Organizational Excellence

Summary of objective implementation status (achievements or progress over last year; significant delays or issues, etc.)

By improving information and knowledge sharing within and between County departments, the County will increase its capacity for information dissemination, allow for greater transparency of cross-County department and agency activity, and promote organizational learning.

The countywide employee engagement survey was launched on November 4, 2024 (Organizational Excellence objective 3.2). This survey included the following question, “People on my team share information with each other.” Results from this survey will provide baseline data to be compared with future employee surveys to measure any changes in this metric. Once this baseline is established, staff will conduct research on best practices and prepare recommendations for strategies to achieve this objective.

A few examples of current knowledge sharing activities occurring throughout the County:

• The County Administrator’s Office is piloting a variety of knowledge sharing activities, with the goal of developing strategies that can be shared countywide. These activities include proactive coordination and information-sharing across CAO divisions, every-other-week brown bag lunches to share lessons learned on past or current projects, particularly working more effectively and efficiently to support Board deliberations, supplementing professional development for employee growth by discussing specific topics of professional interest, establishing criteria for peer review and information sharing to improve team effectiveness when an individual is out of the office for vacation or other extended period.
• A Grant Steering Committee (GSC) was established in the wake of the 2017 fires to bring together the relevant departments applying for recovery funding, so that efforts could be both coordinated and prioritized. The GSC has dissolved and in its place is the Grant User Network, a department staff-led forum for best practice and information sharing. The users are County staff who work on grants in a range of capacities.
• The County’s Wildfire Resilience Program, which launched in 2024, will design a County-wide perspective and vision on wildfire and other climate resilience. This program will assess opportunities for alignment and partnership with existing efforts in the County, including knowledge sharing and collaboration between County Departments, State Agencies, and external stakeholders.

Key milestone update (include relevant metrics, if applicable)

• Launch County Administrator’s Office’s new department Mentor Program: Launched in October 2023
• The employee engagement survey was originally anticipated to take place in 2022. However, given funding availability and prioritization, the survey was delayed until November 2024. As a result, the following milestones have been adjusted to take place after the survey is conducted.
• Incorporate questions related to information/knowledge sharing in employee engagement survey (OE 3-2): November 2024
• Baseline assessment: 1) data from Employee Engagement Survey, 2) Department Head feedback: February 2025
• Project scoping: compile list of potential strategies: March 2025
• Stakeholder engagement: request feedback on list of strategies: April 2025
• Proposal and funding plan development: December 2025
• Implement new strategies and evaluate results: December 2026

Coordination and partnership update

This is an internally focused objective with strategies aiming to increase internal information and knowledge sharing. However, during the scoping project staff will consider whether there are opportunities to partner with cities and community partners to share resources related to information and knowledge exchanges.

Community, equity and climate update

As previously stated, staff will look for opportunities to engage the broader community as part of the implementation of this objective. The primary engagement will be with County staff. The strategies for this objective will be designed to maximize employee participation equitably and at all levels of the organization.

If this objective received Strategic Plan funding, please provide amount spent to date for non-position related funding.

The baseline assessment, project scoping, and stakeholder engagement work will be incorporated within normal budget activities.

Once the knowledge and information sharing strategies have been selected for implementation, additional funding may be needed. The amount will depend on the selected strategies.