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Item # 7.5. <br />Laf <br />E <br />1~iver <br />MEMORANDUM <br />TO: Mayor and City Council <br />FROM: Robert D. Thistle~~ <br />DATE: October 3, 201 I <br />SUBJECT: Council Employee Recognition Program <br />BACKGROUND <br />The Ciry Council has agreed to finance an employee award program through donations from <br />the Council from the compensation they receive as Councilmembers. I was directed to <br />review how other communities are handling such programs and report back to the Council. <br />DISCUSSION <br />I queried the MCMA list serve site, the League of Cities, and Tina queried the Ciry Clerk list <br />serve site regarding employee reward/recognition programs. We got a number of detailed <br />responses. A number of cities indicated that they originally began with a monthly <br />recognition program and then went to quarterly or annual award program because either the <br />effort became administratively burdening, interest and support for the program dissipated <br />after the initial startup, or the program became contentious and more of a liability than asset <br />to employee morale. <br />The City of New Hope, however, has had a long standing employee of the quarter program <br />and an employee of the year program that has worked very well for them. <br />A number of cities only do an employee (s) of the year award program and include it in their <br />annual employee appreciation luncheon or dinner. <br />A number of Elk River division and department heads, in talking with their staff, found that <br />their employees would be interested in an expanded summer picnic for families sponsored <br />by the Ciry Council, if all of the Council was involved. <br />Our Police Department has an internal awards program that they run every year and the Fire <br />Department is exploring one for their department. So this could raise the question as to <br />whether a City program should be Ciry-wide or just for employees excluding Police and Fire. <br />We have a number of sample processes that other communities use to nominate candidates, <br />review and recommend candidates, and reward recipients that we can use as templates <br />should we decide to proceed with a program. <br />N:\Public Bodies\Ciry Council\Administrator\2011\Employee recognition programdocx <br />