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Executive Listening Session Insights

As part of our ongoing commitment to fostering a culture of open communication and continuous improvement, we've conducted a series of Executive Listening Sessions. Led by our Executive Director, Kevin Reed, these voluntary, small group sessions provided an opportunity for staff to voice their feedback, concerns, and ideas. These sessions delved into understanding how our workforce perceives our organization, what motivates our staff to be part of Making Opportunity Count, and how we can better serve our workforce. The following questions prompted discussion:

 

  • How are we doing, as an agency, employer and/or provider?

  • How can we foster better cross-program collaboration within the agency? 

  • What can we do to help you maintain or increase your success?

  • What were you hoping to share today?

 

The insights gained from these sessions will significantly shape our organizational decisions. As you scroll below, you'll see that we've captured key highlights of what we heard, and importantly, key recommendations that came directly from staff. Our next steps involve exploring each key recommendation for feasibility and goal development. If feasibility determines we can move a recommendation forward, we will create associated action items and goals. 


This webpage isn't just a static report; it's a dynamic accountability tool. This is where you'll find updates on our status toward reaching our goals. We'll provide quarterly updates here, and will be adding progress meters for each domain and recommendation so we can all see what steps are being taken based on your feedback. 


Thank you to all who participated for your valuable contributions. We're looking forward to seeing your voice in action as we build Making Opportunity Count's future.  

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Flexibility & Inclusivity

Employees voiced the desire to maintain a high level of autonomy and creativity in tackling challenges. They seek balance in work and life, and a desire to feel like a more connected member of the larger organization.

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Highlights:

  • Flexibility is given in balancing work and life

  • Appreciation for autonomy, innovation, and creativity

  • Continued flexibility as organization grows

  • A feeling of being included and part of one's direct team

Recommendation 1

Continue to support and enhance a culture of flexibility, equity, and autonomy.

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Recommendation 2

Develop ways to improve staff satisfaction in feeling more connected to the whole organization.

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Summary of Progress: Lots of effort is underway to maintain and expand flexibility and inclusivity in our workplace. HR currently maintains an updated policy on remote work and flexibility. They are working with AmTrust on best practices for remote workers on safety, have added MOCU management on managing remote workers, and conducted the 2024 climate survey. The employee summit is planned for October. Facilities offers furniture, space, and customized solutions in cooperation with departmental leadership to accommodate individualized needs while providing secure communication platforms from home or from varied office locations. Fiscal is working on a remote tool storefront where hybrid employees can purchase and expense materials directly. The Advancement team has projects underway to enhance Viva Engage use and website redesign. Employee opportunity groups have agency support of and formalizing development of the next phase of the Employee Engagement committee and there is regular promotion of DEI initiatives from the Race Equity Committee.

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Personal Support & Professional Development

There was a desire for more support in personal and professional growth opportunities in cases where new business requires new skills.

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Highlights:

  • High desire to participate in training and professional development

  • The loan forgiveness program was highlighted as significant for personal success and peace of mind

  • Organizational growth is welcomed while making improvements in stability

Recommendation 1

Continue with and build HR benefits that support professional growth.

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Recommendation 2

High-quality, engaging training is needed on several topics (language, mental health, cultural humility crisis, management, CPR/first aid).

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Recommendation 3

Continue to support internal candidates with opportunities for promotion.

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Recommendation 4

Coordinate efforts to offer robust onboarding process as well as tailored trainings to meet ongoing needs.

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Summary of Progress: HR has instituted several strategies to improve personal support and professional development, including improvement and expansion of benefits offerings during open enrollment and throughout the year. A new training coordinator was hired and is implementing high-quality, engaging training like the DEI training, professional development all-staff conference, as well as other requested training. HR has also revamped onboarding and Discovery Day, including compliance processes for workplace harassment. HR has started the Safe Opportunities Committee to work with staff on safety issues, prevention, and best practices. HR is also working to improve employee support by working with managers to streamline and standardize the interview process, start conversations about individual annual performance reviews, and gather feedback using a 90-day new hire survey.

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Community & Client Engagement

This insight highlights the need for there to be more connection to the community and within the community to better serve clients. Staff want a more comprehensive knowledge of programs in order to improve referrals and service delivery.

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Highlights:

  • Pride in ability to meet client and community needs within their program

  • Strong desire to ensure that programs and program staff make client success a priority

Recommendation 1

Improve the use of the program awareness by better utilizing existing and new digital resources.

