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Many Paths

Diverse Workforce One Destination

Contents

Our City Manager 1 Our Diversity & Inclusion Foundations 2 Our Diversity & Inclusion Champions 3 Our History 7 Our Current Workforce (2011) 11 Our Commitment to Making a Difference 15 Community Outreach and Recruitment 15 Workforce Sustainability 20 Equal Opportunity 20 Awareness and Education 23 Workforce Planning and Development 27 Our Participating Departments 29 In Closing 30

Our City Manager

Our Diversity & Inclusion Foundations

We Value and Promote Diversity. “Making Virginia Beach a place where many diverse expressions harmonize is key to gaining prosperity as a unified community.”

City of Virginia Beach Strategic Plan, December 2009

Our Organizational Values—A Guide to Quality Performance The values define our desired organizational cultures and Quality of work life. Quality Customer Service: Service to customers is the fundamental reason the City of Vir-ginia Beach Municipal Government exists. Teamwork: Organizational goals are attained when members and customers work to-gether. Leadership and Learning: Learning at every level of the organization creates opportuni-ties for leadership experience and for members to continuously expand our capacity to create a quality organization. Integrity: Integrity creates the trust essential to Quality Service and long-term personal and organizational growth. Commitment: Commitment is the necessary mechanism enabling members to focus our behavior on attaining organizational goals. Inclusion and Diversity: Members value and respect our similarities and differences to encourage and fully utilize our human potential, and to foster a culture of openness, en-gagement and respect for all.

Principles of Ethical Conduct Integrity—Accountability—Respect—Professionalism—Citizenship

One of the principles is Respect: We treat everyone with courtesy, dignity, and kindness, appreciating the diversity and uniqueness of all.

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Our Diversity & Inclusion Champions

Annual Human Rights Week, December 2010

These champions ensure that members and citizens can count on our commitment to diversity and inclusion in the delivery of our quality programs and services. Our champions include all of our City Members and City Departments and we also have established Stakeholder Groups fully dedicated to diversity and inclusion. Our City Members are responsible for working together to best serve each other, the organization and the community. City Members are responsible for providing quality performance with the organizational values and the code of ethics guiding their many paths to success. Each of our City Departments has a department representative, appointed by the Department Director, to develop their department’s Equal Employment Opportunity, Diversity & Inclusion Plans. The plans include strategies and best practices for diversity recruitment, building a more inclusive workplace, and ensuring that diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of their programs and services. Our Stakeholder Groups focus on the workforce and the community. The following includes a snapshot of these groups, councils and commissions with their mission statements. More detailed information is available at www.vbgov.com.

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Diversity Management Group (DMG)

Inclusion & Diversity Council (IDC)

The IDC was established by the Management Leadership Team (MLT) in May 2009 to address and expand a shared understanding of diversity and inclusion within the organization and is comprised of a cross section of City members. Its creation followed an extensive internal assessment of how the organization could best further support the City’s core strategy of valuing and promoting diversity. The Diversity Advisory Team (DAT) served as the forerunner to the Council and recommended its creation as one of several action steps included in their strategic plan.

The DMG is a team of human resources representatives who assists the City in increasing awareness and commitment for the value of diversity and inclusion, ensuring fairness and equity in employment opportunities, collaborating and developing partnerships with the community and departments they serve and building inclusion by offering a quality work life where all members can reach their full potential.

The IDC’s mission is to foster and enhance a shared understanding of inclusion and diversity to create a positive impact on our workforce, our organization and our community. They are responsible for educating, researching, and informing members on the role of inclusion and diversity and how it works in helping the organization and its members become more productive. This includes developing strategies and programs that enhance the understanding of these goals within the organization. The IDC is also involved in providing recommendations on the development and implementation of the organization’s inclusion and diversity initiatives through ownership of the Diversity Strategic Plan, and is proactive in serving as change agents to improve the organization’s culture.

The DMG’s work includes guiding departments in developing their EEO, diversity, inclusion, and workforce planning strategies, providing a diversity and inclusion resource center on the City’s intranet and internet sites, developing and delivering diversity and inclusion training programs, both Citywide and customized for departments, administering EEO, Sexual Harassment and ADA policies to include the City’s discrimination and harassment complaint process and investigations and ADA case management process, employment testing and validation, community outreach and support of the Human Rights Commission.

Learn more at www.vbgov.com/Diversity.

Established in 1991, the HRC institutes, conducts and engages in educational informational programs for the promotion of mutual understanding and respect among the citizens in the fulfillment of human rights. This commission serves as a forum for discussion of human rights issues, conducts studies and proposes solutions for improvement of relations in the City, and provides referral assistance to persons who believe their rights have been violated.

