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Developments and Updates
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Health and Wellness Programs
The Department of Human Resources manages a comprehensive health and wellness program for the City’s 8,000 active and 4,500 retirees and their families that includes:
Employee Fitness Center- This free, state of the art fitness center is located in City Hall. This facility has universal weight equipment machines, aerobic equipment, a walking track and locker room facilities with showers for employees. Since opening in October 2006, the Employee Fitness Center has had over 3,000 visits.
Employee Health Center- Staffed by full-time nurse practitioner and medical technician, this facility offers free preventative and minor medical services to all City employees and provides them with educational material. The health center’s medical staff focuses on health screenings-blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels. Making these screenings easier for employees results in early detection of diseases, which are then brought to the attention of the employees and their primary care physicians. This allows for early intervention and lifestyle changes. Since the health center opened in November of 2006, there have been more than 1,500 visits. Preventive and educational visits to field operations worksites and treatment of high cost medical conditions (i.e. diabetes, hypertension and asthma) will be key initiative for 2007.
Lunch and Learn Series- DHR, in partnership with its contracted health insurance vendors and community providers, sponsors two monthly lunch and learn series for employees. Monthly topics primarily focus on key health issues identified by American Medical Associates and National Institutes of Health. Health insurance vendors have provided nutritious lunches and leading medical professionals to discuss topics like: breast cancer awareness, cardiovascular health awareness, AIDS/HIV awareness, prevention of blindness, management and controlling diabetes, nutritious food planning and cooking, fitness training, and dental prevention and the connection to medical diseases.
American Red Cross Blood Drive- DHR sponsors four blood drives in conjunction with the American Red Cross. The department has received awards from the American Red Cross in the past two years for its effort in making the City one of the leading minority recruitment blood drive donation sites in the country. In addition, one of the four blood drives is dedicated to Badges for Life- a Competition between the Police Department and the Fire Department.
Health Fairs- DHR holds an annual comprehensive health fair and supports all City departments that offer annual health fairs for departmental personnel. Services provided include health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels as well as vision screenings and examinations.
Women’s History Month Celebrations- DHR sponsors health fair and screenings focused on women’s health issues during the annual celebration of Women’s History Month each March. This event is one of the largest Women History Month celebrations in the country and the 2007 event featured more than 25 health vendors and services. |
Disease Management- DHR is partnering with contracted insurance vendors to manage chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, coronary artery disease (including circulatory restrictions and strokes), musculoskeletal disorders (including lower back pain) and digestive disorders (the top five chronic diseases prevalent in our population). The department is working to reach not only active employees but also partnering with other agencies to reach out to retired employees as well. At the same time, DHR is educating employees to help them be more aware of these illnesses and the health disparities leading to earlier and more frequent prevalence of these diseases.
Employees Weight Management Program- This new program was initiated in January 2007. Currently, more than 200 employees have enrolled.
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Employee Book Club Schedule
“Hooked on Books,” the City of Atlanta’s book club sponsored by Mayor Shirley Franklin and the Department of Human Resources, scheduled discussions on the following books during 2007:
The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner – May 25, 2007
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne – July 13, 2007
Chasing Life by Dr. Sanjay Gupta – August 24, 2007
The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier – October 26, 2007
The Road by Cormac McCarthy – November 30, 2007
All discussions are held at noon on the second floor of City Hall. Lunch is provided.
Executive Development
DHR began Phase II of the City’s Executive Development Program in the fall of 2006, featuring executive coaching by 10 consultants. Coaches were matched with the needs of the participants and each coach worked closely with a City executive to create a unique development plan. The coach and participant engaged in 10-12 one-hour sessions where the development plan of the executive was addressed. In 2007, DHR will expand the executive coaching program to include career management for executives who are planning their next career move.
The Executive Development Program began three years ago when Mayor Franklin asked DHR to develop an executive coaching initiative. About 400 executives and managers participated in a three-day seminar – “Building High Performance Organizations.” All departments participated in the seminar over a 12-month period. Presenter Tony Gardner, former County Manager in Arlington County, VA, combined personal experience and consulting expertise in delivering the seminar. He and his associates have continued working with the City and several departments to ensure that the High Performance concepts are implemented. In addition, DHR staff from the Organizational and Employee Development unit and other consultants who specialize in executive development have performed follow-up facilitation with departmental groups.
