A survey conducted in May 2022 shows that nearly half of City of Santa Barbara employees do not feel that they have the resources to do their jobs.

Noozhawk obtained the survey, presented in a sanitized PowerPoint presentation, through a California Public Records Act request. The city denied Noozhawk the raw survey results, which were presented to City Administrator Rebecca Bjork in 2022.

“The Employee Engagement Survey was sent to all employees to gauge the employee experience, and see where human resources can make changes, as well as understanding morale or any other barriers to engagement,” Wendy Levy, human resources director, said. “Public disclosure of such documents may stifle future engagement initiatives and feedback to improve the workplace. Employees were already reluctant to participate because of fears of retaliation, or uncomfortable being found out that they said something negative about their supervisor/manager.”

Noozhawk spoke with city employees who declined to speak on the record out of fear of management retaliation. They expressed concerns that morale is low, there’s little room for advancement and that they don’t feel supported by upper management.

They also told Noozhawk that internally they wanted to see the actual survey results and not just the Powerpoint presentation summary that was released in a newsletter in November 2022. They also expressed concerns that the survey results did not go the City Council for a public meeting.

“It has really become clear to me and others in the city that the council is not being presented all the information they need and sometimes being prevented from getting that information from the workforce,” said one person who declined to speak on the record out of fear retribution.

The city in May 2022 initiated an Employee Engagement Survey to hear from staff and assess their engagement levels. She said the survey is the first of many “touchpoints” that it is implementing to ensure employees feel heard and valued. 

The city received 323 responses from 14 departments, a 33% response rate.

Levy said the city is undertaking multiple efforts to engage staff, understand their perceptions of work culture and identify any areas of improvement.

“An area that had a lower number was our employees’ satisfaction with the resources provided to them, in which 42.72% felt they lacked some essential tools to perform their job effectively,” Levy said. “We have taken note of this feedback and are committed to ensuring that our employees have all the necessary resources to excel in their roles.”

The survey included 11 questions.

Question 11 asked: “Do you feel like you have all the resources necessary to do your job well?” Of the responses, 43% said no and 57% said yes.

City employees contacted Noozhawk to state that they were upset that individual written comments were not made public — only the sanitized comments.

“Comments that were included with the responses were not published to ensure that employees felt safe in sharing their feedback,” Levy said.

In denying Noozhawk’s request, the city said:

“These records are exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act balancing test, known as the ‘public interest’ or ‘catchall’ provision. This provision allows local agencies to justify withholding any record when the public interest in nondisclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure.”

In the powerpoint, Question 1 asked employees, “Do you feel like this is a good place to develop your career?” One out of four said no, with “limited advancement opportunities” listed as the greatest reason for those who said no.

Question 4 asked city employees, “Do you feel a sense of belonging in the city organization?” Again, 25% — or one out of four — said no, with lack of interdepartmental team/collaboration and don’t feel valued/appreciated as the biggest reasons.

Studies and industry reports suggest that a score above 70% overall is generally considered indicative of a highly engaged workforce, Levy said.

Question 5 asked, “Do you see yourself working here in two years?” The response was 22% replied no, with salaries and benefits listed as the single-biggest reason.

There were some positives from the results. About 96% said they enjoyed working with their team, and 95% said they could count on their co-workers when needed.

Overall, the largest response rates from the Public Works and Community Development departments. Of the total, 103, or 35%, of the responses came from Public Works and 37, or 12.5%, of the responses came from the Community Development Department.

Only 5% of the responses were from the Human Resources and Information Technology departments.

Levy said studies and industry reports suggest that a score above 70% overall is generally considered indicative of a highly engaged workforce.

Rene Eyerly, assistant city administrator, told Noozhawk, “Overall, I think the results of the survey are encouraging,” adding that the city can’t improve what it doesn’t know.

“One of the highlights for me from the survey was how much people enjoy and support working with one another on their teams,” Eyerly said. “With respect to morale, we have a responsibility to make sure we are creating a workplace culture that empowers and motivates everyone, and fosters communication. The survey pointed to areas where we are succeeding, and where we have work to do, and that is reflected in some staff having higher morale than others. I think the good news is that we are paying attention to our people.”

City Administrator Bjork did not respond to Noozhawk for this report.

Mayor Randy Rowse said a lot of city workers are doing multiple jobs because of difficulty in hiring for positions.

“With recruitment and retention what it is, what employer is not going through that right now?” Rowse said.

Rowse said the city has excellent people who work in the system and keeping them happy is a challenge for any employer.

“I feel like we have a good culture,” Rowse said. “The unions are always going to say we could be better. I get it.”

Rowse said turnover is a reality of the job market, but that the city works had to retain its employees.

“In general, people are really proud of their city and they are proud to work here. Things can improve, and it is incumbent on us to improve situations when possible.”