The Minority Business Development Program, established by the Department of Economic Development in 2007, in support of SWaM, is a program designed to educate minority and women entrepreneurs about available resources in starting or expanding their businesses, to attract more National/International minority firms to the City, and to continue building relationships with existing businesses.

Human Rights Commission (HRC)

Minority Business Council (MBC)

Small, Women and Minority-Owned Businesses (SWaM)

The City is committed to increasing the participation of women and minority-owned businesses in its procurement activities. The MBC is responsible and accountable for projecting the City’s image to fairly reflect Virginia Beach as a city of ethnic and racial diversity when conducting the City’s businesses, particularly when recommending and awarding contracts and purchase orders for goods and services.

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The Mayor’s Youth Leaders in Action (MYLA) is comprised of approximately 30 ethnically, socially, and geographically diverse youth with the common goal of being a positive force in the community through leadership, service, education, and representation. Members develop leadership and decision-making skills by creating, organizing, partici-pating, and implementing youth-led meetings and projects.

The Mayor’s Commission for Aging assists in identifying and defining the needs of seniors, assists in reviewing the nature and priorities of services necessary to meet the needs of the aging, articulates the functions of the Commission with other commissions, committees and agencies, and assists with public information, legislative and education efforts regarding the needs of seniors.

The Mayor’s Committee for Persons with Disabilities raises awareness of the needs of persons with disabilities, assists in formulating solutions to meets these needs, and provides advice on issues involving compliance with state and national legislation.

Youth Aging

Persons with Disabilities Veterans

The Mayor’s Veteran’s Committee ensures that the Veteran’s Memorial site meets the highest standards of landscaping and maintenance, acts as a liaison between various veterans groups and the City to conduct functions, such as the Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day parades and activities, and works with tourist development in order to attract conventions and reunions to our City.

6 Learn more at www.vbgov.com.

Our History

Our City’s history has shaped our work and has evolved along with the field of diversity and inclusion. This represents a snapshot of historical events and is not meant to be all inclusive.

1986 Council Member John Perry 1976 Council Member Meyera Oberndorf

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1968: The Virginia Beach Code of Ethics was adopted providing a framework for City members’ standards of conduct.

1971: The Mayor’s Commission on Aging was established.

1974: The Mayor’s Committee for Persons with Disabilities was established.

1975: The City’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy was adopted.

1975: The City’s first Affirmative Action Plan was developed.

1976: Meyera Oberndorf was the first woman elected to City Council.

1986: John Perry was the first Black/African American elected to City Council.

1987: The City established its first Employee Assistance Program.

1988: The City’s internal EEO Discrimination Complaint Process was adopted.

1989: The City’s EEO Advisory Com-mittee was formed to promote diver-sity awareness in the workplace.

1989: The Mayor’s Veterans Committee was appointed.

1991: The Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission was officially formed.

1992: ADA non-discrimination notice and grievance procedures were adopted (A.D.1.11 and 1.12) recogniz-ing our commitment to provide acces-sible services, programs and facilities to individuals with disabilities under the ADA.

2010 Diversity & Inclusion Symposium 2009 Inclusion & Diversity Council Heritage Day

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1994: Louisa Strayhorn was the first Black/African American woman elected to City Council.

1995: The Minority Business Council was first enacted by City Council and began requiring City contractors to submit plans for the participation of woman and minority-owned businesses and requiring the City to solicit bids and proposals from such businesses.

1995: The City hosted its first Multi-cultural Day and the EEO Advisory Committee sponsored its first Employee Heritage Day, both events recognizing the unique contributions of all cultures.

1995: The City’s Sexual Harass-ment Policy was adopted.

1996: The City’s Affirmative Action Plan was renamed “A Valuing Diversity Plan” recognizing the meaning of diversity included many dimensions in our workforce and community.

2000: The Mayor’s Youth Leaders In Action Committee was established.

2005: A Community Outreach and Minority Recruiter was hired to expand the City’s outreach and recruitment strategies.

2005: Human Resources launched E-learning with courses on Workplace Diversity and Sexual Harassment.

2006: The African American History Month Committee hosted its first Citywide career fair and Human Resources hosted its first Diversity Symposium with the community.

2007: The Integrity Connection Pro-gram was launched—a recommitment to the City’s organizational values and ethics.

2007: The Department of Economic Development established the Minority Business Development Program.

2007: The City Manager enacted an Administrative Directive requiring City department s to solicit bids from woman and minority-owned businesses.

2008: City Council set a 10% goal for minority participation in City contracts.

2009: City Council began requiring City contractors to submit plans for the participation of service-disabled-veteran-owned businesses and requiring the City to solicit bids and proposals from such businesses.

2009: The city’s Inclusion & Diversity Council was formed with the Diversity Strategic Plan accepted by the Management Leadership Team.

February 2010: The Small, Women & Minority-Owned Businesses (SWaM) hosted an Entrepreneur Express in partnership with Virginia Department of Business Assistance.

