In a long, sustained effort to improve the safety, empowerment and connectedness of employees, Multnomah County has completed a review of its Complaints Investigation Unit that identified several opportunities for improvement. The unit was launched in 2019 to improve the County’s human resources policies and practices, particularly for employees of color.
The Complaints Investigation Unit is a centralized team of three investigators created to investigate staff complaints of discrimination based on race, sexual identity, disability, age and other protected class statuses. This centralized process is meant to provide consistency across the County, be fair and unbiased, protect complainants from retaliation, and comply with state law.
In fall 2023, Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Deputy Chief Operating Officer Travis Graves asked the County’s Evaluation and Research Unit to analyze employees’ experiences so far with the goal of proactively identifying and addressing concerns.
Researchers interviewed 81 employees and managers, held focus groups, issued an anonymous employee survey, and reviewed case outcomes. They also reviewed staffing and practices for handling complaints at Seattle/King County, the City of Portland, Clackamas and Washington Counties, and Oregon Health and Science University.Their 61- page report, released to employees April 30, concludes employees find the Complaints Investigation Unit staff to be professional, caring and that complaints were addressed through impartial investigations.
But the report also said that staff who filed complaints as well as staff whose behavior was investigated did not always find the process transparent or trust what was happening. Employees reported that investigations took too long and were disruptive to teams. Of particular concern: Black and African American managers received more discrimination complaints than you’d expect based on their representation in the workforce. Also, those Black employees facing complaints also subsequently left the County at higher rates based on their representation. The report was not able to determine the causal relationship between the CIU investigation and these statistics, but regardless the increased rates are cause for concern.
“We sought this review as a progress report that would set us up to both build on successes and change what’s not working,’’ said Chair Vega Pederson. "I take these findings very seriously. In addition to a number of recommendations already incorporated by the CIU, a workgroup led by senior county leaders has already begun to meet to address the larger cultural issues."
“I expect this workgroup to address bigger questions: what in our County workplace culture may still cause employees and managers to feel unsafe, experience bias or discrimination or limit their ability to resolve their conflicts? My executive budget provides resources to continue this work. I’ve also provided clear direction to our Chief Human Resource Officer to ensure these changes achieve our goals for improvement.”
New work group will make improvements; some changes already under way
Toward that end, in her executive budget the Chair did not make any reductions to the unit. In addition, a position was reallocated to the CIU for conflict resolution which doubles their capacity to focus on restorative practices. She also set aside an additional $100k to consult with experts in this work as we build a plan of action. She also directly shared the report with all employees through the County’s weekly staff newsletter.
Even before the analysis concluded, the Complaints Investigation Unit began making improvements. The team shortened the time between a complaint and a completed investigation report to 90 days on average. It added an on-call investigator to help when caseloads grow. It has begun collecting more data and sharing more information on the process and timeline with involved employees. They updated their communication resources and will be incorporating a way for employees to respond to completed complaints and to make that part of the final record. The Unit staff also said the report validated what employees have shared over time.
“When we created the CIU our intent was to improve the process and our employee experience,’’ said Deputy COO Graves. “This review provides valuable information on how we continue to improve our handling of workplace conflict. It also tells us we have work to do beyond the CIU. We are up to the challenge.”
An inherently stressful process
The researchers found that most often, the Complaints Investigation Unit faced workplace issues that had been left unresolved despite other, previous County processes or interventions. “In this way, the unit’s core task has become to resolve the symptoms created by a workplace culture in need of improvement,’’ the report states.
Chief Operating Officer Christopher Neal, who started at the County on April 7, said filing a complaint, or receiving a complaint, involving one’s co-workers is inherently stressful for all sides.”
“The goal has been to use trauma-informed practices, be consistent and show fair treatment in a prompt and thorough response to complaints,’’ Neal said. “So we take it very seriously that some people going through this process feel it is unsafe or that the process has become weaponized. That’s what we’ll be focused on understanding and changing.”
The Chair notes that restorative processes could help reduce that stress by providing managers with resources and support as their team goes through a complaint process. Together, the Chair and COO are directing staff to implement the report’s recommendations, including:
- Adding a conflict resolution position to help ease tension and conflict.
- Giving involved employees a chance to write a response to investigation findings as part of the official record.
- Explaining clearly why some details cannot be provided to employees.
- Providing additional resources and efforts for preemptive team-building and conflict resolution.
- Providing ongoing and regular training in trauma-informed investigation.
- Collaborating with Central Human Resources on educating employees on the complaint process.
- Strengthening collaboration among the Complaints Investigation Unit, Organizational Learning and department HR and equity managers.
- Developing quality controls to ensure interviews remain consistent with industry standards.
In addition, Central Human Resources is convening an executive workgroup to build a culture and equity improvement plan. The work will begin with a review of the above-referenced higher separation rates, examining complaint origins, supervisor responses, conflict resolution, and other processes. Subcommittees will also consult with equity managers, union leaders and Employee Resource Groups to include their input. The County plans to make funding available for an equity-focused Organizational Development firm to provide expert recommendations for addressing the identified disparities, working in close collaboration with the executive workgroup.
“We are committed to aligning these equity and cultural improvements being in the strategic plan,’’ Neal said. “Many employees have waited decades for lasting change. It’s important for us to make tangible progress,’’