The County of Clark’s Social Service department faced a number of issues as a result of the recession including less money, less clients and less employees. Additionally, surveys revealed low leadership as well as dissatisfied customers. To combat this the department had to put a new focus on service, programs and relationships which resulted in ‘Managing Our Culture’, an initiative formed around the goal of engaging employees and improving customer service. The program has been nominated for the 2016 Local Government Excellence Awards in the category of Strategic Leadership & Governance (populations of 50,000 and greater).