May 2010: The Minority Business Council hosted its first Spring Construction Forum, a networking and informational event for businesses in the construction industry.

July 2010: Member Communica-tions launched its first “What Makes You Feel Valued” survey for all City members.

October 2010: The City’s Inclusion & Diversity Council, along with the Quality Organization Strategic Issues Team, launched a new organizational value “Inclusion & Diversity”.

October 2010: The City’s Human Resources Diversity Management Group hosted the 2010 Diversity & Inclusion Symposium with community leaders to promote awareness of the City’s diversity and inclusion efforts and seek feedback.

October 2010: Human Resources expanded its EEO, Diversity & Inclusion Training for Leaders class to a full day with more activities to build increased awareness and understanding of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

December 2010: The Human Rights Commission hosted its annual celebration of International Human Rights Week.

Victor Valdez; Fire, Master Firefighter Medic, and son Nathan Mizner; Parks & Recreation, Lifeguard

Bibiana Somasundran; Emergency Communications & Citizen Services, Telecommuter I, Olin Walden; Housing & Neighborhood Preservation, Housing Programs Coordinator

Our Current Workforce (2011)

33% People of color in our workforce, a 5% increase from 2005. Fulltime only = 31%, a 3% increase from 2005.

11% People of color in Officials & Administrator Roles, a 5% increase from 2005. Fulltime only = 11%.

31% People of color in Professional Roles, a 6% increase from 2005. Fulltime only = 30%, a 5% increase from 2005.

Diverse Workforce 9

Note: The City’s previous Equal Employment Opportunity Plan (EEOP), effective through December 2010, included statistics for fulltime merit members only (part-time not included).

Current workforce includes fulltime and part-time merit members (constitutional offices, courts, court clerks offices, and schools are not included).

Theresa Orr; Police, Captain Linda Southard; Libraries, Volunteer, and service dog Sheila Mina; Human Resources, Medical Assistant Tom Leahy; Public Utilities, Director Dorothy Zeller; Public Works, Traffic Technician II

30%Women in Officials & Administrator Roles, a 3.5% increase from 2005. Fulltime only = 30%.

49% Women in our workforce, a 3% increase from 2005. Fulltime only = 45%, a 1% decrease from 2005.

64%Women in Professional Roles, remaining stable since 2005. Fulltime only = 64%.

10 Learn more at www.vbgov.com/Diversity.

Our Current Workforce Utilization (2011)

Officials & Administrators

Our current workforce includes fulltime and part-time merit members (constitutional offices, courts, court clerks offices, and schools are not included). To determine if women or people of color are underutilized in any EEO job category, we consider the population of the labor force within the relevant labor market (RLM) using the most recent EEO data available from the U.S. Census Bureau. The relevant labor market used varies according to the EEO job category. For instance, national statistics are used for Officials & Administrators, state statistics are used for Professionals and Protective Services, and the Virginia Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is used for all other categories. The following provides a snapshot of our workforce utilization. Areas of underutilization are indicated in red and are used in the development of community outreach and recruitment strategies. We have selected –3% or greater in underutilization as our baseline for areas needing attention. Further details, including department workforce information, are available at www.vbgov.com/Diversity.

Officials & Administrators include our deputy city managers, department directors and managers.

Diverse Workforce 11

Technicians

Professionals

Professionals, our largest category, includes positions such as human resources coordinators and analysts, attorneys, engineers, systems analysts, accountants, etc.

Technicians include positions such as computer programmers, survey and mapping technicians, licensed practical nurses, radio operators, highway technicians, technical illustrators, etc.


Protective Services

Administrative Support

Administrative Support, traditionally a “female” dominated career, includes positions such as administrative assistants, recreation assistants, bookkeepers, clerks, dispatchers, etc.

Protective Services, traditionally a “white male” dominated career, includes firefighters, police officers and fulltime emergency medical services paramedics. Our public safety departments have aggressive recruitment strategies directed toward people of color and women.


Skilled Craft

Skilled Craft, traditionally a “male” dominated career, includes positions such as mechanics, electricians, heavy equipment operators, carpenters, water and sewage treatment plant operators, etc.

Service Maintenance

Service Maintenance includes positions such as truck drivers, bus drivers, custodial employees, groundskeepers, apprentices, etc.


Workforce Utilization Analysis by Race/National Origin Women

Percentages that are –3% or greater in underutilization are indicated in red.


Men

*Statistics used in these charts were effective January 20, 2011.

Learn more at www.vbgov.com/Diversity. 16

Our Commitment to Making a Difference We are committed to making a difference with inclusion at the heart of our work in Community Outreach, Recruitment, and Workforce Sustainability. We celebrate our achievements, share our best practices, respond to the historical, political, environmental, and cultural trends impacting our community and workplace, and we recognize that our work is ongoing.

