We provide a wide variety of Consulting Services to clients ranging from municipalities to developers and business owners.
Welcome to Robwiedeman.com Consulting Services
Municipalities and businesses tend to operate the same old way year after year however requirements change , revenues are constantly shifting and customers or tax payers have different priorities. Your organization needs to be aware of the latest changes in regulations , grants and management practices. It is always easier to operate the same old way but change is often harder to implement however it is inevitable.
We will look at your organization or municipality and suggest solutions for better profitability or to overcome obstacles that may arise from time to time. Municipalities for the most part compete for the same commercial revenue sources often to the detriment of the residential tax payer. Raising taxes each year only works for so long. Poor service to developers and commercial businesses will only send them to another municipality.
We can look at your planning and development program, revenue sources and ensure your municipality is business friendly so that your community will be ahead of the rest. In addition developers need to understand why communities do what they do to work together,
Today all around your municipality there are towns , cities and counties that may not be viable in the future because of poor management practices , lack of strategic planning , infrastructure neglect and failure to adopt basic economic principles. Your organization could inherit some of these municipalities and their debt . We can show you what to look for and how to recognize future liabilities and to possibly avoid making the same mistakes.
Types of Services We Provide
Give us a call at 780-699-9203 or email rob@robwiedeman.com
While most of services mentioned reference Municipalities they also apply to businesses as well.
Whether your municipality or business is large or small we can work with you.
Municipal or Businesses
Interim CAO Services
Specialized Project Management
Most organizations need help for specific projects from time to time but do not need to hire a full time position to cover the project implementation. We have worked on many different projects in numerous disciplines. Development, Feasibility, onsite management , construction , public works , transportation , process change and educational seminars are all areas we.have had experience in. If it is project feel free to ask.
Note: What is a project? A project can mean anything that requires additional staff, time and resources or may require special expertise and management skills.
Note: Some projects may not be feasabile. In many cases projects may not continue after the first feasibility study so this is an intregal part before things get out of hand.
Economic Development
This department is perhaps one of the most important in municipal government and is usually underfunded or understaffed. We can help to identify projects, grants and ensure your economic development department is working to their potential.
Note: Did you know that for every dollar in tax revenue your municipality receives from residential taxation you spend about $1.45 to provide municipal services but for every dollar from business /industrial your municipality spends about .80 cents to provide the same services. (These rates may vary depending numerous factors) Why would you not set your strategic plans with this in mind.
– Is your municipality utilizing the tools in the MGA to ensure they are receiving the revenues from specific sources that are allowed.
Tip – Risk is not always a bad thing for both developers and municipalities but has your council determined the level of risk they want to absorb and has this been conveyed to staff. A good way to mitigate development risk (and save municipal resources) is to change your bylaws to ensure all new residential development is condominiumized. That means all of the services your municipality normally provides (or a portion of them) like road maintenance , water , sewer , etc can be provided and managed by the condo corp. You can decide what services you provide and even have deadlines where you can take over the infrastructure. This concept can even be used on business developments as well but I do not recommend this in most circumstances.
Department Reorganization
Many organizational structures are either inefficient , set up improperly or have the wrong leadership internally . A good example is when departments are burdened with things not relating to their specific duties. Are your departments working together when required and utilizing key staff from other departments when needed.
Tip – a good example of the above is when planning and development departments do not utilize existing enforcement personnel when bylaws end planning matters need to be enforced and or investigated. We have found in many instances despite having a highly capable enforcement team planning departments tend to want to hire their own FTEs for bylaw and planning matters.
Training and Development
We offer customized or generic training for your staff and councils. More often than not we see individuals try to put on training programs without real world experience. Is your organization ready for staff shortages and budget cuts that reduce staff. Most organizations do NOT cross train. It is a natural tendency to not want to train others to do YOUR job. This is old style thinking and will not help your organization in a crisis. We can identify these gaps in training and offer suggestions for a good cross training regime. With Rob’s experience as a former NAIT Adult Education Instructor and Debbys experience as a University Sessional Teacher we can help with cross training, staff and council orientation and other educational requirements.
Note: Does your organization do exit interviews especially on terminated employees . An exit interview is one of the most underused tools to use to improve your organization. Typically these interviews when done by the terminating municipality or business will not yield much information of any value however when an independent consultant does them in a neutral environment the feedback tends to be very useful and can be used for continuous improvement.
