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The H.R. Doctor Is In
Everythings Up To Date in Kansas
Dear Dorothy &
Toto,
I
write this article on my first-ever visit to Kansas. However,
what I found on the great prairie was sufficient for me to
know that I will return for future visits. The HR Doctor was
honored to be a speaker at the Annual Conference of the Kansas
Association of Counties. The conference attracted 700 people,
principally county commissioners from all around the
state.
Most of the Kansas counties are
small. In fact, many of the 105 counties have fewer residents
than the number of staff members in many of the large urban
counties in the United States. Like counties everywhere,
though, they struggle with the cost of unfunded mandates,
concerns about the mix of development and preservation, the
future of the prime industry in the state Ð agriculture, and
the problems of law enforcement and security, childrens
development and human services, health care and environmental
concerns. The agenda for the conference could have been easily
mistaken for an annual conference anywhere in the United
States.
Coming from massively huge,
high-traffic South Florida, the HR Doctor found immediate and
pleasant surprises, literally from the moment I stepped off
the airplane at the Kansas City International Airport. The
exit gate at the airport was 100 feet from the curb. People
everywhere, from retail shops to security at the airport,
seemed concerned for my well-being. They were very pleasant
and curious about how their state and their county, in the
case of host county Johnson County, was perceived by this one
humble visitor.
Any
commissioner would have found Kansas Association of Counties
Executive Director Randall Allen to be an outstanding,
personable and professional host. He and the staff of the
association, including my new friends, Judy, Marla, Michelle,
Scott, and others, went out of their way to plan and
coordinate an enjoyable learning and networking experience.
Conference participants were made to feel as though they and
700 of their closest friends had been invited to Randalls
house for dinner.
The
same hospitality came from association leaders, including
President Wade Dixon, Vice President Lonie Addis, Sheriff John
Calhoon, Commissioner Dean Kruse, County Clerk Kathy Peckman,
and many other caring public officials.
As
a public administrator would expect, in a large state with
many small rural counties, the large majority of counties
dont have professional Human Resources departments to support
their decisions. In fact, only about 16 of the Kansas counties
have a full-time HR Department. All of them, however, have
major HR issues to deal with, including issues of performance
and behavior, which would sound all too familiar to large
urban county departments.
There was a great curiosity about
how to do strong proactive human resources. The part-time
commissioners I met were no different in that respect than the
"full-time" career commissioners more likely to be found in a
larger county. Many of the commissioners were ranchers, for
whom public service and community engagement were as deeply
engrained in their genetic makeup as the joy of planting grain
and watching their children win 4-H competitions.
Dorothy, I can understand why you
felt that "there is no place like home" when your thoughts
took you back to Kansas. It was a very pleasant experience for
me, and the visit reaffirmed my view that local government is
literally the cornerstone of what makes America work. Much as
we pay attention to the comings and goings (or is it "goings
on") in Washington, D.C. - as reinforced by our friends
in the media - the real way to gain perspective on the
diversity and wonder of what has become of the United States
over the past 215 years, is to regularly leave the crowds of
New York, Los Angeles, South Florida, Chicago, or other urban
areas and go for long walks in a place like Kansas and make
new friends.
My
hopes that the people I would meet would be sincere and
dedicated to strong, ethical government were all fully met!
The HR Doctor, however, was unable to locate any monument to
the Wicked Witch of the West! Perhaps a future federal grant
might finance a major construction project! Then again
É
Meanwhile, the HR Doctor salutes
his new Kansas Association of Counties friends and
congratulates them for a conference well done - and great
Kansas steaks likewise!
PS - Dorothy, the HR Dog,
Kamala, sends a special "hello" to Toto.
Phil Rosenberg The HR
Doctor http://www.hrdr.net/
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