Community Outreach and Recruitment Many of our City’s stakeholder groups are community focused with several internal members serving as liaisons to support the work and ensure communication with and between citizens, departments and members. We also have several individuals in the City who are dedicated to building diversity-focused community relations such as the Human Resources Department’s Community Outreach and Minority Recruiter, the Human Rights Commission’s Community Relations Specialist, the Finance Department’s Minority Business Coordinator, the Economic Development Department’s SWaM Business Development Representative, the Parks & Recreation Department’s Youth Opportunities Coordinator, and the City’s ADA Coordinator. Our recruitment efforts demonstrate our commitment to creating a workforce that reflects the community we serve. Our focus is on attracting the most qualified and diverse pool of applicants. Several of our departments, Emergency Medical Services, Fire, Human Resources, Parks & Recreation, and Police have dedicated fulltime human resources personnel to assist in fulfilling their recruitment needs.

Members of Convention & Visitors Bureau, Fire and Police

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Best Practices:

The City utilizes a wide array of community outreach and recruitment sources including partnerships with diversity, faith-based and professional organizations and associations, colleges and universities to appeal to all audiences. Increased efforts are also made to encourage women and people of color to apply for job categories which are under-represented. This includes recruiting at historically black colleges and universities, participating in diversity career fairs, using diversity career Websites and Social Networking sites, and advertising in female and minority publications. Published materials such as brochures, advertisements and reports visually promote the diversity of our workforce and community. Highlights:

2010 Diversity & Inclusion Symposium, sponsored by the Human Resources Diversity Management Group, was a dialogue with the community focused on the City’s

diversity and Inclusion efforts. 2010 Building Bridges Series, sponsored by the Human Rights Commission, included several community dialogues focused on the meaning of human rights in our

community. 2009 & 2010 Youth Summer Employment, a program promoting workforce readiness skills for youth ages 14-24, funding provided by the American Recovery &

Reinvestment Act (ARRA) via the local Workforce Investment Board/Opportunity, Inc. Several departments are participating in more than 150 recruiting events each year. The City’s outreach and recruitment source list includes over 125 diversity, faith- based, and professional organizations and associations, over 35 colleges and

universities, and over 30 recruitment Websites, Social Networking sites, publications and radio stations.

Several departments have targeted recruitment strategies to increase interest in specific job titles that are under-represented in women and people of color.

The City’s e-application process—W.A.V.E. (Web Application for Virginia Beach Employment) is accessible to all citizens with over 240 kiosks located in the municipal center and libraries.

Many opportunities are offered to citizens as volunteers, part-time and seasonal employment, and internships. For fiscal year 2009/2010, our Volunteer Resources Office reported a count of 3715 volunteers donating 56,741 hours of their time to the City. The departments of Public Utilities and Public Works

partnered in establishing a formal internship program for college students majoring in the engineering field.

Sample Recruiting Brochure Public Utilities/Public Works


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800 *Job offers made in 2010

61.8% job offers to women 38.3% job offers to people of color Race/National Origin Breakdown .3% American Indian/Alaska Native 2.4% Asian 30.9% Black/African American 2.8% Hispanic/Latino .9% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander .9% Two or More Races 58.9% White 3.1% Unknown

31,810 *Job applications received in 2010

60.7% received from women 46.2% received from people of color Race/National Origin Breakdown .7% American Indian/Alaska Native 2.9% Asian 35.6% Black/African American 4.7% Hispanic/Latino .6% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 1.7% Two or More Races 48.0% White 5.8% Unknown

2010 City of Virginia Beach Population (U.S. Census): 437,994 Race/National Origin Breakdown

6.0% Asian 6.6% Hispanic/Latino 64.5% White

19.0% Black/African American .6% Other 3.2% Two or More Races

Numerous educational programs and cultural events are offered by many of our departments to introduce resources and services available to citizens.

Highlights:

The Spring 2010 Construction Forum, sponsored by the Finance Department and the Minority Business Council, was a networking event for businesses in the construction industry.

The 2010 Entrepreneur Express, sponsored by Economic Development and the Small, Women and Minority-Owned Businesses in partnership with the Virginia Department of Business Assistance, was a program to help new and early stage businesses with local resources and information. Public safety departments offer various academies to citizens to introduce services and resources. Examples include Fire’s Life Safety Community Programs and Police’s

Citizens Academy, Youth Academy and Senior Citizens Academy. These academies also serve as a recruiting tool for future firefighters and police officers.

Libraries hosts an annual “College Day” with representatives from various colleges and universities to expose applicants to educational opportunities in the library profession. The Virginia Aquarium offers several educational opportunities to youth to include “Access Aquarium”, available to Title I schools to cover the cost of admission and “Mentoring Young Scientists”, adult mentors for middle school students from low

income and diverse backgrounds.