Tip – In most organizations there is a high degree of NPT or non productive time. IN many cases NPT can account for 30 to 50 % of an FTE position. NPT is typically made up of factors like holidays, sick time, training and development, dual staff roles, maternity leave, earned days off and lost time injuries. Are you ready for the shortage of staff caused by these factors. Cross training is part of the solution.
TIP – Does your municipality or business have a priority list and parameters associated with it. This gives your staff some guidelines especially when and in between staff changes and absences. It serves as a guide to let your customers know where you stand but is always open to change if needed. It also lets people know what level of service you are working toward. It is just a guideline but a valuable tool and prevents speculation. Some may be internal and others may be for external and internal use. Here are some examples!
A – municipality provides snow plow and road clearing services but does not say how long they will take to clear all, part or some of their roads.
The answer could be that: “We try to have all main collector roads completed within 48 hours ! “Give yourself more time than you need and if you get it done earlier you will look better to the customer. If you do not say anything your staff do not know what managements commitment to customer service is.(Internal/External)
B – We try to answer all calls with in 24 hours ( but realistically 12 hours is normal practice )so specify 24 hours anyway if you return calls within 12 hours all the better. (Internal, but be reasonable / External).
Customer Service
Customer Service is starting to be one of the most prevalent issues in any Municipality or business. We can help identify the gaps and provide you with suggestions for better service. Better customer service reduces future complaints, cuts back workloads for staff, reduces council complaints, and makes sure customers and rate payers are heard. It can also be preventative. When is the last time your staff, CAO, or council ever thanked a company for locating in your municipality. It also ensures there are methods to hear back from your customers regularly whether bad or good and gives you time to address potential issues before they get out of hand. Do you have a program to visit all new businesses in your community – usually in the first 30 days.
Note – the cost of customer service – for businesses a repeat customer is the easiest one to get. For municipalities the next election can be decided by how good issues are handled and in a timely matter as well. It all goes back to a good customer service plan.
Tip – The cruise industry is one of the best models to base your customer service standard on. They take millions of customers from all over the world put them into a confined space for sometimes weeks at a time and in many cases under harsh and stressful conditions utilizing staff from over 140 countries all with relatively few issues. Why – because every complaint is thoroughly dealt with as soon as possible. Potential concerns are anticipated and reactions to those concerns are pre rehearsed. Not every concern may be legitimate but the passenger is usually happy as they feel they have been heard.
Here is a good example – many cruise ship complaints are frivolous but here is a typical one – customer “I don’t like my room “ if the ship has a vacancy the front desk will assess the problem and if the solution is easier will move the client to a different section of the ship (usually upwards) and in most cases the issue is resolved. Not only has very little changed except the cabin location which is normally a carbon copy of the first one but more importantly the customer perceives they were listened to and is now happy. An unhappy customer in a big metal box for a week or more can influence hundreds of people either positively or negatively very quickly. Think of your rate payers as customers and if they perceive they were listened to and the reason for certain decisions explained to them it is usually enough to calm even the most unreasonable person.
Code of Conduct
Regulation, dispute resolution and investigation.
The code of conduct has perhaps become the most misused tool in municipal politics today. Chances are your organization does not need a code of conduct bylaw however if you do we can help you write one that cannot be weaponized for one individuals gain.
Let us work with your council to overcome potential conduct issues before they get out of hand . Most issues are avoidable and can be mitigated with some minor intervention. Municipal Councils.are made up of a diverse group of people with a variety of skills and sometimes they just need a referee .
If you do have a code of conduct bylaw and a violation has been identified we can provide investigation services and work with council to identify a result that works for everyone.
Note – Most code of conduct allegations are a result of poor communication. Everyone communicates differently depending on their environment, work history and many other factors. We don’t always mean what we say but in today’s world this does not always come across. Many Code of Conduct violations are simply used as a weapon to get back at someone or initiated for a variety of other frivolous purposes. In most cases the end result has little or no value for anyone including the tax payer however if it gets out of hand it can cost your municipality thousands of dollars and public embarrassment as well. We can look at these Code of Conducts and in many cases put a stop to them before they reach a critical point.
“All businesses, developers and municipalities need to concentrate on what they do best, sometimes they need a little help.”
Connect with Rob Wiedeman today!