PEEKSKILL, N.Y. City employees are mostly happy with working conditions but think some areas can use some work.
That was the feedback from Barry Strock and Don Jacobs, of Albany-based Barry Strock Consulting Associates, who have been contracted by city officials to perform a study of the human resources policies of Peekskill after some employees told the Common Council they felt they were not getting the same treatment as other employees due to their race.
The general conclusion from the feedback we had from employees is that this is an issue that needs improvement, Jacobs said. Most employees have told us that harassment and discrimination from their personal point of view is not something they observe or see on a regular basis, but having said that there are some concerns pertaining to that specific issue that we need to talk to employees about more to understand better.
The two men have held a series of meetings with city department heads and employees in recent months in order to get feedback for their study, which is still being completed.
The men said communication between department heads and employees concerning human resources policies were good, and employees told them they were made aware of workplace policies and procedures and who to contact when they had questions and concerns. Some employees did tell them they would like to see changes to employee recruitment.
Employees had positive views of department heads knowledge and ability, and said they were comfortable going to their department heads when they have personnel concerns. However, Jacobs said that managers also needed to work on resolving personnel issues in a more timely manner.
They feel encouraged to express their opinions but the timeliness of the resolution to problems perhaps is an area they think needs to be improved upon, Jacobs said.
Some employees also wanted to see more career development and skill training, he added.
In terms of pay, the consultants said some employees felt that were not being paid adequately for the work they were doing and that most employees said they were open to the idea of linking salary to performance. Councilman Joe Schuder asked why that was the case.
I would assume, especially in civil service tasks, there is a very full definition of the job description, Schuder said.
Jacobs said that the city should check that the posted job descriptions are up to date and whether additional responsibilities may have been taken on by some positions.
The citys employee benefits program was viewed positively by city staff interviewed, Jacobs said. Jacobs and Strock will be giving another presentation of their initial results to city employees on Thursday.
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