Rising Stars
An effective indicator of an organization’s health is its commitment to develop employees who have demonstrated the ability to serve at higher levels of leadership. The Rising Stars Development Program, which begins in the fall of 2007, is an intense development experience that prepares employees with leadership potential to move up to the next level. There are two tracks: the senior management track for current managers who have the potential to move into executive level leadership; and the aspiring leaders’ track for employees who have not had city government management experience or whose skills may need refreshing. The comprehensive program is nine months long. Participants will be placed in two cohorts of approximately 15 persons each. This program will help participants:
- Gain in-depth knowledge about the challenges and issues facing city government
- Experience new levels of self-awareness and opportunities for change
- Develop new relationships and contacts within city government
- Prepare for leadership opportunities within and outside city government
- Discover new strategies for leading and influencing others
Employees interested in participating in this program should contact their supervisors.
Performance Management
The City has completed a successful transition to a new system of performance evaluation. The first evaluation under the new system occurred in 2005, following a year of revising the performance measures based on department goals and strategies. Training on the system continues for new supervisors and refresher training is ongoing for current supervisors or any employee who desires more information about the evaluation process.
DHR also consults with departments and assists in the implementation of the system, including the writing of performance standards, advisement on procedures and resolving employee appeals. The City has also created a new pay-for-performance program, which is linked to the performance evaluation ratings. The pay-for-performance program is based on extensive research both with City employees and with other municipalities that have implemented similar programs.
Recognition and Awards
City Human Resources Department Redefines How It Serves Its Customers
The City of Atlanta Department of Human Resources (DHR) is the first government entity to receive a “Professional Excellence Award” from the Atlanta chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM).
The award is the result of reorganization strategy spearheaded by Mayor Shirley Franklin. In 2002, the mayor commissioned an assessment of DHR to identify ways DHR could become a strategic partner with City departments.
The strategy shift has allowed DHR to become an efficient, transparent and customer-centered department. The department reorganized around seven areas. Two areas were dedicated to customer support with service contracts between City departments. In two years, DHR increased its customer satisfaction rating by 30 percent and had a satisfaction rating of 77 percent, surpassing the national government average of 72 percent.
“This award highlights the value of the Human Resources department in City government, and demonstrates our skill and commitment in meeting the needs of our customer departments and agencies,” said DHR Commissioner Benita Ransom.
2007 Women's History Month Luncheon
The Department of Human Resources (DHR) hosted the City’s fourth annual celebration of National Women’s History Month on March 9, 2007, at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center. The event included an interactive health fair and seminar and a motivational employee recognition luncheon.
DHR Commissioner Benita Ransom welcomed almost 1,000 people to the luncheon, which featured WSB-TV’s Jovita Moore as emcee and Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, the first woman bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, as the keynote speaker. Seventeen women from the City’s operating departments received awards for their outstanding job performance.
In addition to Bishop McKenzie, other speakers included City Council President Lisa Borders, Melanie Nelkin, founder of the Darfur Urgent Action Coalition of Georgia, Monica Valdez of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Susana Chavez of the Atlanta Commission on Women. The Honorable Elaine L. Carlisle, an Atlanta Municipal Court judge, introduced Bishop McKenzie.
Bishop McKenzie – a prolific motivational speaker, inspirational church leader and author – encouraged the audience to abandon the search for the cause of failures in their lives and to move on to seek solutions and opportunities for growth. The audience responded to her speech with a standing ovation.
Another exciting feature of the event was a video presentation from the Mayor’s Office of Communications featuring interviews with Panke Bradley, the City’s first female elected official; Charlene Braud, an employee in Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs who joined the City after fleeing New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina; and Eulonda Perry, a longtime employee with the Law Department. Each shared their story in relationship to the event’s theme – “Generations of Women Moving City Government Forward.”
Throughout the event, the audience was treated to music by the Chanda Leigh McKnight Trio. And, just before the nominees for the overall awards were presented, the cast from the musical “Respect” sang a medley.
The main event was the presentation of awards to the City’s women of achievement. As Ms. Moore introduced the winners, they came forward for pictures and the presentation of their awards by Commissioner Ransom. The emcee closed out the program by presenting more than 40 door prizes – including 10 roundtrip airline tickets for two from the event’s top sponsor, AirTran Airways.
2007 Women's History Month Award Winners
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Atlanta Workforce Development Agency |
Linda Wunch |
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Aviation |
Shelly Lamar |
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City Council |
Rhonda Johnson |
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Corrections |
Major Deborah McClendon |
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Executive Offices |
Bonni Ware |
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Finance |
Debbie Wells |
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Fire Rescue |
Claudie Nash |
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Human Resources |
Sherri Dickerson |
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Information Technology |
Phyllis Burgess |
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Judicial Agencies |
Deborah S. Greene |
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Law |
Stephanie Grant |
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Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs |
Gale Daugherty |
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Planning & Community Development |
Terri Lee |
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Police |
Gwendolyn Favors |
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Procurement |
Sallie Andrews |
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Public Works |
Nancy Barrington |
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Watershed Management |
Valerie Reid |
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