Employee Health and Productivity Program
San Bernardino County, Calif.
As in many other counties, San Bernardino must try to maintain and expand services and programs in the face of reduced tax revenues and other budget constraints. The county was able to significantly reduce labor costs by asking its human resources department to develop a program to reduce employee absenteeism and increase job satisfaction and productivity. The county implemented the Employee Health and Productivity Program (EHaP) to:

• reduce employee absences due to injury or illness regardless of causation
• reduce employee disability and workers’ compensation costs, and
• improve employee health, wellness, and satisfaction.

The county contracted with health-care consultants Nurse Care Coordinators to develop a nurse liaison program for employees. This program brings provides cohesiveness to an otherwise fragmented health-care delivery and benefit system as nurses serve as liaison between patients and their physicians, guiding employees through the complex health care system and serving as patient advocates. The result is speedy treatment for the patient, which contributes to an early return to work.

The program has been successful in improving employee health and workplace performance and reducing employee absenteeism by six to eight days per participating employee. The program has saved the county over $1 million in direct labor and litigation costs, and the Board of Supervisors expects annual net savings of more than $3 million per year once the program is fully implemented. The startup costs for the program were approximately $350,000 and it is estimated that the program will save $1.60 for every dollar spent in operating costs.

Training for Your Future
Broward County, Fla.
As the structure of county governments changes, increasing citizen demands and federal and state mandates place counties in the position of having to provide a wider range and higher level of services. As a result of a state-mandated deadline for annexation of unincorporated areas by 2010, Broward County will soon become a regional service provider, rather than just a provider of municipal services to unincorporated areas.

In an attempt to maintain its employees during the evolution of the organization, the county implemented the Training for Your Future Program (TFYF) that sponsors training related to the performance of specific tasks, procedures and responsibilities. As a performance-based program, TFYF helps county employees identify the skills they will need to do their jobs in the future. Training programs for TFYF are advertised in a comprehensive training calendar/course catalog that identifies classes being offered during a six-month period.

As a result of the program, Broward County upgraded the level of training for its employees. The success of the program was exemplified by a 39 percent increase in attendance during the first quarter of FY2000 over the same period in FY99. Moreover, costs for the program are used for the production of the training calendar and for printing. Currently, the training catalog totals 36 pages, and it costs the county an average of 50 cents a copy to print the material.

Matching Employee Career Interests with County Jobs
Henrico County, Va.
Henrico County found it had to address the loss of its employees to other industries. Although individuals have a variety of reasons for changing careers, research suggests that the most important reason is the desire to find a job more suited to their interests. To retain their valuable human resources, Henrico sought to enhance the services offered through its Career Enrichment Program by creating the Matching Employee Career Interests with County Jobs Program.

At the heart of the program is a testing instrument that helps employees identify their overall career interests. Once identified, an employee’s interests can be matched to available county jobs. Employees can also use the test results to explore and formulate their career direction or devise strategies to develop a new career.

Costs associated with the implementation of the program were minimal: training the career advisor on using the instrument cost $705; administering the inventory costs $87 for 10 computer-scored inventories; and the Holland “Self-Directed Search” instrument costs $54 for 25 hand-scored assessments.

(Hats Off was compiled by Shawn Hills, research assistant. Hats Off features 2000 NACo Achievement Award Winners.)