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Personnel board to design annual employee satisfaction survey; will coordinate with Select Board and town manager
Summary
Members of the Town of Concord Personnel Board agreed to develop an approach for measuring employee satisfaction, coordinate results with the Select Board and town management, and return with a plan in coming months; no formal vote was taken.
The Personnel Board on April 6 agreed to develop an annual employee satisfaction instrument and to coordinate survey design and timing with the Select Board and the town manager.
Board members and staff said a consistent survey would let the town compare results over time and help inform annual goal-setting and the town manager evaluation. "We need to figure out what are the means by which we can capture employee satisfaction," Personnel Board member Bill Ranchek said during the discussion.
The board discussed using the instrument the town previously used during the personnel study task force so results can be compared to past data. Mark (Select Board liaison) described the request as part of a broader push to tie Select Board goals and budget priorities to measurable outcomes and to give the Select Board better information for evaluating the town manager’s personnel-management performance.
Staff indicated several practical options: a short anonymous online survey (for example SurveyMonkey), coordination with the Massachusetts Municipal Association or other towns for benchmarks, and a small set of targeted questions plus comment boxes to boost response rate. Board and staff repeatedly emphasized keeping the questionnaire brief and meaningful to increase participation.
No formal action was taken; board members asked staff to draft options and return with a recommended plan. Personnel Board members and staff said they expect to continue the discussion next month and aim to finalize a rollout approach that would allow results to be used in the 2026 goal- and evaluation-cycle.
Details staff and board flagged for follow-up included whether the personnel board or town staff would administer the survey, how data would remain anonymous, and whether the town would use an off-the-shelf instrument or adapt the previous personnel-study survey. Staff said they could present draft questions to the Select Board and SMT (senior management team) for feedback before fielding the survey.
The board did not set a final deadline during the meeting; members discussed aiming to incorporate survey results into the town’s upcoming goal‑setting and evaluation timeline for FY26.
