HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2014-01-08, Page 1414 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, January 8, 2014
CAO handling tough gig with professionalism
County on right track one year into
Orchard's tenure
Brenda Orchard left beautiful Annapolis Valley for a challeng-
ing new career in a county that had seen its share of turbulence
before her arrival.
Huron County's senior management team underwent sweep-
ing changes before the new CAO stepped into her office inside the
courthouse in The Square.
Larry Adams, David Carey and Darcy Michaud, the top three
senior staff, were shown the door with little to no explanation
offered to the public.
Personnel matters, whether you agree with it or not, are dealt
with in closed session in county chambers.
Media got a carefully constructed, vague explanation - nothing
else.
The CAO, finance director and human resources director were
on paid leave before their departures. An auditor's report brought
to light expenses for senior management vehicles. This we know:
behind that door major decisions were made by elected members
of council in regards to the future of this county.
There was no place for Adams, Carey and Michaud.
The new CAO would be entering turbulent waters.
Colleagues questioned Orchard's decision, but one year into
her tenure, the CAO is confident the county has made significant
strides.
I had a long New Year's Eve conversation with Orchard and a
few things stand out that signify things are on the up and up for
HC.
One of them is a strategic plan.
This was done before, albeit a lifetime ago in 2005.
"I am thrilled with it because it is not glossy, it's absolute; how
each department feels we can move forward and it started from
the grass roots up," she said.
Central Huron Secondary School
Opens its Doors to All
Grade 8 Students
and their Parents
TUESDAY, JANUARY 14th
(snow date - Wed., Jan. 16th)
The excitement begins at 5:00 pm
With a Spaghetti Dinner in the
Cafeteria
Band performs at 6:00 pm
in the Large Gym
Information Session 6:15 pm
Tour of School 6:30 pm
Refreshments available and
Prizes to be Won
we le
1/4 —
•
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The strategic plan was completed in-house,
sans pricey consultant
Orchard used a SWAT formula - asking for
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats, for each department, from senior staff,
department managers, supervisors and other
people in leadership positions.
Orchard facilitated her own sessions without
any hired outside help to leam firsthand about
the ins and outs of what is working and what
could be improved in the county. At the end of that, there was a
strong sense of what was going on in each of the departments
within the county.
Orchard brought her findings to council for an education day,
where goals and objectives were formed. "Council wanted to
understand what the senior management team wants moving
forward:'
The review turns into an action plan, a tangible document,
probably 100 pages long, which offers timelines on progress and
when and how improvements or changes will be made to the sta-
tus quo.
Council will be updated quarterly.
The strategic plan and budget are the big-ticket items that guide
council. Orchard said it's her job to keep the strategic plan on
track "Council holds me accountable, I hold senior management
accountable'
The glaring difference between the strategic plans of 2005 and
the newest version is the action plan. The old strategic plan didn't
have one.
"I have council what they needed in terms of what each depart-
ment was thinking moving forward:'
A thorough survey was presented to staff to see what day-to-
day challenges they are facing. Questions included if they feel they
work in a respectful environment and if they are proud to work for
Huron County, for example.
Each department has different results and the senior manage-
ment team will work with staff to come up with three things to do
differently in 2014.
Orchard is still going through the results but calls them
important
'We want to make the workplace better and I hope staff under-
stand that:'
Middle management has also been targeted for feedback. They
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will be brought together to review the staff surveys.
"Where most organizations fall off the rail is mid-
dle management They are more in touch with staff
than senior managers'
Orchard hopes to get middle management
together for group training every other month
moving forward. "They will get training in the over-
all govemance of the county and how each depart-
ment works, not just their own:'
Topics will include how to have difficult conver-
sations with staff.
A straight-shooting consultant, George Cuff, had plenty of those
conversations while reviewing county's operations.
A sub committee was struck to move the Cuff recommenda-
tions forward and many of them were implemented after being
reviewed by council as a whole.
Council all but burned the vehicle perks at the stake: the cars
are no longer provided to senior staff and after theywere returned,
theywere auctioned off.
Cuff didn't paint a pretty picture but did leave a laundry list of
things to do to get the county moving forward and put the failures
of the past in the rear, view mirror, so to speak
After all the upheaval, Orchard said council needed a chance to
press the re -set button, wipe the slate clean and start fresh.
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