MONROE - A yearly process of evaluations of city employees will begin in earnest by December 2008.
The Salary and Personnel Committee voted unanimously Tuesday night to use standardized evaluation forms and a reciprocal method of evaluations for all employees and department heads.
Chairman Mark Coplien said he and at least one other member of the committee will give evaluations to department heads in November or December. Other members of the City Council may request to be involved in the evaluations, he said. However, Mayor Ron Marsh has asked not to be involved to remain neutral.
Coplien recommended the evaluations process to his committee based on "what is missing right now" in city policy.
"Evaluations for the most part have been good," Coplien said.
However, one department has not been giving evaluations; Coplien said he found one retiree who doesn't remember ever having an evaluation. Coplien would not reveal the department not giving evaluations.
Committee members discovered that some city department heads do not have employee evaluations listed in their job description.
One department head, Street Department Supervisor Tom Boll, said he had been using his own forms for employee evaluations until last year, when he received a form from the city.
"These (evaluations) need to be done on a regular basis," Coplien said. "I don't know of any business that doesn't have evaluations."
Marsh presented three forms that will be part of the evaluation system. Two have been used in the recent past, and one is new.
Forms will now be dated so that all evaluations across the departments will be done on the same standardized form.
The two forms in use are the employee evaluation form and the disciplinary notice report, both of which had to be "tweaked," Marsh said.
Department heads had reviewed the old forms and asked that an item be included that evaluates their financial responsibilities, Marsh said.
The new form is for the employee to complete one week prior to the evaluation. It asks the employee to evaluate his own strengths and weaknesses, and to recommend job improvements necessary to better do the job.
"It's only fair to have a two-way street," Marsh said.
The disciplinary notice report needs to be filled out and placed in an employee's file if he is not doing his job or not listening, Coplien said.
"Document it, or you're not going to get rid of that employee," he said. "Department heads know what is important and what's not" important enough to document, he said.
The disciplinary notice now requires a couple more signatures, including that of the employee, Marsh said.
Evaluations and notices will be placed in each employee's file.
Complaints against department heads would be handled by the committee in the same way - by finding out if the complaint is legitimate.
"If we find out they're true, we write up a form and put it in the file," he said.
Police Chief Fred Kelley asked if department heads would receive any training on filling out the forms, adding that some things have to be removed after a certain period of time. He recommended reading the union contracts.
Marsh also recommended referring to the salaried employees handbook and department head guidelines.
Alderman Dan Henke was absent from the committee meeting; Alderman Jan Lefevre was alternate.
The Salary and Personnel Committee voted unanimously Tuesday night to use standardized evaluation forms and a reciprocal method of evaluations for all employees and department heads.
Chairman Mark Coplien said he and at least one other member of the committee will give evaluations to department heads in November or December. Other members of the City Council may request to be involved in the evaluations, he said. However, Mayor Ron Marsh has asked not to be involved to remain neutral.
Coplien recommended the evaluations process to his committee based on "what is missing right now" in city policy.
"Evaluations for the most part have been good," Coplien said.
However, one department has not been giving evaluations; Coplien said he found one retiree who doesn't remember ever having an evaluation. Coplien would not reveal the department not giving evaluations.
Committee members discovered that some city department heads do not have employee evaluations listed in their job description.
One department head, Street Department Supervisor Tom Boll, said he had been using his own forms for employee evaluations until last year, when he received a form from the city.
"These (evaluations) need to be done on a regular basis," Coplien said. "I don't know of any business that doesn't have evaluations."
Marsh presented three forms that will be part of the evaluation system. Two have been used in the recent past, and one is new.
Forms will now be dated so that all evaluations across the departments will be done on the same standardized form.
The two forms in use are the employee evaluation form and the disciplinary notice report, both of which had to be "tweaked," Marsh said.
Department heads had reviewed the old forms and asked that an item be included that evaluates their financial responsibilities, Marsh said.
The new form is for the employee to complete one week prior to the evaluation. It asks the employee to evaluate his own strengths and weaknesses, and to recommend job improvements necessary to better do the job.
"It's only fair to have a two-way street," Marsh said.
The disciplinary notice report needs to be filled out and placed in an employee's file if he is not doing his job or not listening, Coplien said.
"Document it, or you're not going to get rid of that employee," he said. "Department heads know what is important and what's not" important enough to document, he said.
The disciplinary notice now requires a couple more signatures, including that of the employee, Marsh said.
Evaluations and notices will be placed in each employee's file.
Complaints against department heads would be handled by the committee in the same way - by finding out if the complaint is legitimate.
"If we find out they're true, we write up a form and put it in the file," he said.
Police Chief Fred Kelley asked if department heads would receive any training on filling out the forms, adding that some things have to be removed after a certain period of time. He recommended reading the union contracts.
Marsh also recommended referring to the salaried employees handbook and department head guidelines.
Alderman Dan Henke was absent from the committee meeting; Alderman Jan Lefevre was alternate.