Laredo practicum finds participatory decision making linked to higher employee engagement and lower turnover costs

Dr. Viviana Martinez, director of the detoxification department at Roots Recovery Center in Laredo, told a City of Laredo CPM practicum panel that her empirical, quantitative study found evidence PDM (participatory decision making) affects employee attitudes, commitment and organizational financial health. "The alternate hypothesis was accepted that ... participatory decision making does impact the employee's attitudes and capabilities, and that that in turn also impacts the organization's financial health," Martinez said.

Martinez presented results from a closed-response survey sent to 50 invitees with 17 returned responses; she described the research as limited by sample size and close-ended design but said responses showed "a pattern of agreement on items related to PDM helping individuals succeed in their job" and that PDM increased engagement, performance and accountability. The practicum testing rejected the null hypothesis that PDM has no effect on employee attitudes or organizational finances and accepted the alternate hypothesis that it does.

Why it matters: Martinez told the panel that lower turnover linked to higher engagement can reduce costs associated with lost productivity, recruiting and training. Her recommendations were procedural and operational rather than legislative: develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for PDM, train managers as facilitators rather than decision-makers, pilot PDM on small projects, and use pre/post evaluation to measure changes in employee attitudes and retention. "We should implement participatory decision making processes that, by doing so, this would increase the level of engagement," Martinez said during her recommendations.

Key findings and recommendations reported to the panel include: - Sample and method: 50 invitations; 17 completed responses; quantitative Likert-scale instrument; purposeful sampling of government-sector employees. - Findings: consistent agreement that PDM improves individual performance, engagement and perceived belonging; data analysis supported a positive effect on retention and associated financial impact. - Recommended implementation: create SOPs that define PDM steps and goals, provide facilitator training for managers, run small pilot projects with feedback loops, conduct pre/post assessments, and scale to departmental or organizational levels as appropriate.

Martinez cautioned the panel that the study's small sample and geographic specificity (South Texas / border context) limit generalizability and recommended further research and larger samples before broad adoption. The presentation was delivered as part of the Texas Certified Public Manager (CPM) program practicum reviews.