* Job applicants may apply for multiple jobs, but are counted only once in the number of applications received. * For job offers made in 2010, some applications would have been received in 2009.

Parks & Recreation offers interview training to High School Work and Family Studies Classes and to the Virginia Beach Public Schools Technical Center Turf Management students. Several departments routinely serve on interview panels with local colleges and universities and professional organizations to help prepare future applicants for

employment. Human Resources and Libraries have partnered to offer a resume writing and interviewing workshop to citizens.

Housing & Neighborhood Preservation routinely offers seminars and programs to promote fair housing, equal opportunity and accessibility.

The Convention & Visitors Bureau reported hosting over 55 events linked to cultural diversity within the last 5 years. Cultural Affairs and the Sandler Center, Libraries,

Museums and the Virginia Aquarium, and Parks & Recreation routinely host cultural events and celebrations.

The Crisis Intervention Team Core Faculty Group and the Crisis Intervention Leadership Committee, a partnership between Human Services, Police, Sheriff and the Virginia Beach Psychiatric Center, were recipients of the 2010 Human Rights Award for their efforts to promote cultural diversity, social awareness and human rights in the

community. The City of Virginia Beach was named the 2nd best place to find a job by Forbes

Magazine in June, 2010.

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Feedback from Community Members Community Outreach and Recruitment

Possibilities for Action

Promote accessibility with transportation options for employees to get to work. Become more competitive with private industry in

compensation. Offer more part-time and entry level positions for our youth. Increase internship opportunities. Offer technology training (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) for our aging population to make them ready for the workplace. Provide more opportunities for applicants to learn and practice interviewing skills and resume writing. Provide GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Transgender) sensitivity training to employees involved in the hiring process. Promote stability of local government employment as a benefit. Offer civics classes to citizens for increased understanding of

local government. Offer training programs for women returning to the workplace after an extended absence (care giving responsibilities, frequent

military moves, etc.). 2010 Diversity & Inclusion Symposium

Reprinted by permission from The World Café

Community Foundation at www.theworldcafe.com

Learn more at www.vbgov.com/Diversity.

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Our partnerships with the community promote inclusion and accessibility for all citizens, guests and members to our City buildings, programs and services. Our ADA Coordinator reviews ADA compliance and assists in responding to and resolving inquiries regarding the ADA.

Highlights:

The Mayor’s Committee for Persons with Disabilities raises awareness of the needs of persons with disabilities. The Bayside & Special Services Library furnishes a wide variety of special format

reading materials and listening equipment to persons with permanent or temporary disabilities.

Parks & Recreation’s Therapeutic Recreation Program is an alternate program available to citizens with disabilities in addition to regular recreation programs to enrich quality of life, enhance skill development, and offer leisure education. The department also works with citizens to provide inclusion in all of the recreation programs. Communications and Information Technology develops guidelines for the construction of online pages and services that appear as part of VBgov.com to ensure a positive user experience and easier accessibility. The guidelines reflect recommendations from the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative. Human Services’ Community Employment Options Program helps citizens with

disabilities find meaningful employment by partnering with area employers and City agencies. The program offers pre-screening of candidates, job site assessments, on-the -job training and job coaching.

Human Services’ Beach House offers a non-residential rehabilitation program providing support to adults recovering from mental disabilities. This service offers a transitional

employment program to help members integrate back into the workforce. Housing and Neighborhood Preservation’s Home Rehabilitation Program offers

financial assistance to eligible homeowners for accessibility improvements such as ramps, grab bars and widening doorways.

Libraries encourages children, including children who read Braille, to practice reading with a therapy dog in its “Pawsitive Reading” Program. Assistive listening devices and rear window captioning are available at the IMAX

theatre in the Virginia Aquarium for individuals with hearing disabilities. Many departments and City services provide a variety of equipment for individuals with disabilities, such as: scooters and wheelchairs to increase visitor mobility, voting

machines with large print and high contrast, smoke alarms equipped with bright strobe lights, all-terrain wheelchairs for beach access, TTY or TDD for individuals with hearing disabilities to communicate with City members, and Job Access with Speech (JAWS) software to synthesize digital text into speech.

“When the sun rises, it rises for everyone.”

Source unknown.

Workforce Sustainability

We’re working hard to build lasting partnerships in the community and in recruiting the most qualified and diverse applicants, so it’s just as critical for us to build a sustainable workforce where all members are valued for who they are and what they contribute. It starts with Equal Opportunity by creating a workplace that is free from discrimination and harassment, promotes fairness and equity, and values the contributions of all members.

We encourage Awareness and Education, embracing diversity of cultures, thoughts, abilities, experiences, ideas and perspectives. Through Workforce Planning & Development, we provide our managers and supervisors with the framework for making informed human resources decisions that support diversity and inclusion.

