Introducing the 2024 MACo Celebratory Blog Series: Showcasing the Remarkable Achievements of Maryland's Award-Winning Counties!
Join us on this exciting journey as we embark on a special blog series dedicated to honoring the exceptional accomplishments of the counties that triumphed in the National Association of Counties (NACo) 2024 Achievement Awards. Each week, we will shine a well-deserved spotlight on a few remarkable counties, taking a deeper dive into their accomplishments, innovative initiatives, and the profound impact they have had on their communities.
Personnel Management, Employment and Training
Howard County received two awards in this category.
New Employee Orientation
Howard County is an innovative and engaged community partner in the delivery of our services/programs. Thus, it was
imperative we instilled these values in our workforce upon hire. Most onboarding programs, similar to the model historically used by Howard County, primarily focus on brief reviews of hiring forms and health benefit coverage. This approach completely missed the importance of connecting new hires to the organization's values and expectations. In 2023, the Office of Human Resources undertook a complete transformation of is onboarding experience.
The all-day program:
• Focuses on building positive employee-employer relations.
• Orients employees to our complete organization, our leaders, and our community commitment.
• Helps align individual objectives with organizational objectives.
• Communicates expectations of fairness, ethics, and integrity from our workforce.
• Ensures employees are equipped to succeed in their roles from day one.
• Provides resources so employees feel supported throughout their career.
The fully redesigned program has been a tremendous success which is measured through the completion of employee surveys. Nearly every new hire has shared that the experience has been the best orientation they have received in any organization. Ultimately, this investment demonstrates the commitment to our employees' success and sets a strong foundation for long-term engagement and retention.
Workforce Commitment and Development through Innovation
Commitment to our workforce through enhanced employee experiences, much improved training and development, accessibility, and improved decision-making were transformational drivers of our newly designed Human Resources business processes, workflows and consolidated HRIS technology. Significant effort was placed on the evaluation of outdated and inefficient employment processes, gaps in workforce development, lack of program accountability. Additionally, the integrated HRIS was implemented to consolidate siloed functions (learning systems, employment actions/records, complex benefits, applicant hiring, etc.) into a cohesive system. The County gained data-driven decision-making by providing improved analytics and reporting capabilities. By analyzing key metrics, training effectiveness, and workforce demographics, we gain valuable insights to optimize recruitment strategies, identify needed skills development, and foster continuous improvement. This initiative allowed the County to greatly improve employee experiences through enhanced learning and development tools, onboarding, and self-service portals for easy/timely update of personal information. This consolidation reduces redundancy, minimizes errors, and enhances overall efficiency, allowing HR professionals focus on strategic initiatives rather than administrative task related to validating often conflicting records. Overall, the implementation of a first integrated HRIS system represents a strategic investment in modernizing our workforce operations, driving efficiency, fostering data-driven decision-making, and ultimately, enhancing both organizational performance and employee satisfaction.
Montgomery County received two awards in this category.
Officer Mental Health and Resiliency
The Montgomery County Police Training and Education Division, specifically Officer William Weill and the In-Service
Training Unit, has developed a yearly mental health and wellness block that deals directly with officer mental health issues. Each year, the program tackles difficult subjects. Last year, the topic was officer resiliency after critical events. This year, the topic is officer suicide. This block of instruction has been praised by officers and has directly resulted in several officers identifying suppressed trauma and their seeking professional help.
Problem Solving Committees
Transit Services' high staff turnover, particularly among bus drivers, was attributed to low morale rather than wage
disparities. To address this, Montgomery County Transit Services, along with the Innovation Team, established problem-solving committees. These committees aimed to decentralize decision-making and empower staff by giving them a voice in leadership choices. Each committee, facilitated by Depot and Central Communication Chiefs, focused on a specific challenge identified by staff consensus, such as policy changes, teamwork, communication, or employee recognition. Leveraging a human-centered design approach, the problem-solving committees delved into both individual and collective staff needs and organizational values. This allowed them to determine how to influence positive changes in employee behavior. Staff members used the committees to identify root causes of their challenges, design questions for further exploration, and develop pilot programs centered on their needs. Solutions included a pilot texting tool for smoother communication across depots, "Team Player of the Month" awards to boost staff morale, and a mentorship program to empower employees and help them reach their full potential. Through this committee prototype, staff were not only empowered but also enabled to understand, analyze, and collectively address the challenges affecting their work environment.