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Recommendation 2

Develop better ways to learn and share program changes, wins, and storytelling.

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Summary of Progress: Advancement has been working toward improving organizational connectedness and program awareness. Advancement has developed project management workflows on Monday.com including a new process for design requests. Advancement is working with web developers to design a centralized staff landing page on the new website to direct staff to critical organizational information. They are working with a consultant to develop video content to be premiered at the all-staff convening in Oct 2024. Advancement is also working with select departments to engaged in a digital marketing campaign to promote program regionally. MOC has also been involved in adopting a centralized outreach strategy.

Communication & Collaboration

The need for enhanced inter-department communication and collaboration was a strong recurring theme. Employees suggested various strategies to foster a sense of unity and better awareness of each program's offerings.

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Highlights:

  • Transparency from leadership to other levels of staffing is appreciated

  • As the organization grows, so does the need for effective systems of communication

  • Appreciative of leadership listening to staff in this format

Recommendation 1

Need multiple ways of receiving, retrieving, and transferring information.

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Recommendation 2

Offer programmatic learning opportunities in a variety of ways to engage and learn.

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Recommendation 3

Enhance, promote, and centralize an effective and dynamic resource guide/program directory.

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Recommendation 4

Continue with regular all-staff updates and feedback (i.e.: quarterly Town Hall meetings).

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Summary of Progress: Through Advancement, an employee knowledge initiative project has been formed to gather feedback and develop user-generated strategic communications solutions. The user-generated strategic communication solutions that come from the synthesis of the cohort feedback will help address knowledge expansion and integration across the organization. Communication channels continue to be utilized to get information to staff including Viva Engage, ADP, the MOC Resource Guide webpage, and Town Halls.

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Employee Recognition & Leadership Presence

Employees want to have a sense of community and belonging at Making Opportunity Count, including more recognition of employee contributions.

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Highlights:

  • Employees would like to get to know each other better and to see executive team members more visible across all locations

  • Employees want to feel valued and supported

Recommendation 1

Ensure that there are fair and equitable wages across the organization.

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Recommendation 2

Offer more ways to maintain and improve staff appreciation.

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Recommendation 3

Bring staff together to enhance team-building and appreciation.

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Recommendation 4

Engage managers and directors to better support cross-department communication.

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Summary of Progress: There has been a shift strategically to an organizational model of integrated care. As such, there are plans to relaunch director's meetings and improve cross-department communication with regards to referrals. In terms of employee recognition, MOC is working with Edgility Consultants to understand and inform wage equity strategy. Employee opportunity groups have agency support of and formalizing development of the next phase of the Employee Engagement committee and there is regular promotion of DEI initiatives from the Race Equity Committee. An all-staff professional development conference will be held in October as a way to offer professional development and connect with one another; annual gifting/tokens of appreciation (mugs, apparel) continues. Additional next steps may come as a result of the staff climate survey that was conducted in April 2024.

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Physical Infrastructure & Technology

This insight refers to the need to have effective infrastructure and technology to facilitate work functions.

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Highlights:

  • Programs are embracing technology as it comes and want to keep doing this

  • There is a desire to better connect staff and locations and keep interaction and collaboration high

Recommendation 1

Address key concerns and develop solutions around workplace confidentiality.

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Recommendation 2

Improve phone and IT infrastructure within organization and to better serve clients.

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Recommendation 3

Address physical space concerns - including keeping staff informed early and often when physical moves are to occur.

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Recommendation 4

A need for a more centralized or cohesive physical setup to foster interaction and collaboration.

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Summary of Progress: Facilities and IT have taken steps to address key concerns raised related to physical infrastructure and technology. There are continued efforts to lease additional space and provide more space(s) to departments. Facilities and IT collaborate with departmental leadership to test varied furniture, space and scheduling solutions to accommodate individual needs as well as increased hybrid or work from home flexibility while ensuring the type of space and communication platforms needed (collaborative or confidential) when on site. There are ongoing efforts with each department to structure phone use and phone routing by departmental need. IT and Facilities are adding staff to accommodate growing individual demand and demands of new projects for adapting our workspaces. Planning & Data, Advancement, and IT are beginning to inventory tech solutions with the goal of streamlining and better disseminating available solutions throughout the agency. Planning & Data is working on an inventory of databases where client information is kept with the double goal of supporting streamlined agency-wide reporting AND improving client data security.

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