Equal Opportunity

We are committed to respect and fair treatment of all members as reflected in the City’s mission, values, ethics and policies and we are committed to eliminating discrimination and harassment in all forms and providing equal access and opportunity.

Best Practices:

Our workplace policies and procedures comply with federal, state, and local equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws and regulations and ensure equal employment opportunities for all without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, age, gender, disabilities, marital status, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, and any other protection as defined by laws or City policies. Highlights:

The City’s Human Resources Attorney provides periodic legal updates to leadership. In 2009 and 2010, a series of updates were provided in response to recent updates and changes to federal laws to include the ADA Amendments Act (AD AAA), the Lilly Ledbetter Act, and the Genetic Information Act (GINA). Several departments employ human resources liaisons to help ensure compliance and accountability to policies and procedures and have developed departmental policies and procedures according to their business needs and in alignment with City policies and procedures. As an example, the Public Utilities department’s diversity committee developed a departmental recruitment and selection policy.


New and updated City policies and procedures are developed using a completed staff work model and involving key stakeholders to ensure a full and informed development

process. A new ADA policy is in draft form with rollout scheduled in 2011 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Policy and the Sexual Harassment Policy are scheduled for updates in 2011.

Personnel actions, including recruitment, hiring, training, career progressions, promotions, discipline, terminations, compensation and benefits are administered with the principles of equal opportunity. Equal employment opportunity statements have been included in policies, procedures, recruitment ads, and City contractual agreements with outside vendors/service providers.

In 2009/2010, Human Resources, Emergency Communications & Citizen Services, Fire and Police partnered with a consultant to develop and validate physical agility testing for firefighter and police officer applicants. Every effort is made to ensure interview panels for external and internal selection

include diverse representation and hiring managers are briefed on the selection process in order to maintain an equitable and job-related evaluation for each position.

Job descriptions are clear and are based on knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies, and essential functions. In 2009, Occupational Safety and Health Services (OSHS) worked with departments in conducting job safety analyses to document the steps of each work task and associated hazards and controls. Departments also began

completing updated versions of the Physical and Mental Requirements/Working Conditions form. These forms will be used by OSHS when contacting physicians for ADA accommodations and are being used by Staffing and Compensation to update Citywide job descriptions to ensure they include all mental and physical job requirements that are essential functions of each job.

Requests for reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities are reviewed and approved through an integrative process involving a disability review committee. The employee and the department are actively involved in the

development of accommodation plans. Reasonable efforts are made to accommodate religious practices and to schedule events and meetings around religious holidays. A variety of dispute resolution options are available for members to resolve

concerns. The Employee Assistance Program (EAP), the EEO Complaint Procedure for informal or formal resolution, and Mediation are available to all members; the Open Door Policy and the Grievance Procedure are available to merit members.

Statistical data is maintained on the numbers and percentages of women and people of color in our workforce for compliance and reporting to federal oversight agencies such as the Department of Justice’s Office for Civil Rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In 2009, race and national origin codes were expanded in the City’s personnel system to include Two or More Races and to divide the category of Asians/Pacific Islanders into two separate categories, Asians and Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander, in order to align with federal reporting requirements.

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Career Progressions and Promotions

833 career progressions and promotions occurred from January 2009 to December 31, 2010. 35.7% were women and 30.9% were people of color.

City of Virginia Beach 2010 Member Quality Survey

“The City values diversity” 4.0 “The City does not tolerate discrimination” 4.0 “Policies and rules are applied fairly” 3.2

Ratings were based on a scale of 1.0 to 5.0 with 5.0 as highest in satisfaction.

Feedback from Community Members Equal Opportunity


In hiring efforts, ensure that staff members know how to interview.

Offer more flexibility and compassion for women with child care issues to include daycare options with financial support. Conduct internal employee satisfaction surveys; if younger

generation is not happy, they are not going to stay and if happy, they can be ambassadors.

Offer healthcare benefits with domestic partner recognition. Provide more opportunity for advancement and address the

perception of the “glass ceiling”. For people with disabilities, give same freedoms as non-disabled by reducing unnecessary barriers.

2010 Diversity & Inclusion Symposium

“A Menu for Inclusion” Reprinted by permission

from The World Café Community Foundation at www.theworldcafe.com


Awareness and Education

Diversity and inclusion can not be understood or fully appreciated without promotion of awareness and education. It starts at the top—our Management Leadership Team (MLT), which includes the City Manager and Deputy City Managers, recognizes the impact that a diverse and inclusive workplace has on our business success and supports our diversity and inclusion efforts. The Inclusion & Diversity Council (IDC) was established with the vision of creating a culture of inclusion in our workplace and has two executive sponsors to help drive this vision. In 2010, the IDC, along with the support of the City’s Quality Organization (QO) Strategic Issue Team, pushed forward a change to our Organizational Values to include inclusion and diversity as one of our core values. The City Manager’s Office also has an Organization Development Office (ODO) focused on moving the organization forward in its cultural awareness and the Human Resources Diversity Management Group (DMG) has made progress in expanding narrow views of diversity equating to affirmative action and equal employment opportunity to necessary and expanded views of what diversity and inclusion really means in our organization. We encourage awareness and embrace diversity of cultures, thoughts, abilities, experiences, ideas and perspectives to enhance and sustain our workforce and to provide quality customer service to all citizens.

