WeHoME union members at West Hollywood City Hall were asked their perceptions on City Hall leadership. The 2024 respondent answers were compiled and compared to the 2018 benchmark of the previous survey and to a broader norm for other similar agencies in the US.
Leadership Effectiveness:
Question: How much do you agree or disagree that you see evidence of effective leadership from: A) City Hall Executive Leadership, B) Directors and Division Managers, C) Immediate Supervisor and D) WeHoME
Results indicate 34% of city hall employees agree strongly or agree somewhat with the statement, in 2018 53% of city hall employees saw evidence of excellence in the city exectutive team. West Hollywood City Hall is well below the national average of 43%.
36% of respondents strongly agree or somewhat agree in the statement for their directors and division managers. Those numbers are down from 48% in 2018. West Hollywood was below the national average of 47% of city hall workers.
74% of respondents strong agree or somewhat agree with the statement about their immediate supervisor. That number is up from 63% in 2018, and ahead of the national average of 63%. 76% of respondents strong agree or somewhat agree that they see excellence in leadership of the WeHoME union. There was no benchmark to compare those figures.
Perceptions of Executive Leadership:
In your judgement how would you rate the job the City’s Executive Leadership is doing in each of the following aspects of the City? 1) promoting resident relations. 2) managing the city for the benefit of members and the public, 3) Understanding the needs of employees, 4) treating employees with dignity and respect, 5) Being accessible to employees, 6) supporting the necessary investment in new programs/development, 7) Having a clear vision of the organization’s future, 8) Conducting business in an open and honest manne, 9) Encouraging opportunities for career growth, 10) Recognizing excellent performance of staff, and 11) Caring what’s on employees minds
Results indicate only 34% of respondents agree or strongly agree that the executive team promotes building strong relationships with residents down from 53% in 2018 and slightly below the national average of 37%. 30% of city hall staff respondents agree or somewhat agree that the executive leadership is managing the city for the benefit of the members and public, that number is down from a benchmark of 51% in 2018 and slightly below the national average of 33%.
Only 23% of city hall staff members believe that the executive team understands the needs of its employees to balance work and personal/family responsibilities, that is down from the 2018 benchmark of 41% and well below the national average of 41%. A mere 26% of employees at West Hollywood City Hall strongly agree or somewhat agree that they are treated with dignity and respect, tha number 50% less than the 39% of city hall staff in 2018, and well below other cities at 44%.
23% of respondents answered that strong agree or somewhat agree that the cities executive team is accessible to employees. That number compares to 24% in 2018 and below the national average of 30%. Only 22% of city staff felt the the city executive team supports the members with necessary investment in programs/development. In 2018, 37% of city hall staff felt supported by leadership and that number is also well below the national average of 32%.
22% of city staff agree or strongly agree that the executive leadership at city hall has a clear vision of the organizations future. In 2018, 40% of city hall staff believed the executive team at city hall had a clear vision of the cities future. West Hollywood is well below the national average of 31%.
Only 6% of respondents strongly agree that the city executive team conducts business in an open and honest manner. A total of 23% somewhat agree or strongly agree with that statement, down from 37% of city staff in 2018 who believed the city leadership conducts business in an open and honest manner. West Hollywood is again well below the national average of 34%
Only 17% of city hall staff believe that city leadership encourages opportunity for career growth. IN 2018, 28% of respondents believed they had the opportunity to advance within the city. Nationally 25% of workers within the benchmark believe they have opportunities to grow in their jobs. 18% of respondents believe that they are recognized for outstanding work, down from 23% in 2018 and below the national average of 22%. Only 17%, strongly agree or somewhat agree that the cities leadership team cares what is on the employees minds. That number is down from 18% in 2018 but in line with the national average of 18%.
Abuse of power at city hall is evident. https://wehoonline.com/2024/04/23/dear-weho-%f0%9f%93%ac-whistleblowers-claims-just-tip-iceberg/ this link explains the results.
Someone that felt compelled to share the results is someone who sees no change. Is this a cry for outside help?
Truly pathetic that the city has to conduct two surveys to recognize the stench in city hall. I’m wondering as to the cost of the surveys and honestly why this city keeps on the City Manager.
We need strong executives like Paul Arevalo and Mike Jenkins back to right this ship. David Wilson continues to be a complete disaster as a manager/leader (I don’t question his financial management prowess). Lauren Langer simply functions as the bureaucracy’s apologist in chief. Council majority are too naive and immature to focus on the nuts and bolts of sound municipal governance while focused almost entire on prom committee bullpucky. The city should be placed in receivership to clear the mess and the ethical rot of the past few years.
Great work wehoonline!
Wowser, City Hall is f-cked up!
The worst employer in the city is city hal, the kids on the council are not strong enough to make the necessary changes.