St. Petersburg Completes Employee Survey, Mayor Welch Recommits to a Positive Workplace Culture

July 28, 2023 - In the spirit of inclusion and garnering feedback, the City of St. Petersburg has completed a Climate Assessment Survey of its nearly 3,600-employee base, with 44% (approximately 1,580) of its team members participating in the process. The survey is a follow-up to Mayor Kenneth T. Welch's commitment, made last fall, to conduct a confidential survey about workplace environment. The survey process was managed by Inclusivity, LLC, a third-party consultant.

"As mayor of this city, it is important for me to listen to our employees' thoughts, ideas, and concerns at all levels and embrace transparency," said Mayor Welch. Since day one, I made a promise to be intentional with our push for inclusive progress and impactful, innovative changes to enhance the quality of life in St. Petersburg. It is my firm belief that our constituents are entitled to this commitment, and so are our City employees, which includes nearly 3,600 talented and hard-working individuals serving St. Pete residents every single day and around the clock."

Prior to Mayor Welch taking office, Inclusivity conducted a similar assessment in 2021 that resulted in low participation due to staff navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon Mayor Welch's arrival in January 2022, and his review of the 2021 data, the City reengaged Inclusivity in December to conduct this most recent assessment of the organization's culture.

There were three main elements of this Climate Assessment Survey: a demographic analysis, in-person and virtual focus groups, and an online organizational survey. Notably, the 44% participation rate in this organizational survey was significantly higher - nearly four times the response rate from the last survey facilitated in 2020-21. The focus groups that were held in February and March were followed by the online survey that was made available through April.

Mayor Welch continued, "As with any large employer, we received positive and negative feedback that varied across 35 departments and multiple shifts spanning a 24-hour period, 7-days a week. From beginning to end, we applied an equity lens to the survey process. We made sure that those who are not likely to have access to a computer as part of their regular job duties were provided with multiple opportunities to complete the survey. Employee engagement was always a priority, so I also recorded and shared a personalized video to encourage all employees to share essential feedback." (Click here for the Employee Climate Survey Message from Mayor Welch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrSuCj8Fric)

"Parallel to the survey process, we developed and posted the job description for the Chief Equity Officer, a position that will intentionally report to the Mayor's Office as a member of my Cabinet. This person will focus heavily on working with Human Resources, administrative areas, and across all departments to create a more inclusive organization. Our goal is to have the new Chief Equity Officer hired by this fall."

Findings of Interest

Main themes extracted from the comments shared during the focus groups:

• Value placed on anonymity
• Desire for more "soft skill" management training
• Strengthened lines of communication between administration leadership and employees
• Top-down dissemination support for the City's Pillars for Progress and Six I's
• Engaging an increasingly diverse, multigenerational and geographically dispersed workforce
• Significant supervisor discretion over recognitions, rewards, open opportunities and professional development opportunities
• A disconnect between pay structure and performance

Sample observations from the online study:

• 78% agree or strongly agree that diversity is vital for the city's success.
• Middle Management (anyone who supervises more than 7 other employees) more closely reflects the ethnic and racial composition of the workforce as a whole.
• Administration and director levels are predominately non-minority. Gender identity skews to males in middle management.
• Gen Z and Gen Y comprise approximately half of the City's current workforce.

"We now have good data from our employees to turn insight into action. Moving forward, we will increase our leadership and job skills training, improve employee relations, boost internal communications, and develop more transparent training and promotion processes. As we work our way through this feedback, we are developing plans of action at both the citywide and departmental levels to address any issues raised by our employees," said Mayor Welch.