Stratford city council approved the hiring of three new staff positions at its regular council meeting Monday, a move that their department head believes should have been filled years ago.
In presenting to council, Dave Bush, Stratford’s director of human resources, called the three new positions foundational roles and labelled them as integral to the department.
“They have been part of the budget discussion over the last decade but have never been supported, and a properly supported HR team has potential to have great impact on organizational culture,” Bush said. “Building out a balanced HR team is necessary to accomplish our mandate. The cost is attraction and retention - a good workplace culture connects people and motivates success.”
In fielding some questions from council - including defeated motions from Counc. Cody Sebben to both defer the hiring until the next budget cycle and to make all three postings one-year terms before reviewing them (both over financial concerns on how the new staff would be paid for) - Bush said making these hires now sends a message to the community that the city is being responsive to the needs of their employees as well as taxpayers.
“A well-defined and supported workplace culture tells the community we’re open, progressive, supportive, efficient, and dedicated to customer service,” he said. “People looking for work opportunities will see, hear and feel that the City of Stratford is a good place to work. Reputation is everything. This will reduce employees leaving the organization for other opportunities.”
By making these three hires, Bush said the city will be able to modernize its human resources department and make it easier to use. Adopting the use of a Human Resources Information System (HRIS), that will help to automate core processes for the department and help administration of benefits, time and attendance and other workflows.
“Stratford is very manual in its processes, and automation will eliminate employees' time doing manual transactions and allow them to focus on their work - customer service,” he said.
During his presentation, Bush indicated that Stratford experienced a staff turnover of approximately 140 people within the last year, creating issues of service delivery but also costing the taxpayer money as the city was forced to pay out overtime or re-train a new person for an existing job. The new hires will help create a better environment that people will want to remain in long term, he said.
“The municipal job market is very competitive, and Stratford is in close proximity to larger municipal centres where more job opportunities exist,” he said. “We need to and are reviewing several critical areas to enhance our staff retention. We’re conducting a market review for our administration compensation packages to confirm we are competitive, and we’re reviewing benefits. We have a council-approved hybrid remote work policy that provides flexibility for employees, and as of last night we’re investing in our HR department to have practitioners build wellness programs, succession opportunities, leadership development, team development, performance and employee engagement and so on. A good work culture connects people and builds morale.”
By approving the resolution, council authorized Bush to begin his search to staff all three positions.
