The survey brought a low return rate, mixed results and some surprises to city officials.
By AMY WIMMER
Published July 13, 2003
MADEIRA BEACH - The results are in from a survey aimed at assessing the mood of city employees, and city officials are left with a mixed bag of responses.
City Manager Jim Madden initiated the survey amid concerns that his management style had created a poor work environment at the city. The results showed that employees generally trust their direct supervisors and consider them competent but are unsure they can trust top management.
And in a surprise for city commissioners, many of the employees who added written comments to their surveys had harsher words for the elected officials than the city manager.
"I believe the commission and mayor have created a hostile work environment," one employee wrote. "It seems once they are elected to office, they know more about your job than the employee does. I think they ran for office because they don't have the credentials to be hired."
Madden said he is taking steps toward communicating better with employees. He recently learned, for example, that the minutes from department head meetings are not being posted where employees can read them. He asked department heads to begin making that information accessible.
"I think this was a good start," Madden said Friday. "It opens the dialogue with the employees, where we have the starting point with the employees to address the issues that they see as paramount."
Debbie Cline, the city's human resources officer, called the survey "basically positive" but noted that even the number of surveys returned to city management reflects some level of distrust. Twenty-two of the city's 60 employees turned in the survey, and Cline said many came to her with questions about whether they could speak truthfully in the survey and whether the city would be trying to figure out whose handwriting was on a particular survey.
"They're viewing it as a suspicious thing," Cline said. "They've never been asked their opinions in any kind of a survey."
One Civil Service Commission member, Alan Dill, called the results "devastating."
The city received notice in February from the Public Employees Relations Commission, a state body that works to resolve labor disputes in the public sector, that Madeira Beach employees are considering joining Communications Workers of America.
Of the 35 city employees eligible to join the union, 33 indicated an interest, according to the commission.
Employees will vote in about two months on whether to bring a second union - the firefighters are already represented by one - to Madeira Beach.
The survey says. . .
Twenty-two of Madeira Beach's 60 employees responded to the employee survey. Of those who responded:
- 62 percent do not think the city administration expresses a sincere interest in the satisfaction and well-being of employees.
- 85 percent gave high marks to their direct supervisor.
- 76 percent enjoy their work and feel they provide quality service.
- 64 percent do not think Madeira Beach is a good place to work.
- 77 percent receive most of their information at work through the grapevine.
- 67 percent do not believe management will consider problems brought to its attention in the survey.
