Piqua earns award City recognized as top workplace By Bethany J.

Royer Originally published in the Piqua Daily Call January 30, 2013 PIQUA City officials had big news to share on Monday when it was announced they were selected as one of the top places to work in the Dayton and Springfield area, according to a survey conducted by WorkplaceDynamics LLP, all thanks to the efforts of Development Program Manager Bill Lutz. It was Lutz who handled all the communication and coordination with his fellow employees in the voluntary process, according to City Manager Gary Huff, with over 76 percent participation from staff, in cooperation with the Dayton Daily News and the LLP for the distinguishing Top Workplaces award. Since I have been here we havent completed an employee wide survey that I could remember, said Lutz in a written communique on his nomination of the city. I thought at the very least the organization could use the insights that the survey would provide. After senior management learned that Lutz had nominated the city he was put in charge of leading the effort to encourage as many as possible to complete the survey. Our employees did a great job, Lutz said. All departments and all types of employees full time, part time, union, non-union participated and its through their responses that we were named the only local government as a top workplace this year. According to Lutz, the biggest takeaways from the survey is that employees feel the organization is moving in the right direction. They have strong confidence in the leaders in our organization, Lutz said. They believe we operate with strong values and ethics. WorkplaceDynamics LLP is a research firm founded in 2006 with offices in Pennsylvania and London. According to Alicia Bressler, Operations Administrator, a business in the Dayton/Springfield region must have at least 35 employees to take part in a summary report. Our mission is we really want to help our clients create great work places, said Bressler, and that their service provides more than just an opportunity to hear from employees but an opportunity for business to see where they stand with their peers. While not a consultant, WorkplaceDynamics LLP staff can assist in pointing out the highs and lows, and where a company needs to focus, and wants businesses and employees, to be informed. The city of Piqua was selected for the award according to employee feedback that included rating work ethics, confidence in leadership and direction, to managers showing care and concern toward employees, making it easier to do a job well, and allowing an employee room to

learn and grow.Pay and benefits were other areas of assessment with questions related to time with the company, position and annual income, even work-life balance. WorkplaceDynamics LLP helps its clients create places people want to work and to recognize those across the country fulfilling that criteria. As an employer of 188 full-time employees in a dozen departments, the city of Piqua provides fire/EMS, police, water, sewer, stormwater, power, parks and recreation services for a populace of more than 20,000. Their recognition with WorkplaceDynamics is just one of many notable awards and recognitions over the course of a year that includes Healthiest Employer, Tree City USA, IEDC Silver Excellence Award in Economic Development, Hermes Silver Addy, American Graphic Design, Ohio EPA Watershed Protection and the GFOA Excellence in Financial Reporting.