Local government is a crap place to work

It's a catchy title, designed to grab your attention and read. That's the intention behind Keith Marshall's article in the October 21st 2011 issue of the National Business Review.

Keith Marshall is the Chief Executive of the Nelson City Council and he has written an article on employee engagement and leadership within the local government sector. Keith quotes a survey conducted by JRA each year which measures the level of employee engagement across all sectors in New Zealand. Staff engagement in the local government sector is typically low - just 21% compared with an overall average of 32% across all organisations. He goes on to say that this is a real concern within the sector and an issue which he believes should be addressed.

I absolutely agree with Keith's view. Employee engagement leads to improved leadership, productivity and employee satisfaction and performance. As he points out, with responsibility for key infrastructure within our community, it is certainly within our interests that City Council staff are focussed and engaged. In fact, as New Zealander's we should all be concerned that the average of employee engagement across all sectors is as low at 32%.

Keith is working hard to address these issues. A recent study indicates that employee engagement levels at Nelson City Council have increased from 21% to 39%. These levels are well above industry average and should be acknowledged.

It is ironic then, that Keith goes on to say in his article that the cause is neither sexy nor flashy. 'It makes boring press releases that no media want to publish and it most certainly isn't valued by the electorate; but it is the single most important factor in delivering what local government does.'

Well, in this aspect Keith, you were wrong. It did make front page headlines in the Nelson Mail but not for the intended reasons. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/5909569/Council-vigorously-defends-performance-perks-for-CEO The fact is that Keith Marshall's intentions are to make local government a good place to work and for that reason I applaud him.

I do not need to know how much he is paid for his efforts. Surely, this information forms part of his employee agreement and should remain private in the same way as it does for all other Council employees. Nor am I in an ideal position to determine his overall level of performance in his role. As with other employment situations, isn't this for his employers to determine?

For a copy of Keith's article, please email julie@bdc.net.nz (With thanks to the kindness of Kenn Butler who brings me the NBR every week).