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Morgan Hill, California
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Zucker Systems
Communications
With highly reduced staffing levels it is common for organizations to make
adjustments that are intended to provide efficiencies that help preserve those
programs most visible to the public. Frequently this includes elimination of periodic
group meetings with staff and other departments. The Building Official should be
commended for his commitment to continue to conduct at least informal meetings
with staff to confer on the status of on-going projects. However, while these types of
stand-up meetings can be beneficial to avoid the trap of having overly long meetings
where little productive work is accomplished, there are times when a more formal
meeting setting is needed to insure important topic are addressed. We believe
managers should meet in a more formal setting at least once a month to not only talk
about the immediate pressing issues of the day but to also help reaffirm the overall
direction of the organization. Periodically discussing progress on meeting the goals of
the organization and emphasizing the mission will help staff align their daily activities
with the direction that Council has provided through the City Manager. These
meetings should include a pre-distributed agenda of topics to be discussed and should
be managed to see that time is used efficiently and that all participants have an
opportunity to contribute. Sharing information about the Division’s progress in
meeting performance standards can help all employees visualize how their efforts
contribute to achieving the Division’s goals and how those goals align with Council’s
direction. These types of meeting are particularly beneficial when supervisors and
other employees can provide examples of work done by an individual within the
group that truly exemplified the mission of the organization.
42.
Recommendations:
Monthly staff meetings should include pre-published
agendas that provide opportunities to recognize staff accomplishments,
share information from upper management and track progress in meeting
established performance standards.
Division Reorganization
As stated previously, the current Building Official has a broad span of control that is
inconsistent with best practices. The broad scope of responsibilities he has requires
that his time be very limited to address the upcoming challenges that implementing
the recommendations in this report will demand. Among the most significant
challenges will be implementation of the new permit system and the many
enhancement modules that will demand his attention as well as mentoring a new
Chief Plans Examiner. We believe a more appropriate organizational structure can be
found in the diagram below. The significant modifications to the existing structure is
the reassignment of counter and clerical support staff to the newly created Chief Plans
Examiner position along with the function of fire plan review and geologic reviews.
This arrangement will allow the Building Inspector Supervisor to assume all of the
supervisory responsibilities of that position and align the front counter operations with