The People Plan is our strategy for supporting our employees. We’re working to build a corporate culture that is inclusive and safe and promotes employee development and wellbeing. You can also read our “This is Where We Want to Work” statement to learn more about our culture.
On this page:
Accountability
As public servants, we hold ourselves to a high standard. When we are committed to serve, our work tells the story of who we are to each other and to our customers.
What are we doing?
- we use business plans to prioritize goals and workload, to measure progress and to commit to the right goals at the right time
- feedback from our employee culture surveys drives future initiatives that support our culture and core values
- our Let's Talk program allows an employee and their supervisor to have a positive discussion about the employee's development at the city
- Performance Evaluation at Kitchener (PEAK) is our performance appraisal system for management employees
Learning
We offer our employees growth opportunities through our corporate learning and development programs.
Employees can sign up for courses that cover a variety of topics, including:
- personal/professional development
- corporate health & safety
- mental health & wellness
- information technology
- equity, diversity & inclusion
- fleet safety & compliance
We offer different delivery methods to give employees options that suit their learning styles and schedules. Employees who complete approved external courses also have the opportunity to apply for financial reimbursement through our Tuition Assistance program.
To further their development, employees are encouraged to participate in other development programs such as mentorship opportunities.
Safety and wellbeing
Live well. Work well. Be safe. We highly value personal, organizational and community health, safety and wellbeing. And we recognize that as employees, we need to be well and safe to be effective and productive in our work and in our personal lives.
What are we doing?
It's an important mission - keeping and recruiting the right people and taking care of them. We take pride in working safe because nothing is more important. Everyone owns the responsibility to ensure physical and psychological safety in our safety program.
We believe and strive for work-life balance, so we support our employees in not just their work, but also outside of work by showing that we care though benefits, wellness and empathy programs. Some of these programs and activities currently include:
| Employee benefits |
| The benefits offered to our employees include dental, extended health care, life insurance, long-term disability, OMERS pension plan, sick leave, vacation and flex benefits. |
| Mental health and resilience and wellness programs |
| Variety of wellness topics and activities offered including topics such as nutrition, fitness, mental health, and health awareness. |
| Employee and family assistance program |
| Free, confidential benefit enabling employees to seek various forms of counselling. |
| Family days |
| Employees can use up to five of their 18 sick days per year to care for a sick family member. |
| Corporate safety program |
| Training, procedures, policies and resources available to all employees to support a culture of safety and wellbeing. |
| Joint health and safety committees and health and safety representatives |
| A variety of employees in all areas of the organization take part in Joint Health and Safety Committees and act as Health and Safety Representatives to help co-workers address and promote workplace safety. |
| Corporate health and safety strategy |
| The organization has demonstrated commitment to and focus on continued improvement of our culture of safety and wellbeing through safe behaviours, safe environment and accountability. |
Inclusion
Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion states:
"The City of Kitchener believes in recognizing, understanding and respecting all people. Our focus is on facilitating full access and a respectful and safe environment for our employees and citizens, including them fully in the life of the Corporation:
- Where we continue to build an organization that values individual differences;
- Where we deliver our best service to our community;
- Where we value and retain employees, and create an environment that encourages everyone to reach their full potential;
- Where we actively identify, address and remove barriers to participation in all our decisions, services and activities; and,
- Where every individual has a responsibility to create an environment of access, equity and inclusion, where they are not just goals to which we aspire, but traits of our character."
What are we doing?
Our Mayor’s Task Force on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion is working on recommendations to build a more inclusive workplace and community. To move the task force’s work forward, Kitchener’s Council approved the creation of a permanent five-person equity team with a focus on anti-racism and Indigenous initiatives.
Appreciation and fun
Appreciation, recognition and fun go a long way at work and in life. Here at the City, it's no different.
When our employees feel valued, they are motivated to go the extra mile, and stay with us for the long term. But not all employees are motivated the same way. What works for one person or team doesn't necessarily work for another.
What are we doing?
Some of the ways we try to recognize our employees include:
- employee-organized events: social events for employees organized by employees.
- seasonal employee events: annual summer and holiday season events we organize to thank employees for their contributions
- CityTalk newsletter: created by employees for employees - not your typical corporate newsletter
- Employees' Choice Awards: formal award program honouring employees for outstanding achievement by living our core values and going above and beyond to serve residents every day
- Years of Service recognition program: recognizing retirees and past employees with 25 or more years of service with us, as well as current, long-service employees
- recognition badges: employees can send each other personal recognition badges online
- bravo and e-bravo cards: pre-printed and electronic cards can be personalized with an informal message and sent to a co-worker who has done a great job
Community stewardship
Community stewardship is at the heart of everything we do as an organization. We're proud to lead by example, and always explore new ways to make our community a great place to be.
What are we doing?
- customer service strategy: the roadmap we follow to ensure we stay a leader in customer service
- Engage Kitchener: learn about projects that affect you and your neighbourhood and let us know what you think
- Corporate Climate Action Plan: environmental to-do list we're acting on to reduce our carbon footprint and decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
- Green City: group of City employees whose goal is to reduce the amount of waste produced at our City Hall