Development Services Review. Final Report. Zucker July 2016

Communications With highly reduced staffing levels it is common for organizations to make adjustments that are intended to provide efficiencies that help preserve those programs most visible to the public. Frequently this includes elimination of periodic group meetings with staff and other departments. The Building Official should be commended for his commitment to continue to conduct at least informal meetings with staff to confer on the status of on-going projects. However, while these types of stand-up meetings can be beneficial to avoid the trap of having overly long meetings where little productive work is accomplished, there are times when a more formal meeting setting is needed to insure important topic are addressed. We believe managers should meet in a more formal setting at least once a month to not only talk about the immediate pressing issues of the day but to also help reaffirm the overall direction of the organization. Periodically discussing progress on meeting the goals of the organization and emphasizing the mission will help staff align their daily activities with the direction that Council has provided through the City Manager. These meetings should include a pre-distributed agenda of topics to be discussed and should be managed to see that time is used efficiently and that all participants have an opportunity to contribute. Sharing information about the Division’s progress in meeting performance standards can help all employees visualize how their efforts contribute to achieving the Division’s goals and how those goals align with Council’s direction. These types of meeting are particularly beneficial when supervisors and other employees can provide examples of work done by an individual within the group that truly exemplified the mission of the organization. 42. Recommendations: Monthly staff meetings should include pre-published agendas that provide opportunities to recognize staff accomplishments, share information from upper management and track progress in meeting established performance standards. Division Reorganization As stated previously, the current Building Official has a broad span of control that is inconsistent with best practices. The broad scope of responsibilities he has requires that his time be very limited to address the upcoming challenges that implementing the recommendations in this report will demand. Among the most significant challenges will be implementation of the new permit system and the many enhancement modules that will demand his attention as well as mentoring a new Chief Plans Examiner. We believe a more appropriate organizational structure can be found in the diagram below. The significant modifications to the existing structure is the reassignment of counter and clerical support staff to the newly created Chief Plans Examiner position along with the function of fire plan review and geologic reviews. This arrangement will allow the Building Inspector Supervisor to assume all of the supervisory responsibilities of that position and align the front counter operations with

Morgan Hill, California

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Zucker Systems