EMPLOYEES FROM THREE STATE AGENCIES TO PARTICIPATE IN MEET AND CONSULT' PILOT
Trial project designed to improve state employee and employer communication
Gov. Joe Manchin joined employees from three state agencies to announce a pilot project the governor hopes will improve communication and thus the work environment for state workers.
The "Meet and Consult" project will create partnerships between state employees and managers with the goal to improve the quality of government for employees and taxpayers, the governor said.
"Running a Responsible Government' means more than just doing a better job of managing our state's finances and programs," the governor said. "It also means doing a better job of getting work done by involving our employees."
The two-year pilot project begins this month within some divisions of the departments of Administration, Transportation and Military Affairs and Public Safety. Each participating department will form a Meet and Consult committee that will include a representative elected by employees from each division within that department.
The committee reports to and will advise the department's cabinet secretary on personnel issues and policies. Committee members will be responsible for notifying employees within their departments about committee meetings and for soliciting their co-workers' concerns for them to share with their department secretary.
Cabinet secretaries will evaluate their Meet and Consult committee recommendations and communicate that information to the Office of the Governor. Meet and Consult committee members equally are expected to promote understanding of the purposes and policies of the state personnel administration to their co-workers.
"State employees are one of the largest and most important investments we make as an administration and as taxpayers. It is crucial we foster a state employee management system that is fair and balanced," Manchin said.
The Meet and Consult guidelines, in part, are based on recommendations from the Governor's Commission on Public Sector Employment and Public Relations. Manchin said his office will closely monitor the results of this project during its trial period, which expires in two years unless expressly expanded by the governor to other agencies.