Survey: Low morale among some Minneapolis city workers

The 10 people who work in the city of Minneapolis lobbying department really like their jobs. The 950 employees of the Minneapolis Police Department? Not so much.

The city this week released the results of its 2014 Employee Engagement Survey, which measures the motivation and job satisfaction of its workforce by asking employees whether they agree with statements like, "I feel valued as an employee of the city" and "my ideas and suggestions count."

The data reveal wide variation among the 22 departments surveyed.

Low satisfaction in the police department is nothing new. The last time the city conducted the survey in 2011, MPD's engagement score was identical, with just over half the department in positive territory.

The city's civil rights and 911 departments were also near the bottom of the list.

The president of the union representing civil rights investigators has described the work environment in the department as "toxic." During a staff meeting speech last year, Velma Korbel, director of the civil rights office, threatened the careers of employees she perceived as unhappy.

After MPR News reported on the speech, Council President Barbara Johnson hinted Korbel could face discipline, pending the results of the employee engagement survey and a review of the department by a management consultant. The report from Brunzell Consulting was originally due at the end of June, but city officials say they have not received it yet.

The 911 department has also gone through labor turmoil this year.

In February, its workers voted to leave the Teamsters union and join the Minnesota Public Employees Association. The department is in the midst of a major reorganization merging the job of 911 operators with police and fire dispatchers.

The city's firefighters, meanwhile, have seen significant improvement in their engagement. More than two-thirds of the department gave positive responses this year, up from just 37 percent in 2011. Last year, the city ended a five-year hiring freeze in the department.

Department leadership, under Fire Chief John Fruetel, got good reviews from 65 percent of the department. In 2011, when Alex Jackson was the chief, only 15 percent of firefighters felt favorably about department leadership.

Minneapolis also has a new mayor this year, and Mayor Betsy Hodges' office continues to be one of the happiest places in city government.

It doesn't quite match the love fest that surrounded three-term mayor R.T. Rybak in the 2011 survey, though. Then 96 percent of the mayor's staff members were counted as engaged. Now the number is a mere 88 percent.

Editor's Note: Minneapolis has 10 employees in its Intergovernmental Relations office, but only four are "registered lobbyists." An earlier version of this story indicated all 10 were lobbyists.