Grey Highlands council has received a glimpse of the changing dynamics being felt in municipalities across Ontario.
In 2022, Grey Highlands municipal staff received 395,214 emails and responded to 83,000 external phone calls. The organization has a total of 79.54 full-time equivalent employees – not including the library system.
At its meeting on Feb. 15, council received the 2022 year-in-review report from CAO Karen Govan. The report highlighted the work Grey Highlands staff have been engaged in over the past year and clearly raised eyebrows around the council table.
Govan said things are changing rapidly in the world of municipal government.
“As we come out of the pandemic, there is a need to think differently,” she said.
She said Grey Highlands now lives in an age of instantaneous communications and a highly competitive marketplace for employees.
Govan said the expanding communications capacities and the rise of social media have created the expectation that municipal governments will respond to inquiries almost in real-time.
“It takes a special kind of person to do this kind of work,” she said.
Govan said Grey Highlands has made it a priority to recruit and retain top-quality staff by being a preferred employer. The CAO said changing workplace dynamics has significantly increased the competition for quality staff. She said the rise of work-from-home options and virtual communications has resulted in smaller rural municipalities having to compete with their larger counterparts for talent.
Govan said in 2022, Grey Highlands conducted more than 100 recruiting interviews, saw 41 new staff join and 35 staff leave. She said the municipality’s staff turnover rate was approximately 30 per cent.
“It’s a little high. I’m not concerned about it. There are no alarm bells,” she said.
The communications section of the report was eye-opening for members of council, particularly the number of emails sent to staff.
“That just blows my mind,” said Coun. Paul Allen, after hearing the number of emails the municipality received in 2022. “This is good for council to see and hopefully for the public to see.”
Mayor Paul McQueen said communication and education of the public can be an intense part of the job for staff and council.
“It can consume your life. Big time. I can spend all day dealing with everything. It’s part of the job,” said McQueen. “This is the business we’re in as staff and council.”
Coun. Dan Wickens said his election to council has been enlightening
“During the campaign I had ideas of what went on up here. I had visions of people lounging around. I have a totally different perspective now,” said Wickens. “It’s mind-boggling.”
Govan concluded her presentation with praise for staff and their efforts to serve the public.
“We have very hard-working staff and I appreciate them every day,” she said.
