The wait was over on Wednesday as John Scholten, regional president of the Michigan Leadership Institute, presented the results of the organizational culture survey that the board of commissioners hired him to prepare in November. Almost every seat in the large board of commissioners meeting room was occupied by members of the public and staff from many county departments.
The report was like the early stages of therapy in the opinion of commissioner Jamie Kramer: “It’s gross, It’s ugly, It hurts, and it doesn’t feel good.” But by bringing some of the underlying issues contributing to the resignation of many county employees to the surface, she said they can now address them.
The county board contracted the MLI for $6,500 on Nov. 6 to perform the survey, with former Glen Lake Superintendent John Scholten of the MLI coming to the government center for three days to invite employees to one-on-one interviews. In these meetings, he encouraged them to talk candidly about the positive and negatives about working for the county.
