City auditor flags inconsistent guidance, staffing gaps in employee performance program

Madison Rorschau, Denton's city auditor, told the City Council on Feb. 17 that the audit of the employee performance management program found the city's approach generally aligns with industry practices but lacks consistent written guidance and supervisor training.

Rorschau said the city added roughly 200 budgeted positions since 2020 and now plans to employ nearly 2,000 people; HR's organizational development team has experienced "significant turnover," and three positions remain vacant, which delayed written guidance and training until 2025. The audit issued 11 recommendations, all agreed or partially agreed to by department leadership, and a follow-up review is planned for 2028 unless council requests an earlier check-in.

The audit team surveyed supervisors identified from HR rating data and received 67 responses of 258 supervisors sampled. Rorschau said about two-thirds of responding supervisors collect KPIs, about 58% said expectations were clearly defined and 52% said expectations were measurable. She also reported that only 22% of respondents indicated individualized expectations were communicated in writing.

"Helping supervisors establish specific, written, individualized expectations would help further ensure the program is transparent and consistent for all employees," Rorschau said.

Council members pressed on the representativeness of the supervisor survey. Representative, District 6 noted the 25% response rate and asked whether the city could increase participation; Rorschau said staff used email invitations with reminders and did not have budget for incentives but believed the survey responses came from every department and were broadly representative.

Council members also asked about the three vacant organizational development positions. Cassie Ogden, deputy city manager, said the city has approved hiring an organizational development manager and that positions will be advertised externally; she described the vacancies as a contributing reason some projects have "languished."

The audit found limited use of formal underperformance interventions (PIPs): only seven PIPs were issued during the last review period for documented corrective actions. The auditors recommended clearer documentation practices, improved HR logs with consistent employee identifiers, and guidance that ties standardized competencies to the city's core values and organizational goals.

Why it matters: Consistent performance expectations, measurement and feedback affect recruitment, retention and how effectively the city delivers services. The audit focused on transparency and accountability and offered concrete steps staff agreed to pursue.

What comes next: Staff accepted the recommendations and the council did not object to the follow-up timeline; Rorschau said auditors will return in 2028 to assess implementation unless the council requests an earlier follow-up.