Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE GREAT PLACE TO WORK CERTIFICATION CONTRACT AGREEMENT (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
Great Place to Work is a Global leader in workplace culture, helping organizations create consistent and overwhelming positive employee experience. A Great Place to Work Certification is a prestigious award given to companies and organizations with exceptional cultures. It is the only official recognition based on an assessment of employee experience and culture analysis conducted by Great Place to Work. Attracting and retaining the best talent in today’s workforce is critical for the success of any organization. This certification can offer a range of advantages, including building a thriving company culture that promotes collaboration, creativity, and long-term prosperity.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. APPROVE Great Place to Work certification and contract agreement.
2. AUTHORIZE the Mayor to execute the Great Place to Work agreement.
Body
III. ALTERNATIVES
The City Council may take any action deemed appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
Great Place to Work offers recognition and tools to help organizations elevate their brands, capture, and understand employee experiences, build cultures that retain talent, and unlock the potential of every employee. To obtain the certification badge, organizations must complete a two-step process:
• Survey employees with the Trust Index Survey
• Complete a brief company questionnaire
Positive employee responses to the Trust Index Survey (four and above on the five-point scale) are averaged to provide an organization wide assessment of culture. (Exhibit 2 - sample Trust Index survey). The survey can measure where your organization is today in comparison to the best organizations in the industry. Organizations that score above the current threshold become Great Place to Work Certified.
Key benefits of Great Place to Work Certification:
• Attract and Retain Top Talent
• Increase Employee Engagement
• Boost Organization Reputation
• Improve Performance and Innovation
• Enhance Corporate Social Responsibility
• Improved Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
This certification will be a good opportunity to align with the benefits listed above by prioritizing the needs and interests of employees, allowing the City to offer outstanding employee experience; for example, organizations with favorable workplace cultures often have lower turnover rates, which can reduce the costs associated with recruiting and training new employees.
Even though the cost associated with the contract is only $11,990.00 which ordinarily wouldn’t require City Council approval, the City Council is being asked to approve the contract due to the insistence that City agree to indemnify vendor for claims arising out of either (a) City’s use of vendor’s Certification Badge, Regional List Badge, or National List Badge, in violation of the Certification Badge Guide or (b) City’s use of other vendor’s intellectual property which infringes or misappropriates any registered Consultant copyright, trademark, trade secret, or patent.
The contract was otherwise heavily negotiated to the point where at one time it didn’t appear the City would be able to retain vendor due to the parties’ inability to agree on certain terms but ultimately, vendor made it clear that those terms were non-negotiable and the City Manager’s Office elected to proceed in spite of the then pending situation. As a result, City has no choice but to agree to vendor’s terms if it seeks to benefit from vendor’s services.
Some examples of the negotiated terms follow: vendor has agreed to only indemnify City to the extent (i) vendor engages in gross negligence or willful misconduct while breaching its duty to keep confidential information confidential or (ii) there are allegations that the permitted uses of the subscription services infringe or misappropriate any registered copyright or patent; vendor refuses to add City as an additional insured for the various coverages City requires of vendor, which request is extremely rare; and vendor’s liability will be limited to the amount paid or payable by City during the 12 month period leading up to any claim except in the event of gross negligence or willful misconduct.
In spite of vendor’s rigid contract requirements, the risk of any harm resulting to City arising from this contract seems low, especially because the nature of survey questions appears to be fairly innocuous.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
It is anticipated that the fiscal impact will be minimal. Cost of the certification process is $11,990.00.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Great Places to Place Work Agreement (pgs.4 - 32)
2. Trust Index Sample survey (pg. 33)
Prepared by: Lakeina Johnson-Greene, Adminstrative Analyst