No Annual Reviews For City Employees

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Mayor Wharton said he's in the midst of implementing another new initiative within city government. This time it involves employees and what he said has been a lack of annual oversight.

Wharton said it's the dawn of a new day.

He said this year whether you've been graded or not, and you work for city government, you will know where you stand in your job performance.

During a recent news conference on trouble inside the city's Division of General Services, Memphis Mayor A C Wharton disclosed yet another problem he's found to clean up within city hall now that's he's mayor.

"I've discovered here to my shock that in most places in city government there are no performance appraisals," said Mayor A C Wharton.

Yep, while you probably get an annual review at your job, and most companies do require them, all City of Memphis employees do not.

"I want to repeat that. For the most part there are no performance appraisals within the City of Memphis," said Wharton.

In its quest to find out more about why, with several thousand employees within city government, there's no universal review process, this is what has been dug up so far.

According to the Division of Human Resources, in 2008-2009, about 46.5 percent, or less than half of the evaluations that should have been done, actually were.

"Human Resources said out of the city's 13 divisions, fire, finance, and engineering did the most evaluations," said Wharton. "I haven't talked to a manager yet who can say during their city government tenure appraisals have been done consistently across all divisions with all employees on an annual basis."

City H R Director, Quintin Robinson, who Mayor Wharton brought in last May from Wal-Mart corporate, said he doesn't know how managers have been holding their staff accountable, without grading their performances.

"I've never worked anywhere where this wasn't done," said HR Director Quintin Robinson.

With an in-house and criminal investigation going on inside General Services, the division which is responsible for the maintenance of city vehicles and buildings, Robinson said there's a good chance those and other problems may have been prevented had there been an adequate review system.

"Certainly, if managers had been doing detailed, routine appraisals on all city employees at least there would be a potential some of these things discussed before would not have gotten out of hand," said Robinson.

Robinson said regardless of when the lax policy began, it's a new day in city government. He said this year the Wharton administration will review every city employee.

"Believe it or not. We're just now beginning in 2010 to set up a performance appraisal system in the City of Memphis," said Wharton.