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Minutes 10-14-03 VALUES I'NTEGRA'r~ON MEE'rZNG HELD TN THE Lt'BRARY PROGRAM ROOM BOYNTON BEACH, FLORZDA ON OCTOBER 14, 2003 AT 11:00 A.M. Present at the Meetinq: Mark Bobich, Nancy Byrne, Susan Collins, Dan DeCarlo, Phyllis Dixon, Carol Doppler, Brenda Gibbs, Bonnie Glinski, Kelly Harris, Alan Karjalainen, Bob Kenyon, Brenda LeVant, ]eft Livergood, Mark Landress, Christina Mayers, Mark Pyne, Christine Roberts, Vickie Robert.son, Brenton Rolle, Dwight Saulter, Pam Webb Meeting Facilitators: Wilfred Hawkins, Assistant City Manager Patricia Spoerri, Professional Development Mr. Hawkins opened the meeting at 11:00 a.m. For the record, a sign-in sheet was circulated, and individuals introduced themselves. I. Purpose of Meeting Mr. Hawkins explained the purpose of this meeting was for each participant to give a progress report on their department's results to date. Questions and concerns may also be aired so that cross-communicaUon can help all involved. II. Operation Team Reports Bonnie Glinski~ City Clerk's Office Ms. Glinski reported that several meetings had been held to gather input from the department members. The almost-finished product is ready, but a little more tweaking will take place. The group experienced some problems with putting the information in the boxes. Ms. Glinski asked if the department could submit the report and have the matrix as a backup, and this was acceptable. Brenda LeVan~ Communications Ms. LeVant reported that her department had two volunteers and the topic was discussed. Ms. LeVant and the volunteers have spoken with all shifts of dispatchers and an understanding was reached among them. Mr. Hawkins wanted to be sure that everyone in the Communications department had an opportunity to give individual input to the final product, and Ms. LeVant assured him that this had been the case. Para Webb, Risk Management Ns. Webb reported that the Risk Management department had participated in this exercise and come up with statements that fit each value. They then put the statements in the boxes and felt that their job was pretty much complete. She and Mr. Magazine discussed the values and Meeting Minutes Values Integration Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida October 14, 2003 their implementation as they relate to the Risk Management activities. Mr. Magazine will be back in the office on Friday and their report will be finalized at that time. Carol Dopple¢ Procurement Ms. Doppler reported that the Procurement team had met and come up with their statements, and felt that they were nearly done. Bob Kenyon, Utilities Mr. Kenyon deferred to Mr. Bobich, who gave the report for Utilities. Mr. Bobich reported that they had held several more meetings and were working on their value statements. Now, they have to put the statements into the boxes. He was satisfied with the level of understanding that had been created through the exercise. Mr. Hawkins asked whether he felt the word was getting deep enough into the organization as far as feedback was concerned. Mr. Bobich stated that more participation was needed. They were somewhat hampered by only being able to get together on Tuesdays. Mr. Hawkins inquired about whether he felt that more time was needed, and Mr. Bobich felt that another week would be good. Hark Landre~ Fire Mr. Landress was sitting in for Chief Bingham and stated that their values integration worksheet was complete. Kelly Harri~ Police Sgt. Harris reported that the project was progressing, but slowly, due in part to a lack of volunteers to take the word to the different platoons. She had disseminated the information to the entire Police Department, and was receiving responses from individuals through E-Mail. Sgt. Harris inquired about a video that she had heard was going to be made about this project. Mr. Landress of the Communications Team stated that this was something that had come out of a Communications Team meeting the previous week. Mr. Hawkins asked whether the Police team wanted more time and Sgt. Harris stated that another week should be enough time to complete the project. Alan Karjalainen, ~ Mr. Karjalainen reported that his 14-member team was on track to finish their statements and that they were virtually done. Nancy Byrne. Development Ms. Byrne reported that her team had met a second time and finalized the concepts behind the statements. Some of the key team members were not available so she also requested another week to give those team members an opportunity to contribute to the finalized product. She Meeting Minutes Values Integration Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida October 14, 2003 spoke of having a similar experience to that of the Clerk's office, in putting the statements into the boxes. Her team actually got creative and put "circles" with statements that spanned the different boxes, since there was so much overlap. Dan DeCarlo, Neighborhood Services Mr. DeCarlo reported that the project was complete for his area. Brenda Gibb~ HR Ms. Gibbs reported that their 4-member team had come up with a statement for each value as it pertained to