Roswell, Georgia
Attracting and retaining top-notch employees is a high priority for Roswell, Georgia City Administrator Kay Love and her staff.
The local government measures its success in excellent customer service both internally and externally and having low employee turnover is one key metric. In order to get great results, the management team uses a number of creative approaches to recruit and keep its staff of more than 600 full-time and 400 part-time employees. Departments including the community relations division, city leadership, the human resources (HR) team, and the division managers and supervisors use creative ways to attract and maintain staff through ongoing initiatives.
Roswell, Georgia city hall.
“We are striving to become a premier employer in Metro Atlanta, especially in the local government sector,” says HR Manager, Jamie Major. “We have done this by creating a culture of support that includes active wellness programs, competitive pay, strong benefits, high quality training, adaptive leadership approaches and many more programs that drive us toward being a premier workplace.”
Of the 600 full-time employees, 98 have been with the city more than 20 years (16%) and 30 have been with the city for more than 30 years.
”We gauge our turnover and general employee satisfaction,” Major said. “Our turnover is generally entry-level roles. At times, we have struggled to retain hourly wage employees which makes us work harder to create an environment and work culture where entry-level employees can see a long-term career path. This is done through training, incentives and promotional opportunities.”
Major says that the council/city administrator form of government has created an ethical and supportive framework of debate and discussion that keeps the future of the organization in focus. The citizens also are generally supportive of the city’s efforts, and show this through positive social media posts along with strong community engagement. The Roswell Facebook page has 11,000 followers and a rating of 3.6/5 with 78 reviews. A recent post about a free #artaroundroswell bus tour received 102 likes, 20 shares and three comments.
“Occasionally, there is a controversial decision made which generates arguments from one side or the other, but we are incredibly fortunate to have supportive stakeholders within the community,” says Major.
Never Ending Dedication
The “project” is never-ending, he says, as the city strives to improve its work culture. This includes:
- An Employee Referral Program that incentivizes staff to help with recruiting high-caliber candidates.
- A robust Wellness Program that incentivizes employees to be as healthy as possible.
- Tuition reimbursement that motivates employees to expand their formal educational base and broaden their industry knowledge.
- A City of Roswell Enrichment Academy (CORE) program that exposes employees to other staff members, resources, and equipment throughout the city to give better overall customer service to residents.
- Free recruitment webinars directed at millennials.
- Competitive pay & comprehensive benefits.
- Partnerships with local businesses and larger corporations for discount programs.
Roswell is also a city that is not afraid to show its playful side, as shown in the “Roswell Makes Us Happy” video that was released in Summer 2014 (almost 20,000 views in the first two years).
More about Roswell
- Founded by Roswell King in 1836.
- Population more than 94,000.
- 21 parks with more than 900 acres of active and passive parkland and facilities.
- Awarded twice by Atlanta Magazine as the best place to live in the Metro-Atlanta area.
- Awarded a 2003 City of Excellence by Georgia Municipal Association.
Meet the Manager