Risk and Emergency Mannagement
Anne Arundel County - Resuscitation Equity and Diversity in Training
Risk Management Safety continually strives to develop avenues to ensure safety programs and education reaches all of
our county government personnel and by extension, our broader Anne Arundel County community. Above all, Anne Arundel County's Risk Management Safety team seeks to make safety programming and education accessible, equitable and diverse; like the community we serve. In 2022, Risk Management Safety continued to refine our CPR/AED/First Aid and Stop the Bleed program in order to provide the most comprehensive program possible. While undergoing this process, Risk Management Safety began to explore the opportunity of addressing Resuscitation Inequity and what role we could play in combating the disparities and access to quality training instruction. Combining community initiatives, Hands-Only CPR education, AED access and training through various awareness initiatives, Risk Management Safety continues our commitment to improve awareness of life saving skills to the people who need them the most.
Howard County received four awards in this category.
Business Disaster Preparedness Workshops
The Howard County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) launched a Business Disaster Preparedness Workshop series in September 2023. This series is hosted in partnership with Howard County Economic Development Authority (EDA) at least four times a year. This program engages the local business community and gives them the knowledge and tools to
prepare for natural or human-caused disasters. When disasters strike, business owners have an overwhelming number of tasks to think about from their own family's safety to the loss of revenue to insurance claims. There is not enough time to calmly make informed decisions at this point. Prior to disasters is when business owners need to think through how they will secure their families, communicate with their employees and clients, smoothly submit insurance claims, utilize Internet platforms, and make critical decision on how to get operations back to normal. OEM's Business Disaster Preparedness Workshops aim to provide business owners a solid starting point for their emergency plans. OEM provides emergency plan templates for households and businesses that walk through the needs and solutions they must identify and use to bounce back after a disaster or emergency. These templates are paired with presentations by OEM that focus on general preparedness or specific hazards.
Community Hazard Handbook
The Community Hazard Handbook (CHH) provides a condensed, yet comprehensive overview of the analysis put forth by the Howard County Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) that provides visuals and an overview of different hazards that the Howard County community may face in layman's terms. The CHH is distributed to Howard County residents, businesses, community organizations, and visitors to increase their awareness and knowledge of potential hazards affecting the County. Howard County OEM utilizes the CHH as a foundational element of emergency preparedness, education, and outreach.
Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment
The Howard County Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) is a comprehensive overview of specific
hazards and their potential impacts on Howard County. The HIRA reflects a whole-community approach to risk assessment, involving local government stakeholders, private-sector partners, and private community members. The HIRA is a foundational document for emergency preparedness planning efforts within Howard County, providing a data-driven basis for addressing existing or emerging hazards that Howard County could face. The HIRA can be easily integrated into existing plans and documents to improve risk communication by establishing a common language, set data-driven priorities, justify existing planning priorities, evaluate prevention, protection, and mitigation actions, and anticipate challenges during emergency events.
Howard County Workplace Safety Inspection Program
A comprehensive and proactive workplace inspection program is essential for ensuring the well-being of employees, safety of visitors, and overall success of the County. A safe workplace reduces injuries/illness, lost workdays/productivity, medical
expenses, property damage, and legal claims. Regular and proactive safety inspections play a critical role in maintaining a safe work environment. Factors that elevate the risk or likelihood of an incident include: (1) lack of safety inspections; (2) lack of education on hazard identification; (3) poor safety culture; and (4) lack of risk analysis. Too often workplaces rely on reactive safety steps. The County is reimagining its safety approach through proactive and collaborative partnerships with departments. In Fall 2023, the Office of Human Resources, Risk and Safety Division, through a new initiative launched the fully redesigned the County's workplace inspection program and risk management strategies. We believe that a proactive Program contributes to continuous improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance safety protocols, procedures, and training. The new Program includes planned inspections, systematic inspections procedures, clear reporting of hazards, and corrective actions. We recognized that investing in a comprehensive inspection program is an investment in the health, safety, and success of both employees and the County as a whole.
Together, let's explore the remarkable stories behind these award-winning counties, and draw inspiration from their passion, creativity, and commitment to making a positive difference. View all 2024 NACo Achievement Award winners through their interactive and searchable map.
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