In local government, how employees are treated sits at the center of everything else. How a community treats the people who serve it sets one local government apart from another. Municipalities that treat their employees as partners gain a real advantage in attracting and keeping talent, in the culture they build, and in the services they deliver to the public.
The best way to treat local government employees
Peter Drucker’s line holds here: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Honoring public servants means acknowledging their contributions, investing in their professional growth and giving them a supportive environment with the authority to act. A culture that values the wellbeing of its employees starts a cycle of higher productivity and civic pride.
Local government employees form the backbone of our communities. By treating them as invaluable assets, respecting their contributions, and fostering their professional development, municipalities lay the foundation for thriving and resilient cities and counties.
Michelle Berger, Senior Consultant and Executive Coach
Central to that respect is fairness. Fair treatment means equal opportunity, merit rewarded, and an inclusive environment that produces trust and collaboration. When employees see fairness in how decisions are made, in promotions, compensation, non-technical development and the distribution of work, they are more likely to be fully engaged, motivated and dedicated to the public.
Fairness is not a mere perk but an essential aspect of effective governance. Local governments that prioritize fairness are not only able to attract and retain exceptional talent but also cultivate a high-performance work culture and enhance public trust in the institutions that serve them.
Michelle Berger
Strong relationships inside the organization
Effective local government depends on strong relationships among its employees. Adam Grant observed that “When you’re dealing with an ambivalent relationship, you’re constantly on guard, grappling with questions of trust.” An organization has to build its relationships deliberately, or it stays a collection of task-oriented individuals working on their own deliverables.
Those relationships are the ground for collaboration, problem solving and public value. When employees treat one another as partners, they share a sense of unity and purpose in serving the community. When they trust one another, they act with respect, empathy and collaboration, and the environment they create produces innovation, efficiency and excellent public service. That culture attracts others.
Start at the top: executives are employees too
Local government executives are employees themselves. Many lead as servants, and the risk is that they neglect their own wellbeing and growth in pursuit of the greater good. The resources that help an executive improve morale, recruitment and retention include leadership training, executive coaching and leadership team development, each of which builds the skills needed to serve the people in their care.
Many local government employees feel isolated at work, at every level including the top. In peer Think Tanks for city managers and county administrators, members often say that the greatest value, beyond specific problem solving, is the connection with others in the group. Sharing challenges with peers reduces the isolation. A city manager or county administrator may need to build those connections outside the organization because the role is uniquely isolated. Department heads face a version of the same question: if they feel isolated, how does a group ever form beyond rugged individualism?
Strong relationships at the executive level are essential to a trusted team environment, and outside tools exist to assess where an organization stands. Employees are perceptive; they see the disconnects inside the leadership ranks clearly, and those show up as avoidance of accountability and a lack of commitment, especially in helping one another across departments. Taking care of the people entrusted to take care of others is the bedrock of the culture.
Employee testimonials are as valuable as customer testimonials
Testimonials from employees carry as much weight as those from customers. Positive customer reviews attract new clients; the words of current employees have the same effect on recruitment and retention. A prospective employee is more influenced by a first-hand account from someone on the team than by any other source, because it tells them about the culture, the room to grow and how people are treated.
Testimonials also help keep the people already there. When current employees say openly that their work satisfies them, morale rises and the positive environment is reinforced. It shows that the municipality values its employees and hears their voices.
To make use of that, a local government gives its employees plenty of ways to share their experience: newsletters, the intranet, regular town-hall style meetings. Celebrating achievements and encouraging open dialogue reveals what needs improving and builds transparency and trust.
Testimonials in recruitment and retention
Employee testimonials belong in recruitment: on the municipality’s website, its social channels and its materials for candidates. The authentic experience of current employees makes a narrative that the right candidates recognize. The testimonials must be genuine and represent the range of experience in the organization, across roles and perspectives, so that the picture of what it means to work there is complete. Authenticity and transparency build trust among employees and candidates alike.
A public reminder of why people value working there also helps with retention. Almost everyone in local government has said “the grass isn’t always greener” about another organization. The question is how green the grass is here. If more employees had the chance to say publicly what they value in the organization, or the difference they have made as part of it, that would be a strong reminder of why to stay.
Beyond technical training: invest in growth and morale
Investing in the professional growth of employees matters. Non-technical training, workshops and opportunities to advance build on existing skill and show a commitment to the employee’s long-term success. A useful question inside any organization is how much of the training employees receive is not technical. When employees feel their personal and professional growth is supported, they become more engaged, motivated and invested in the work.
A supportive environment is the other half. It means open communication, where ideas are welcome and feedback is heard, and real mechanisms for employees to voice concerns, suggestions and aspirations. It means work-life balance, flexibility where possible, and wellbeing treated as a priority.
Executives set the tone. They lead by example, embodying the values they want to see through the organization. Empathy, compassion and a genuine interest in the wellbeing of their teams produce an environment where employees feel safe, valued and motivated to excel.
Where this leads
In public service, the treatment of employees has to take center stage. It is their dedication and effort that lets a local government make a difference in the lives of its residents. A municipality that treats its employees as the heart of its operations, recognizes their contributions, invests in their growth, builds a supportive environment and amplifies their voices attracts talent, keeps a thriving workforce and delivers the services its community deserves.