their activities. They will be tweaking it and then it will be done. They had fun doing it. I~ark Pyne, Special £vent~ Hr. Pyne reported that his team met on this and stayed together until they had completed the entire project. The report has to be brushed up and finalized but they are basically finished. Brendon Roi/e, Recreation Mr. Rolle reported that the Recreation department had made a lot of progress since the last meeting. His team disseminated the information to the department heads, which then held meetings with their members. The departmental meeting results were forwarded to Mr. Rolle, who is preparing a consolidated version as their final report. Mr. Hawkins asked if he felt he needed a little more time and Mr. Rolle responded that a little more time would be very helpful. Vickie Robinson, Parks Ms. Robinson spoke on behalf of Mr. Balfe, saying that their team was making progress but would appreciate the extra week, if possible. They had found it difficult to get all the appropriate team members together, but had managed to complete most of the project. Christine Roberts~ Public Works Ms. Roberts reported that the Public Works team had completed their draft statements and now had to tweak them and finalize them. They met off site and had a lot of fun doing it. They were anxious to see the final product. Christina I~layer~ Library Ms. Mayers reported that she was representing the library and that the other representatives were on vacation. Two weeks ago they met and finished their draft responses. Ms. Mancuso sent the draft responses to all the employees in the library for feedback. She was collecting the feedback and waiting for the other two team members to return from vacation. 3 Meeting Minutes Values Integration Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida October 14, 2003 New Report Deadline - October 24 Mr. Hawkins stated that it was very important to get as many people as possible to give feedback and participate in the project. Since some people were missing the input of key members due to vacations and difficulties in scheduling meetings, he extended the deadline for the Team Leader Reports to October 24. The finished products from each Team will be E- Mailed or delivered to Ms. Spoerri before the close of the day on October 24. Ms. Spoerri will then assemble the information and forward it to the Reconciliation Team for review. III. What's Next? Mr. Hawkins described the roles of the Reconciliation and Communication Teams. The Reconciliation Team will review the input from the Operations Teams from an objective point of view. They will try to ensure that the responses are clear and understandable. They will try to ensure that internal and external customers will be able to understand what the Operations Teams are saying. Similarities in the Operations Team's responses might become keystones in the building and establishment of this philosophy in the City. The Team will also look for conflicting statements and try to bring about unity. If any particular department's responses seem really alien or strange, an attempt will be made to visit with them to try to gain insight into their expressions. The Communications Team will assimilate the refined input from the Reconciliation Team and develop strategies to disseminate the information throughout the organization and announce it to the public. Mr. Hawkins indicated that the job of the Communications Team would be ongoing because these ethics must be "lived and breathed" on a daily basis. IV. Questions & Answers/Comments Q: Mr. Rolle asked whether the input would be used to draft a new overall City Mission Statement. A: Mr. Hawkins responded that a new vision and mission statement for the City would be a definite outcome of this process. Another component of it is that the City will be going to the public with a customer survey to gain their input to help guide the City in its future directions. Q: Hr. Bobich asked in what format the final products from the Operations Teams should be delivered. A: Ms. Spoerri preferred E-Mail delivery but hand delivery to her office would be fine too. She asked that everything be submitted to her including the matrix and if applicable, a report or preamble. A preamble would be helpful because it would help show what the Citywide feeling was about a very different way of doing things. If the information has not been put into "the boxes," Ms. Spoerri will do that. She invited comments at this meeting from people about the feelings and comments generated in their respective areas by this Values Integration effort. 