouraged to consult with HR professionals
and possibly the organizations lawyers as they move
through the process.
Hiring and Firing
In general, a more systematic and nimble approach
to both hiring and firing is needed in the public sector,
particularly in comparison with small private enterprise.
Gallatin County has clear policies that deal with hiring
and terminating employees to allow for transparency and
fairness as well as to enhance the probability of attracting
the best possible candidates.
In contemporary society in general and for local governments
in particular, exercising an abundance of caution
in recruitment and screening as well as in terminations
is critical in avoiding the possibility of successful
litigation if things go awry. For these and other reasons,
supervisors must work closely with the HR office to reduce
the possibility that inconsistencies or actions contrary
to policy take place. Moreover, working with the HR
office reduces the burden on the supervisor, allowing more
time to focus on service delivery.
Team Building and Motivation
The term team is among the most misused in contemporary
management. As a management paradigm, team
building has the noblest intentions and, when properly
done, has the potential to enhance productivity, employee
satisfaction, learning, and motivation. In some cases,
team efforts appear contrived, however, and organizers fail to
consider the importance of assembling appropriate
skill sets and personal compatibility in formulating
teams.
Technical skills and decision-making ability should
be considered in formulating effective teams. Most important,
teams need to be provided with sufficient autonomy
to engender a firm belief that they have an opportunity
to make a valuable contribution. Moreover, the
team must have a clear set of goals over which they can
assume ownership. Given these conditions, teams are often
able to establish a strong results orientation, demonstrate
high levels of accountability, and achieve the synergy
necessary to reach difficult goals.
Conflict Resolution
Conflict resolution has different meanings, depending
on the setting. As played out on the world stage, conflict
resolution can mean resolving armed hostilities between
warring factions. In the context of management
and supervision, most often it refers to resolving disputes
between individuals and small groups of people.
Although most workplace conflict does not result in
violent hostilities, it is damaging to morale and hinders
productivity.
Consequently, resolving workplace conflict is an
important managerial function although naturally not all
managers are equally adept at this kind of intervention. In
general, workplace conflict will persist until a climate of respect
and trust begins to develop. Conflict can be relentless,
and even underlying hostilities, if unresolved, can harm
organizational health. Perhaps the most important skill in
conflict resolution is listening impartially to both sides.
Once the mediator (supervisor) has determined the
primary issues, identifying mutually acceptable solutions
is possible, but the mediator must be perceived as objective
by both parties. In the conflict resolution process, the
parties can negotiate and the supervisor serve as a referee,
who helps to maintain the civility of the exchange. Due
to the diversity of people, their belief systems, and values,
disputes cannot always be fully resolved and the parties
merely agree to disagree. Other situations call for more
specialized assistance, and supervisors need to know when
to call for reinforcements.
Measuring and Managing
Organizational Performance
Performance measurement and reinventing government
are the two most prominent movements to
emerge in the field of public administration in the last
twenty years. Both emphasize a strong customer focus in
the way government conducts business, although many
jurisdictions utilize performance measurement as a
means of exerting managerial control and improving internal
accountability. This caveat notwithstanding, the ultimate
goals of performance measurement are to empower
citizens and set clear government priorities that enable
elected officials and managers to make well-informed decisions
concerning the use of scarce resources.
Improving service delivery and efficiency are among
the key objectives for performance improvement and management.
Through public participation in the process, priorities
are identified and measures are devised as a means
of increasing accountability to citizens, the customerowners
of local government. A variety of ways are available
for measuring performance and, for the most part,
inputs, outputs and outcomes are used to determine success,
generally in comparison with benchmarks or best
practices. In most instances, performance measurement is
closely linked to result-oriented budgeting and the
strategic planning process as part of an integrated management
system.
Employee Performance Evaluation
and Improvement
Some question the need for employee performance
appraisal, but most organizations, including Gallatin
County, require periodic assessments of individual performance.
In many cases, these appraisals are used as the
basis for merit increases as well as a means of redirecting
employees. Unfortunately, performance appraisal is often
poorly executed and in some cases misused by supervisors
that have abdicated their ongoing responsibility for
guiding employee performance. Generally, a review of employee
performance shouldnt result in any surprises. Regular
communication facilitates a well-balanced relationship
between the employee and the supervisor.
Consequently, the employee should be well aware of expectations
and should receive regular guidance that will
enable corrective action without a negative performance
appraisal.
The performance appraisal should be an opportunity
for employee and supervisor to exchange ideas regarding
the future as well as the preceding evaluation period. A
wellconceived
system of performance evaluation should be
prospective as well as retrospective. Moreover, the instrument
used should account for position-specific performance
criteria as well as general attributes, along with allowingroom
for comments by both parties and an individual development
plan if desired.
Role of the HR Office
The role of the HR office was historically restricted
to managing payroll and benefits as well as serving as
an internal regulator through the enforcement of policies.
HR staff members were treated as the systems police
and consulted as infrequently as possible due to the sometimes
accurate perception that they would merely act as
an obstacle to forward movement of the real work of
the organization.
In the public sector, HR managers operate in a somewhat
more restrictive environment than their privatesector
counterparts. Commercial operations make hiring
decisions on the basis of the potential to contribute to the
bottom line. In government, political factors and the service
needs of citizens are decisive factors. Moreover, public
personnel specialists focus more consistently on issues
such as equity of pay, diversity, and accountability due to
legal stipulations and public scrutiny.
Today, the role of the HR professional is changing dramatically.
Changes in technology, reengineering, competition
for qualified workers, movement away from traditional
civil service, decentralized decision-making structures,
the age of litigation, and performance measurement initiatives
are just a few of the reasons behind this sea change
in public personnel management. Todays HR office is likely
to be called upon to serve as a strategic business partner,
conflict resolution specialist, and change agent while
continuing to fulfill its traditional roles of payroll, benefits,
classification, and policy enforcer.
