Page 136 - Southlake FY24 Budget

Employee Engagement Survey Results 2013-2021

Strategic Direction

Figure 2

In addition to monitoring these performance measures, the City of Southlake also desires the opinion
of its citizens. Every two years Southlake undertakes a broad citizen survey designed to measure
government performance and gauge the current and future needs of residents. This survey is an incredibly
useful tool within the strategic management system, and it allows City services to be tailored based upon
citizen attitudes.

The City of Southlake not only surveys its citizens, but also its employees. We believe strong employee
engagement is a critical component of high-performance management and service delivery. Every
two years, Southlake conducts an employee engagement survey, which is created and administered by
research and consulting firm Gallup. The Gallup Organization defines engaged employees as those who
are involved in and enthusiastic about their work. Engaged employees are 100% committed to their roles
and contribute to the organization in a positive manner. Since our first survey in 2013, the City’s engaged
workforce has increased from 39% to 53%, moving us from the 38th percentile to the 81st percentile in
comparison to other organizations who have taken the survey.

Southlake’s performance measures are continually evolving. As we have improved our ability to gather
and mine data about our work, we have been able to add performance measures to the departmental
business plans as a gauge of success. These departmental measures are reported on each department’s
scorecard, then feed into the city-wide scorecard to give an overall picture of the City’s performance.
As the City continues to develop these scorecards, measurement units, data sources, and targets will
be refined. Through quarterly performance reviews, departmental performance is documented. Trends
are also tracked over time through department dashboards which are currently under development. The
city-wide scorecard is presented later in this section and departmental scorecards are provided in the City
Department Overview section of this budget document.

In 2021, the International City/County Management Association recognized the City’s performance
measurement work, awarding Southlake with a Certificate of Achievement in Performance Management
for the fifth consecutive year. As one of the 56 jurisdictions recognized nationwide, this certificate is
awarded to organizations who foster a performance culture by utilizing data to manage performance and
make decisions. The certificate program was placed on hold in 2022 to allow for the application process
to be updated.

136 FY 2024 City of Southlake | Budget Book