4 Meeting Minutes Values Integration Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida October 14, 2003 Ms. Gibbs commented that there was a feeling of importance on her team - a sense that upper-level management was really interested in the thoughts, ideas, and feelings of the individual employees. This was part of why her team really enjoyed their sessions. Ms. Spoerri stated that it was really important to understand how people were feeling about this if the organization wished to move forward culturally. With understanding, the approach to certain emotional impacts can be altered. Some problems are not seen at the different levels but they do make a difference. · :, Mr. Kenyon commented that it was making a difference already. He related that Mr. Dave Ailstock, who is on the Communications Team but not present, was sharing some of these ideas with the new employees. Last week, an employee found a bag of money with $700 in it. The employee found it and turned it in, demonstrating integrity. Verbal notice was given that this action demonstrated one of the City's values, "l!ntegrity." On the same day as the found money incident, an employee observed an individual throwing cans into a canal, and stopped to ask the individual to remove the cans from · the canal, thereby demonstrating "Stewardship." Visible results were already occurring. Ms. Spoerri responded that it was nice to know about the differences this effort was having in the everyday actions of people throughout the City. It is not always easy to see how the City is being represented in all areas. Mr. Bobich commented that there was a need to get more employees and more supervisors involved. There is some feeling that not everyone would "buy into" this philosophy. Some will feel they have been excluded, or that this does not apply to them. Mr. Hawkins responded that having an affinity for this effort was important to its success. He asked for feedback about whether people were taking this seriously. Sgt. Harris commented that there was a problem in the Police Department about obtaining buy-in to the process and trying to get volunteers to do it. They see it as one more chore and something that is being forced down their throats. She realized that some people would probably always be negative and not just about this issue. She was working with them and with others with more positive attitudes. Mr. Hawkins and Ms. Spoerri offered to help in any way that they could, including appearing at shift change and speaking to the officers or in roundtables or any other format that Sgt. Harris thought might be effective. They were ready and willing to explain the process and clarify any concerns the officers might have. They thought that it might be helpful if the officers could see that it was a Ob/wide effort and not something aimed at only them. If Sgt. Harris or anyone else wanted this kind of assistance, help was a telephone call away. Mr. Hawkins realized that convincing people that this was not just the new "flavor of the day" might be a challenging task, but affirmed that management would be involved at every level to facilitate this understanding. He reiterated that this was being done in cities throughout the entire country and that other cities had demonstrated some dramatic, positive, and seemingly miraculous changes in culture and motivation as a result of the integration of values. 5 Meeting Minutes Values Integration Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida October 14, 2003 Ms. Spoerri invited the sharing of successes or difficulties with getting people involved in this process. She felt that cross discussion might be of assistance to all concerned. Sgt. Harris and Mr. Bobich both were having a similar problem in having large numbers of people in their organizations and trying to get the word out and stimulate participation. Mr. Hawkins offered to come to their areas and speak at shift change or during lunch breaks or any other time that could be mutually arranged. Everyone agreed that the process was easier in smaller groups. Q: Mr. Hawkins asked Ms. Roberts how she had motivated the people in Public Works to participate. A: Ms. Roberts stated that they had held one lunch meeting away from the workplace. They gave the team members the information a week before the meeting so people could jot down their thoughts and ideas about it. It was very relaxed and kicked back, with a very open discussion. There was some excitement but also lots of skepticism about how all this was going to work. Lunch was definitely a motivating factor in getting people together. Mr. Hawkins said that having the discussions in a relaxed and laid-back environment seemed to be helpful in increasing participation and motivation. Mr. Karjalainen shared the experiences of his 14-member team, saying that normally, the people in the department do not get together to discuss things outside the realm of their own specialty and the services that they provide. This was an opportunity to look at something totally out of the box and they all became philosophers in a way. It was a lot of fun. They encouraged jokes and talked about how it was something that was being done everywhere. They reviewed the preliminary input and got more selective, choosing the ideas they would go with. They struggled a bit and there was work involved in putting all the statements together. The word ditto got thrown around a lot. He felt that this was an opportunity to do something different and people embraced that challenge for the pure entertainment value and the chance to put on other hats. Q: Mr. Hawkins asked if anyone had discovered new or improved relationships as a result of these discussions. A: Ms. Gibbs' team