Case Study:
Burnout Prevention Training for Municipal Leaders & Managers
Problem
Background
A municipality approached us about providing burnout prevention training for their directors and managers across 12 departments composed of 30 divisions. They required training for employees across diverse sectors, including paramedics, long-term care, social assistance, water and waste management, human resources, corporate division, and community strategic planning.
Approach
Consultation
We met with the Directors of Human Resources for a free consultation to learn about the challenges the municipality faced in light of post-pandemic realities. They wanted to support leaders with burnout prevention strategies and appropriate resources to prevent employee burnout within their divisions, programs and teams. We discussed key challenges, objectives and timelines.
Services
Workshop
Consulting
Data Analysis & Reporting
Resources
Burnout Assessment
Survey
Workbook & Resource Manual
Leadership Development Exercises
Proposal
Having discussed several training options, they landed on a set of deliverables the Directors believed would provide the most significant support and resources. Next, we created an electronic proposal for review, explaining the process and deliverables.
Agreement
Based on the approved proposal, the Directors received an electronic Agreement designed to make the process simple to use and easy to complete.
Survey
Based on the information gleaned from the consultation, we set out to create a survey that workshop participants would complete six weeks in advance of the training. We crafted ten questions to gather information related to the challenges leaders and their teams faced, grounded in the municipality’s key objectives. Once the Directors approved the questions, we created the survey using sophisticated software, which provides an excellent, straightforward user experience. Each division leader received a link to the survey to complete within the week.
Data Analysis
We intentionally chose to keep the survey anonymous by not requiring leaders to share their names, so they felt 100% safe to answer questions openly and honestly. Upon receiving the completed surveys, we downloaded the entries and proceeded to analyze the data.
Data Report
We entered the data into a spreadsheet and colour-coded it based on emerging themes. We reported the findings, noting emergent themes and consequent recommendations. We met with the HR Directors for a short meeting to discuss results, identify gaps, and establish the final direction for the upcoming workshop training. The data gathered, examined and reported saved the municipality approximately $2000 in consulting fees.
Final Meeting
We met for a final meeting where the Directors shared their organizational structure and standard company verbiage to help us further understand the culture and workings of the municipality.
Solution
Workshop Promotion
Our goal is to make our clients’ lives easier. To that point, we provided the Directors with a clear title and description of the workshop to send to participating leaders along with all required information.
Burnout Assessment
Each leader also received a direct link to the Burnout Assessment, to be completed before the training. The assessment provided an inside look into leaders’ burnout risk and introduced them to concepts associated with the upcoming workshop.
Workbook
A custom-designed companion workbook and resource manual accompanied the workshop with space for personal reflection, learnings, questions, discussion topics, exercises, and complete resources.
Custom-Designed Workshop
We custom-designed a half-day workshop based upon the original objectives, data analysis and identified gaps to best equip the municipal division leaders. Principal targets included:
Understanding burnout by unpacking common myths and exploring the signs and symptoms of burnout.
Leadership strategies to improve productivity, prioritization and effectiveness to reduce workload-related burnout.
Wellness strategies to prevent employee burnout and promote both individual and organizational health.
Workshop Inclusions
High-quality, engaging training,
Breakout sessions designed for processing and concept implementation,
Proprietary leadership resources for greater leader and team effectiveness,
Professional Burnout Assessment, with rights to use among municipal teams,
Participant workbook and resource manual.
Workshop Components
Introduction to burnout.
Stories to illustrate workplace burnout in an emotionally intelligent manner.
An explanation of survey results.
Why stress and burnout have been rampant in recent months among municipalities.
Evidence-based definitions and key dimensions of burnout.
Common myths and misconceptions of burnout.
Three leadership exercises to increase productivity, prioritization, and effectiveness to address workload challenges. The accompanying workbook and resource manual contained each exercise leaders could use within their teams, programs and divisions for ongoing support.
Wellness strategies for work-life balance.
Process manual to equip leaders to use the Burnout Assessment with their teams, including how to create a psychologically safe environment, ask critical questions, and support stressed-out employees with available resources to prevent and overcome workplace burnout.
Breakout sessions, individual processing time, debriefing, and Q&A periods were included throughout the workshop.
Follow Up
Workshop Feedback Survey
Each participating leader received a link to a short feedback survey to complete immediately after the workshop.
Debrief
We met with the Directors of Human Resources one week following the workshop to debrief the training. We reviewed results from the feedback survey and the Directors shared their feedback as well as observations from participating leaders. They felt the workshop addressed their objectives and filled gaps identified by leaders’ survey results.