Opportunities to strengthen knowledge, enhance awareness and develop necessary skills for our increasingly diverse workforce are available to all members.

Highlights:

Training opportunities are promoted through an annual training catalog, a Webpage with featured classes, and frequent flyers and announcements to encourage member self-development, training and education. EEO, Diversity & Inclusion training begins in the new member’s orientation to the City and continues through the member’s progression to include training for leaders.

Training is offered through a variety of methods to include instructor-led classes, online learning, webinars, and lunch-and-learns. Instructor-led classes offer a blended learning approach to enhance participant engagement and includes multimedia, table top activities, case studies, role plays, experiential learning, gaming and open discussions.

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Best Practices:


Instructors and facilitators remain current in the latest laws, policies and trends impacting diversity and inclusion and update courses frequently to include the latest trends. Several new laws and concepts have been introduced in EEO, Diversity & Inclusion training to include the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act, the Genetic Information Act (GINA), the Lilly Ledbetter Act, and micro-inequities, micro- aggressions, and micro-affirmations.

Several departments provide additional training opportunities to members and collaborate with Human Resources to develop EEO, diversity and inclusion training customized to their departmental needs.

All employees receive training on the Code of Ethics as part of the City’s multi-prong Integrity Connection program. One of the guidelines for the principle of Respect is “We believe that people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs enrich our City and work environment.” The Organization Development Office and Learning & Development deliver training on bridging differences in work behaviors, thoughts and perspectives through Building

Effective Relationships and Real Colors. In 2009, the Diversity Management Group, in partnership with Learning &

Development, launched two new classes in response to changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): ADA for Leaders includes a legal update from the City Attorney’s Office and an interactive portion with a representative from the Endependence Center. Universal Programming, building awareness of developing programs that are usable by all people, was developed in collaboration with the City’s ADA Coordinator, the Mayor’s Committee for Persons with Disabilities, the Bayside Library’s Special Services Manager, and the Parks & Recreation Department’s Inclusion Specialist.

In celebration of October 2010 Diversity Awareness Month, a keynote speaker was invited to speak on the topic of diversity and inclusion at our monthly Department Leadership Meeting. Other new classes such as Generational Differences and The Sandwich Generation were developed and delivered to respond to currently having four generations of members in the workplace.

We continue to promote awareness and education utilizing available resources in order to address a broad spectrum of diversity dimensions and issues.

Highlights:

The City’s EEO, Diversity and Inclusion Plan is distributed through various methods, incorporated into training classes, and is posted on the City’s internal Website, beachnet (citynet effective July 1, 2011) and external Website, vbgov.com/diversity.

All departments have EEO, Diversity & Inclusion Plans and these plans are distributed to members and posted on their internal Websites. Diversity and inclusion stakeholder groups maintain informational Websites, both

internally and externally. Many departments feature diversity and inclusion topics on their Webpages and in

department newsletters, often including recognition of cultural and historical events and celebrations. Established channels for communication such as the Beam, City Manager’s Update and Member Update are utilized.

In 2010, the Inclusion & Diversity Council (IDC) conducted a workshop with the Management Leadership Team (MLT) and department directors focused on workplace success through inclusion and diversity. The IDC also established several sub- committees to include Strategic Alignment and Communications and the first City-wide “Inclusively Speaking” newsletter was launched. The IDC is currently developing a diversity and inclusion dialogue toolkit to encourage open communication.

Illustration used in EEO, Diversity & Inclusion Training to demonstrate the broad spectrum of diversity

One Destination 27

Foundations for New Supervisors Class

Feedback from Community Members Awareness and Education


Provide more multi-cultural activities such as Heritage Days with events throughout the year. Build dialogue among members with “safe havens” for

discussion and seek insight from all. Push all information, resources and values to all levels of the workforce. Provide cultural competency training to include open

mindedness to differences, and break down of stereotypes and common misconceptions.