Communication and Organizational Success
In the absence of good communication, any organization
has great difficulty succeeding, and improving
communications in an organization directly benefits productivity
and employee satisfaction. Although these assertions
appear to be common sense, poor communication
may be the single most prevalent cause of workplace
disharmony.
A manager doesnt need to be especially eloquent in
communicating with employees, but some basic principles
should be considered and a variety of common mistakes
avoided. Effective communication is an art and a science,
and among the most critical elements of managerial
success. One of the most common reasons for managers
failure to develop trust, effectively deploy teams, and deal
with organizational discord is their inability to communicate.
Adopting a few basic principles and being at least
moderately attentive to the power of effective communication
can spell the difference between success and failure
in management and leadership.
Workplace Stress and Productivity
Workplace stress has become a prominent topic in
contemporary management. Many books have been written
about the stress associated with modern-day life, and
untold numbers of mental health professionals regularly
deal with stress-related symptoms. Although stress seems
much worse in our era, it has always existed and can be
effectively managed to maintain organizational productivity
and employee health. Our ancestors were equipped
with fight-or-flight response systems that served them
well when they were physically threatened. Modern humans
have the same equipment and are still able to create
physiological and emotional responses to stress although
the threats are rarely physical.
The fast pace of modern life and the stress of the many
work settings are difficult to avoid, but they can be managed
in positive ways. Supervisors need to manage their
own stress levels as well as monitor the potential for unhealthy
levels of stress among their employees. In addition
to legitimate concerns for the welfare of colleagues,
managers need to be aware of the deleterious impact of
persistent stress on productivity.
Good Public Management
in a Political Environment
Woodrow Wilson provided much of the theoretical
underpinning that resulted in decades of debate over the
politics-administration dichotomy. Essentially, the concept
distinguishes the political side of government activity
from the administrative side and suggests that a clear
separation exists. As most public managers realize, of course,
politics and public administration are often intertwined in
a complex dance of discourse and resource allocation that
has the ability to confuse those working in government
and is especially vexing for the public. Administrators can
become highly frustrated over political decisions they believe
inconsistent with sensible priorities, while politicians
are concerned that their decisions are stymied by bureaucratic
red tape and obfuscation.Resolving such issues is never easy, and
even the bestmanaged
local governments find political and administrative
players at loggerheads from time to time. Depoliticizing
many elements of the business of government
is possible, however. Promoting effective communication
and the creation of policies, standards, and procedures can
make it much easier for both politicians and administrators
to resist the temptation to make arbitrary decisions.
Ethics in Public Management
For public managers, credibility is currency. Once that
credibility is compromised, effectiveness is dramatically
reduced. Ethical dilemmas can be subtle at times, and exercising
ones best judgment isnt always easy. An unethical
choice can yield significant personal and organizational
advantages, but the benefits are usually short term.
Discussions of ethical conduct often focus on issues
associated with financial gain, corruption, and nepotism,
all serious concerns. Government officials have an even
broader range of concerns, and working in the public sector
implies a commitment to upholding the public trust
and a willingness to accept heightened scrutiny. Even the
perception of unethical behavior can be damaging to public
officials.
What is legal differs from what is ethical. For example,
certain kinds of support for political candidates may
be legal but ill advised, particularly if the individual you
are endorsing loses the election. Conflict of interest
not always easy to identifyis another common pitfall.
Contacting the county attorney, county administrator, or
HR office for guidance is advisable if a question arises.
Program Benefits and Outcomes
In Gallatin County, growth has had a number of manifestations,
including the expectation of a broader range
of services, greater responsiveness, more accountability, and
greater citizen engagement. In essence, many residents and
increasingly sophisticated interest groups demand more
of county employees. Moreover, employee expectations
have changed, and managers need to develop greater
awareness of a variety of techniques to nurture higher performance
while satisfying employee demands for better
communication and meaningful involvement.
Participants acquired a better understanding of contemporary
management practices as well as changes that
influence effective interaction with employees. Some of
the most spirited discussions were around topics such as
Generation X and Y relations, working in a political environment,
and progressive discipline. Workplace stress and
productivity was another especially interesting topic to class
participants.
While the Gallatin County government is not such a
large organization that managers dont know one another
by name, many departments are sufficiently specialized and
stovepiped that opportunities for meaningful interaction are
limited. Functionally, greater collaboration is needed in a few
instances, and the organization is overcoming some longstanding
tensions between departments through better communication,
a process the county administrator has encouraged
since his tenure began.
The Management and Supervision Course certainly
helped to catalyze the process of relationship building.
For example, small group activities were deliberately designed
in a manner that prevented participants from consistently
teaming up with their friends and acquaintances.
In this manner, all participants had opportunities to work
with virtually everyone else in the class during one session
or another.
The course format also required individual participants
to respond to questions and otherwise make their
opinions known. This process usually stimulated good discussions
and enhanced learning while increasing empathy
and shared understanding of our collective resources.
More specifically, we discovered alternative approaches to
management problems and found pockets of expertise that
would not have remained hidden had it not been for the
sharing during the course. Moreover, the participants became
better acquainted personally, which is helping to
make Gallatin Countys managers more accessible to one
another.
Having served as an executive for one of our countrys
largest continuing education providers, I am well aware
of the quality of training products available. The recently
completed Gallatin County program has no particular
claim to excellence compared with management training
produced by training professionals, but a highly
customized program that can be delivered conveniently
and cost-effectively, in an interactive classroom setting,
certainly
has merit. This may be especially true in Montana,
but variations may apply to other public entities as well.