Community: Wyoming, MI
Population: 10,000+
Why don’t ants get COVID? Because they have little ant-y bodies!
This is just one of over sixty “dad jokes” Wyoming City Manager Curtis Holt shared in his daily (now weekly) updates to staff since the start of the pandemic. Dad jokes don’t directly to correlate with providing critical municipal services, but maintaining employee morale is how Holt and other leaders engaged themselves and staff. Despite grim news about shutdowns and COVID cases in the community, employees remained engaged throughout the pandemic, and Wyoming leaders and staff have emerged as local innovators in COVID-19 response. Clear communication, excellent safety measures, increased staff flexibility, and highly committed employees stem from the culture Holt and others developed in Wyoming. Wyoming was one of the first communities in the area to reopen safely after the initial state shutdown, providing the same high level of service to its residents as they have since 1959.
Replicability:
Organizations can work NOW to build their organizational culture. This includes making the right hires, encouraging a strong work ethic, leading by example, and engaging their workforce to act as a team. Wyoming was strong because we used our employees in creative ways and gave them unusual roles during the pandemic. If other employers can think strategically in this way, they could easily replicate the successes Wyoming experienced.
Creativity and Originality:
The employee response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated restrictions, rules, and changing expectations challenged our workforce and leadership to think creatively about 1) what it means to be a good employee and 2) what it means to serve the public through an extraordinarily challenging time.
• Employees pitched in – even if it wasn’t their “normal” job. Employees offered, and the departments that needed help asked. This included assistance with sourcing and making PPE, returning staff to work in a safe environment, and assisting with existing City functions such as elections.
• Leaders kept employees engaged: the City Manager led (and continues to lead) regular all-staff Zoom meetings and send email updates to all employees with “Dad Jokes”. Department heads checked in with staff during the Stay Home, Stay Safe orders.
• Unions and human resource leaders maintained labor relations with the City’s five labor unions. Conversations were honest and happened regularly. Because of this, no issues arose surrounding work assignments for union members.
• Treasurer’s Office opened the drive-up window for service to all departments in City Hall.
• Employees who were unable to perform their normal job duties made calls to City residents to complete the 2020 Census.
Community Impact:
The residents of Wyoming continued to receive a high level of service from City employees. Operations in water, sewer, and other infrastructure wasn’t impacted. Services in planning, inspections, assessing, treasury, and clerk remained available, even if the method of service changed (interactions were completed remotely via phone and email; the drive-up window in the Treasurer’s Office was used to provide service for all City Hall departments).
