Cuyahoga County Employee Engagement Plan

- Make Cuyahoga County an Employer of Choice
Strategic Priorities
  • 15.2 Create a positive, open, supportive culture that values our staff, prioritizes our customers, reflects our values, promotes teamwork and inclusion, and encourages innovation
    - Make Cuyahoga County an Employer of Choice
About this measure

This measure provides updates on major milestones and anticipated next steps associated with efforts related to employee engagement. Updates are provided by the Cuyahoga County Department of Human Resources.
Why is this important?

Engaged employees are those who are enthusiastic and committed to their work and workplace. Employee engagement is critical to organizational success and employee engagement strategies have been proven to reduce staff turnover, improve productivity and efficiency, and increase customer satisfaction. To transform Cuyahoga County into “a vibrant and prosperous region where everyone thrives, and all things are possible,” the County must have a thriving workforce. Through its employee engagement effort, CARE, the Department of Human Resources hopes to build an engaged, enthusiastic, and committed workforce, focused on transforming our vision into reality.
How are we making an impact?

Cuyahoga County continues to move towards becoming an employer of choice by offering opportunities for employees to get involved. Employee engagement efforts for the first half of 2019 focused on the CARE model: Communication, Appreciation, Relationships, and Education. Cuyahoga County uses CARE to get employees involved and engaged:

Communication: Creating departmental committees that will serve to enhance organizational communication and employee recognition. Current efforts include:

  • Department of Communications surveys on communication preferences and employee satisfaction
  • “In the Know” Weekly newsletter from the County Executive
  • Project Drive ERP Pit Crew
  • Quarterly update meetings with Sanitary Engineer

Appreciation: Sustaining a system of ongoing employee appreciation and recognition opportunities to enhance morale. Current activities include:

  • Recognition within Armond Budish's "In the Know" newsletter
  • Employee Engagement E-Cards

Relationship: Promoting organization-wide social events to build a sense of community among County staff. Examples of current events include:

  • College Now Mentoring program
  • Harvest for Hunger Campaign
  • Charity Choice Campaign
  • True 2 U Mentoring Program

Education: Offering education and development opportunities to increase employee engagement. Examples of current offerings include:

  • Innovation Conversations Series
  • Project Drive Just-in-Time Training for ERP Roll-Out
  • Green Belt Certification
  • HR's leadership lunch ‘n’ learn series, Lead for Change, continued with speakers such as Eddie Taylor (Taylor Oswald), Chris Ronayne (University Circle, Inc.), and Jennifer Cohen (Ratliff & Taylor)
Reporting Agency

Cuyahoga County Department of Human Resources 
Milestone Measure

The Department of Human Resources led and supported a number of employee engagement initiatives during the first half of 2019, including Cuyahoga County Red Cross Blood Drive, the annual Cuyahoga County Harvest for Hunger Campaign, fresh produce through Perfectly Imperfect Produce, 2019 Cuyahoga County Wellness Fair and other wellness-related events, and the rollout of new courses in the Cuyahoga County Employee Training Catalog. Additionally, the Department of Public Works and the City of Cleveland worked together to sponsor the Veteran's Memorial Bridge & Subway Tour, which is always a huge success!