Village of Burr Ridge, IL

Employee Engagement Committee

_{Population 10,000 to 49,999}

One of the keys to a successful local government is engaged and enthusiastic employees. Facing pressures to deliver financial value, solve increasingly complex issues, and manage the growing scope of local government services, the Village of Burr Ridge found that it had an employee engagement problem. In 2022, the Village conducted an employee survey, and responses indicated that employees felt they were not involved in critical decision-making processes, and internal communication could be improved. Burr Ridge realized that a significant change in organizational processes and employee engagement would need to be made to realize the full potential of its employees and provide the best services possible to the community.

The Employee Engagement Committee (EEC) was developed in December 2022 with one goal: “for Burr Ridge to become the best place to work in local government, period.” Uniting around one goal allowed for team cohesion and dedication toward the same end product. The EEC’s structure contained several critical elements: encourage willing employees to participate and make suggestions on administrative matters, meet regularly to ensure that discussions never went stale, and have direct representation at the table to move the organization forward. In addition to the three-part structure, the EEC was granted a mandate to participate directly in the organizational development of the Village through its combined management of the Village’s safety and wellness programming. This gave non-supervisory employees the power to make suggestions and changes that improve the workplace and are aligned with the ultimate goal of making Burr Ridge the best workplace.

In the last two years, the EEC has had numerous successes, including creating the village’s first-ever Statement of Culture with mission, vision, and values statements; making changes to health and wellness options; ensuring staff had access to an organizational coach to move professional development efforts beyond basic training; revising employee documents; and creating an employee recognition program.

Beyond these programmatic successes, the EEC produced significant communication-based changes to solve the original issue of poor internal communication. The EEC has greatly improved peer communication through a diverse composition of staff from union and non-union and part-time and full-time positions, and ensuring EEC members represent operational and administrative functions. The EEC has become a conduit for employee feedback, and members have become stewards of organizational health and cultural transformation. EEC members have developed perspectives on policy implementation and managerial decision-making and have become skilled change ambassadors. They can effectively communicate the possibilities and challenges of proposed initiatives to their peers, ensuring all staff are aware of organizational changes. The commitment to peer-to-peer leadership has transformed the organization’s culture in ways that were impossible with the previous hierarchical approach.

Humans ultimately provide local government for humans, and investment in the Village’s staff was critical to organizational success. Creation of the program required internal communication about its intent and organizational benefits. The foundational support and backing from leadership allowed the EEC to improve employee engagement and satisfaction, leading to overall organizational improvements. The EEC allows the Village of Burr Ridge to have access to the perspectives and talents of the 90% representing the non-management workforce instead of relying only on the perspectives and expertise of the 10% in leadership roles. Allowing greater participation has led to innovation, creative problem solving, and a better workplace culture, and ultimately has led to return on mission for the EEC: Burr Ridge has become the best place to work in local government, period.