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Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Massachusetts Municipal Human Resources association held its annual virtual holiday meeting on Dec. 5., featuring a workshop led by Betsy Neptune of Neptune Coaching.
Employee onboarding was the focus of the annual MMHR virtual holiday meeting on Dec. 5.
The program featured a workshop led by Betsy Neptune of Neptune Coaching: “Beyond Benefits: Advancing the Employee Onboarding Process in Municipal Workplaces.”
Neptune discussed strategies for streamlining the onboarding process, supporting new hires and connecting them with their departments, and establishing a healthy and welcoming workplace culture.
“Onboarding is related to our processes, but it’s also related to our culture and patterns of behavior,” Neptune said.
For municipalities seeking to streamline their onboarding process, Neptune said that communication is key — even before hiring begins. She encouraged municipal HR professionals to work with department heads to define the “shared expectations” that both staff and managers agree to observe in service of the department’s larger mission. Clearly defined expectations around communication, participation, and behavior help to integrate new hires and set them up for success.
The meeting also featured a networking event and a legislative update from MMA Legislative Director Dave Koffman.
Koffman discussed important civil service reforms that were included in a recently signed economic development package, including a new “hybrid pathway” option for communities through which departments can make up to 50% of entry-level police and fire appointments outside of the traditional Civil Service exam process. The reforms include provisions that create flexibility for communities in providing residency requirements, and, for communities departing from civil service, allow existing home rule petitions filed between Jan. 4, 2023, and July 31, 2024, to not require further legislative action.
“We’re really happy to get a good compromise done, with a lot of stakeholders … to help provide more management discretion than there’s been in decades,” Koffman said.
• Beyond Benefits: Advancing the Employee Onboarding Process in Municipal Workplaces presentation (4M PDF)