Introduction
The Town of Southern Pines was on a mission to find a tool that could help them revamp performance development efforts town-wide. They sought a solution that could replace a process that had been in place for nearly two decades. Essential Personnel (EP), a performance development and safety and wellness SaaS solution, proved to be the perfect fit. Mike Cameron, Assistant Town Manager and Fire Chief, shares how adopting EP has transformed their approach to performance management.
The Challenge
Before adopting EP, the Town of Southern Pines had a traditional, lackluster evaluation process. "We had a very standard formal evaluation process that was rigid and not flexible," says Mike Cameron. "New employees were evaluated at six months, and annually, everyone went through the same 11-question evaluation that had not changed for 17 years." This process was time-consuming and no longer provided the value in terms of feedback or development they knew they needed. Both employees and supervisors found it to be ineffective and burdensome.
Southern Pines needed a solution that could offer a more dynamic and meaningful evaluation process, one that could adapt to the unique needs of different roles within the town while providing actionable insights and fostering growth for their 210+ employees.
Choosing Essential Personnel
The decision to adopt Essential Personnel came after a fortuitous meeting at a mid-winter Fire Chiefs conference. “My fellow Assistant Town Manager, Jessica Roth, and I wanted to improve morale and culture around the performance appraisal process," Cameron recalls. "We didn't know exactly what we were looking for, but as soon as we heard Essential Personnel’s presentation at the conference, we knew we had found it." EP’s Talent Management Suite takes the guesswork out of modernizing the approach to people data and performance management. It provides a collection of coaching, counseling and mentoring tools that come pre-loaded with customizable templates that are purpose-built for municipalities and public safety agencies.
“The Southern Pines Way”
The implementation of EP started with leaders, like Cameron and Roth, spearheading an effort to establish a cultural framework that defined the town's unique standards and expectations. "Every department – whether it be police, fire or public works – has a specific way of doing things, but no matter what role we have, we all want to deliver exceptional service to our people and those we serve," says Cameron. That’s when they settled on “The Southern Pines Way”, which highlights four key values: teamwork, opportunities, superior service and pride. EP features such as the 360 feedback tool allow the Librarian, for example, to give feedback on a patrol officer and vice versa.
EP was the missing piece that would help bring “The Southern Pines Way” to life.
Utilizing Key Features of Essential Personnel
Essential Personnel’s talent management solution allows the Town of Southern Pines to:
- Complete formal evaluations using EP’s customizable Score Reports, modernizing the approach to formally rating employees, while a proprietary algorithm helps solve for supervisor bias.
- Capture 360-degree feedback on every employee. Anyone, at any time, can share feedback on another employee town-wide. This provides a wealth of information for supervisors to reference during a formal evaluation, and feedback is no longer just top-down.
- Share a Leader's Note from a selection of customizable templates in order to provide ongoing coaching and counseling to employees.
- Track all “people data” points electronically, everything from personal contact information and uniform size to certifications and qualifications. Easily identify skills and develop emerging talent.
- Manage the entire Awards program and streamline the approval process.
- Track involvement in Special Teams and Committees and manage Training requests and approvals.
- Easily upload and reference any Document of Record for an employee. No more paper files.
- Define Career Development paths, transparently outlining the steps for career progression.
- View employee profiles designed to provide permission-based visibility into an individual’s complete record.
Positive Impacts
Enhanced Feedback and Recognition
Since implementing EP, town employees have greatly exhibited a key “Southern Pines Way’ attribute – teamwork. Employees have shared nearly 500 pieces of individual feedback on one another. "I cannot emphasize this enough…our people love seeing positive 360 feedback written about them. As a leader, I look for opportunities every day to be able to write and share them. Supervisors also appreciate having an extra window into their employees' performance,'' Cameron notes. This comprehensive feedback system has helped employees feel recognized, boosting morale and engagement. It’s also been a key factor in enhancing the amount of feedback that’s available to reference during a formal evaluation process using Score Reports. It ensures that the employee is evaluated fairly, not just from the top-down.
Improved Leadership Development
EP has also been instrumental in identifying and developing future leaders. "We've told everyone to put all their certifications and qualifications into the system, which helps us cultivate the next wave of leaders within our town," says Cameron. “For example, there’s a shortage of experienced planning directors and building inspectors. EP helps us track all of their certifications and qualifications. We are thinking about how we can mentor our current employees to prepare them for what’s next,” Cameron emphasizes. This data-driven approach allows Southern Pines to plan for future leadership roles, ensuring a strong pipeline of talent.
Retention and Career Growth
By using EP, Southern Pines has been able to retain valuable employees by providing clear career development paths. "We've used some of the documents in EP to gather feedback and look at past performance, which helps us mentor people for the next role," Cameron explains. This focus on growth and development has reduced turnover and kept employees motivated and committed to their careers within the town. “We’ve also used EP to help counsel employees whose current position may no longer be the best fit. We’ve been able to facilitate a move to another town position rather than losing them altogether,” Cameron explains. EP’s drag-and-drop org chart feature can transfer an employee and their records to another supervisor in just one click.
Key to Success
The success of implementing EP at Southern Pines can be attributed to strong leadership and a commitment to culture. "I believe that it must start with leadership," says Cameron. "As soon as I hear something good or something that could have gone better, I remind our team to share it. " This transparent and proactive approach has fostered a supportive environment where employees feel valued and supported.
Conclusion
The Town of Southern Pines' adoption of Essential Personnel has revolutionized their performance development efforts, providing invaluable benefits to their team and enhancing their operational efficiency. "EP has given us the ability to take our passion for performance development to the next level," concludes Cameron.
Left to Right: Preston Stackhouse, CFO & Co-founder of Essential Personnel, Assistant Town Manager Mike Cameron, Chief of Police Nick Polidori and CEO & Co-founder of Essential Personnel, Scott Monroe
