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DecisionWise survey: Minnetonka City staff report high engagement, directors to drill into department results
Summary
A DecisionWise survey presented to Minnetonka City Council found high overall employee engagement—82% participation and 86% favorable responses—while identifying pockets of lower meaning and purpose that staff will address at the department level.
Charles Rogel, a principal consultant with DecisionWise, presented results of an 18‑question employee engagement effort the city conducted June 17–July 8 and told the Minnetonka City Council on Aug. 18 that the response rate and overall sentiment were strong. "82% of people took the survey," Rogel said, and across the 32 items in the full instrument "86 percent of all the answers... were agree or strongly agree." Rogel said those results place Minnetonka well above DecisionWise benchmarks for similar organizations.
Rogel described two related measures staff use: a satisfaction baseline (pay, benefits, workload, safety) and an engagement index (passion, motivation and performance). He said 88% of staff scored favorable on the engagement index and that about 49% of respondents met the firm’s "fully engaged" profile. He also identified smaller groups of employees who scored neutral or unfavorable on items tied to meaning and purpose and whether their work affects the community.
Mike Fonick, Minnetonka’s city manager, said the survey follows an internal engagement effort 18 months earlier and that staff intend to take department‑level action. "Directors have these. They'll be working with their teams," Fonick said, describing a plan to have each director review their unit’s breakout and propose targeted steps. Staff emphasized the next step will be directors meeting with teams to translate survey drivers—supervisory feedback, opportunities to use strengths, and work‑life balance—into concrete practices.
Rogel flagged high‑scoring items that included clear expectations, training and materials, and communications. Lower‑scoring but still above‑benchmark items included ‘‘valuing feedback’’ and cross‑department collaboration for a small subset of respondents; Rogel recommended those areas as actionable priorities.
City staff and council members welcomed the results and asked for follow‑up that includes department‑level analyses and recommended actions. Fonick said the work will continue internally with directors and that staff will return with implementation steps tied to the city’s strategic plan and budget priorities.