found that they were almost all "on the same page" when it came to values. That made it simple and fun to come up with the statements. Q: Mr. Hawkins then asked if anyone had discovered a wide variety of opinions on the topic. A: Ms. LeVant stated that people in her area had initially been negative. As she talked with them and explained that the entire City was engaged in doing this, they gradually became more positive and are now listening and making contributions. Ms. Dixon explained that the Communications Department was a closed shop, like the PD, in a way, and that they liked it that way and found it hard to expand and see the overall picture. They were more concerned with their little world. Meeting Minutes Values Integration Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida October 14, 2003 A: Ms. Doppler stated when the process began she got a lot of funny looks, almost as if people felt intimidated. After they formed a committee and sat down, they were still vague about what it was they were supposed to do. They went on the Internet and downloaded information used. Once Electric had information creative. pertaining to values so they could see some words about values and how they were this information was presented, they started responding. She stated that General a huge value policy. Ms. Roberts stated that they had done the same thing, finding on the Bellsouth organization. Ms. Doppler continued that then they were able to be Mr. Hawkins thought it was great that people had gone on the Tnternet to find examples of values work in other organizations. A: Mr. Karjalainen stated that the process had helped his department establish its identity by looking at the values that they brought to the table every day and how they fit those values into the services that they provide. They are more than just nuts and bolts - there is a whole consciousness involved in way his department operates. To go through the process of self- discovery brings values to the surface and reveals the identity that exists. People are unique and not interchangeable, and this helps to bring that out. Mr. Hawkins said that mutual self-discovery was a good thing. He realized that it was work but felt that it was proceeding as it was meant to do. It was working and it was natural. He felt that people were on the right track. Ms. Spoerri said that one of the things it also did was take people out of their specific sphere of expertise. People tend to be divided because they all have different areas of expertise and sometimes have no apparent common ground for discussion. A topic as important as this can pull all :14 people together (~'I'S) into sharing a common knowledge and feeling so one walks away with a sense of more camaraderie. One of the goals behind this is to bring not just people in departments but across departments into an area of common discussion and understanding about how things work outside of their department and area of expertise. She thought the input was very encouraging and Mr. Hawkins agreed. Ms. Spoerri said it was not always going to work :[00% but felt that it was working now at least at 95%. A: Ms. Webb stated that she and Mr. Magazine were surprised to discover that their values were so similar because their personalities and mode of expression are so different. Mr. Hawkins said that he found this interesting also when the CMLT did it. He said you would be surprised about how much values are shared by people but expressed differently. Some do not express them at all. He felt that we were all in an environment where philosophy was not normally discussed but this kind of exercise helps us all. He found that a lot of the people on the CMLT looked at things in the same way that he did. Mr. Hawkins asked Mr. Landress for an update on the Communications Team. V. Communications Team Updat~ Mr. Landress reported that the team had met for the first time the previous week. A lot of members showed up and it was really exciting, he said. They designed a Statement of Meeting Minutes Values Integration Meeting Boynton Beach, Florida October 14, 2003 Purpose for the Communications Team. Each group on the team has an assignment on which they are working. They will meet again on October 23 to present ideas. They spoke of putting the acronym DISC (Diversity, Integrity, Stewardship, and Creativity) on t-shirts, fliers, on each department's Web site, and in every department's mission statement. They envisioned putting the City's values on the City's marquee on a permanent basis also. When this is launched, they thought it might be a good idea to have the values banded and in lights, wrapped around the City's water tower. The team had a lot of good ideas and was looking forward to working on it. VI. Wrap Up Mr. Hawkins stated that after the Operations Team reports were submitted on October 24, a wrap up meeting would be scheduled with this group to allow each department to talk about the final inputs. Mr. Hawkins and Ms. Spoerri both offered their assistance and that of the CMLT to anyone who requested it. The meeting ended at 12:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (101403) 8