Make inclusion efforts ongoing by creating a culture of inclusion from orientation to retirement. Bridge the generation gap with focus on respect for seasoned workers and allowing them to pass on knowledge to the younger generation. Conduct a cultural audit or assessment to understand where we stand as an organization in diversity and inclusion. Mental and physical disabilities need to be addressed through specially designed training. As a City, we are getting better and looking better. We’re

including diversity of thought and perspectives. Increase knowledge of religions and how they impact the work-place, be more aware of religious holidays to promote inclusion and avoid offending anyone. Provide more GLBT sensitivity training to reduce unintentional biases and barriers. Develop employee resource groups to build awareness of

different cultures. Diversity & Inclusion Symposium

“A Menu for Inclusion”

Reprinted by permission from The World Café



Workforce Planning & Development

Workforce Planning & Development is a fundamental planning tool that provides managers

and supervisors with the framework for making human resource decisions to help ensure that

“the right people with the right skills are in the right place at the right time” and to develop

current members to assure future quality service delivery. WFPD recognizes the importance

of diversity and inclusion and supports the equality of individuals of all cultures in the work-

force planning process.

Best Practices:

Departments regularly review their strategic plans to identify and address gaps that may impact programs and services which may include realignment of key positions and identifying needs for departmental, divisional, and unit restructuring.

Highlights:

In 2010, departments completed Phase III of Workforce Planning & Development, which included implementing action steps, ongoing monitoring of trends and issues and reassessing and fine tuning strategies to meet the needs of the workforce. In 2009, departments offered informal efforts such as cross-training, job shadowing and mentoring to lessen the impact of departing members. Departments continue to document processes and procedures, update job descriptions and review hiring processes. Training and development is provided and is accessible to all members. Several

departments have formal programs in place for career planning, leadership development and mentoring.

Departments have developed departmental orientation programs to introduce new members to the environment. Several departments provide paid training academies to prepare new members for the job. Departments utilize supplemental staffing options such as volunteers, contractual

employees, part-time and seasonal staff. A Supplemental Staffing Options Pamphlet was developed to assist departments in meeting their staffing needs.

Telecommuting , work-at-home, and flexible work schedules are being piloted in several departments to help develop programs and policies that balance job expectations and members’ needs.

Several paid leave programs are in place and additional programs to provide unpaid leave when needed are provided. Exit interviews are conducted with departing members to assist in identifying internal trends and issues.

One Destination 29

On the Job—Members of Aquarium, Emergency Medical Services, and

Public Works

Feedback from Community Members Workforce Planning & Development


Offer more flexibility in employment to retain institutional knowledge. Allow members to transition from fulltime to part-time within current position rather than lose them to retire-ment. Increase job sharing opportunities. Revisit tuition reimbursement for professional development. Provide opportunities for aging workforce to mentor younger workforce and transfer accumulated knowledge. Develop new or expand existing mentoring programs and

champion members to volunteer for them.

2010 Diversity & Inclusion Symposium

“A Menu for Inclusion” Reprinted by permission from The World Café


In May, 2010, Libraries was recognized for “2009 Outstanding Staff Development” by the Virginia Public Library Directors Association for their Library College Day to grow well-qualified librarians to meet the needs of today’s libraries. In July 2010, the City of Virginia Beach (nominated by the Public Works Real Estate

Division) was named “Employer of the Year” by the International Right of Way Association (IRWA), for its strong employee support and commitment to the Association.

Sharing Best Practices 2010 Visit from Belgian Firefighters


Our Participating Departments

Also contributing to the promotion of equal employment opportunity, diversity and inclusion in our community and in the workplace…

City Attorney’s Office City Auditor’s Office

City Clerk City Treasurer

Commissioner of the Revenue Commonwealth’s Attorney

Courts

General Registrar Public Health

Real Estate Assessor Virginia Beach Public Schools

Sheriff Volunteer Resources

Voter Registrar

31 One Destination

Each department listed below developed updated EEO, Diversity & Inclusion Plans in 2010.

In Closing

We are committed to positively impacting the Virginia Beach City Council’s

vision for the future — “A Community for a Lifetime—a great place to live,

learn, work and play.”

This Plan, along with additional information, is available at:

www.vbgov.com/Diversity

For questions or a copy of this Plan, please contact the Department of Human

Resources/Diversity Management Group at (757) 385-8042, TTD 711.

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The City of Virginia Beach would like to thank the following City members for their work in developing the 2011 Equal Employment Opportunity, Diversity & Inclusion Plan:

Dawn Chabrol, Libraries

Cordell Finch, Human Resources

Millicent Gallagher, Human Resources

Eileen Ju, Human Resources

Dena Kimball, Parks & Recreation

Monica Kopin, Human Resources

Craig McClure, Communications & Information Technology

Kathy Moore, Emergency Communications & Citizen Services

J.T. Orr, Police

Ginny Page, Police

Susan Steed, Human Resources

Gloria Tanner, Public Works

Olin Walden, Housing & Neighborhood Preservation

Many Paths

Diverse Workforce

One Destination

Photographs by Craig McClure,

City Photographer

many paths diverse workforce - vbgov.com

Documents