the municipal secretary desktop reference manual - Southwestern ...

MUNICIPAL PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT STANDARD
SMALL MUNICIPALITIES
AIf you're going to take out a long-term car loan, don't buy a short-term car.@
This solid piece of advice comes from the One-Minute Manager by Blanchard and Johnson
(Blanchard and Johnson, Berkley Books, 1981). For local governments the message is this: The
largest portion of any municipal budget goes to support employees’Csalaries and benefits. Once
hired, whether through merit or patronage, most employees will be with the municipality for the long
term. Building a case for dismissal is difficult. Unionized environments provide protection. Once
hired, court decisions make it illegal to dismiss most Apolitical@ appointments, except for cause
related to performance. The personnel management goal, then, should be to hire Awinners@ in the
first instance. If the government cannot find or afford winners, hire individuals with potential, and
turn them into winners through coaching and training.
Personnel management is serious business. The ability of a local government to provide
quality services, to respond to issues, and to resolve its problems, rests squarely upon its ability and
willingness to attract and retain Awinners,@ and to motivate and utilize its human talent to achieve
goals. Every employee must be seen as an investment. Local governments which do not pursue the
investment strategy, and which give deference to immediate political preferences, may be paying our
precious public dollars for amateur performance at the expense of efficiency and effectiveness and
public trust. Effective personnel management is greatly aided by implementation of the General
Governance, Leadership and Management Standards calling for a professional municipal manager
who is responsible for personnel, including the Ahiring@ and discipline of employees.
The standards address the basis elements of the municipal personnel management function
and provide a framework for the investment strategy. Taken together, they:
1. Support the concept and principles of merit selection, promotion, and retention.
2. Put in place personnel practices which are needed to meet the major mandates established
by the U.S. Supreme Court in the areas of recruitment, selection, promotion, performance
appraisal, and retention.
3. Recognize that the best productivity takes place in an environment that promotes
fairness, and the dignity, rights, and abilities of individuals.
The personnel management standards meet these three critical objectives by dealing with
seven policies and processes.
! Personnel Recruitment and Selection Practices
! Compensation Plan
! Employee Productivity, Evaluation and Discipline
! Personnel Records
The format for the Personnel Management Reference Manual is similar to that used in the other
manuals: documents and related materials: a brief bibliography, a listing of appropriate professional
organizations and a section dealing with the application of standards.
A-31