MRSC Insight Blog

Posts for Administration and Management

Employment Law Q&A: What Local Government Employers Need to Know

April 8, 2026 by Flannary Collins
Category: Administration and Management , Compensation , Leave Policies , Recruitment and Hiring , Termination and Retirement

What must Washington local governments know at each stage of employment? What are the rules for job postings, comp time, benefits, leave, discipline, Loudermill rights, etc. when hiring, managing, and separating employees?

What Employee Recognition Programs Need to Succeed in Local Government

March 31, 2026 by Alicia Bones
Category: Administration and Management , Compensation

Employee recognition programs don't need to be large or elaborate to be successful. Cities and counties across the state have looked at agency needs, culture, and goals to develop programs that make employees feel their work is appreciated.

Building Your Bench: Succession Planning the Lake Stevens Way

September 3, 2025 by Anya Warrington
Category: Guest Author , Administration and Management

The City of Lake Stevens has been using an innovative approach to retain and support staff as part of long-term, holistic succession planning program, including offering employees short-term opportunities in leadership roles and launching a bootcamp for future leaders.

2025 New Legislation Impacting Employment-Related Public Records

July 21, 2025 by Sarah Doar
Category: Administration and Management , Public Records Act , New Legislation and Regulations

Two new public records-related bills clarify the process for employee access to their own employment records and add exemptions to protect employee-identifying information in records related to investigations of unfair employment discrimination and harassment.

Building Bridges, Not Walls: Conflict Resolution Tools

December 30, 2024 by Linda Gallagher
Category: Administration and Management , Inclusive Communities

While workplace conflict is unavoidable for a variety of reasons, there are many tools teams and individuals can use to navigate challenges more constructively, and to end with results that promote reconciliation rather than reinforce divisions.

Managing Conflict at Work with Strategies that Actually Work

October 9, 2023 by Amy Leneker
Category: Guest Author , Administration and Management

By putting certain strategies into place, organizations and teams can set themselves up for healthy conflict that results in better outputs and greater inclusion and satisfaction among employees.

Dealing with Difficult Behavior

July 5, 2022 by Linda Gallagher
Category: Administration and Management

Dealing with people who exhibit difficult behavior can be a challenge, whether they are coworkers, acquaintances, or members of the public. Here are some strategies that can help local government staff and officials make the next encounter less stressful.

Making Government Work Attractive

June 23, 2022 by Tracy Burrows , Leah LaCivita
Category: Administration and Management

How can local governments build a strong workplace culture that engages current staff and attracts new workers? Here are some ideas, including a case study from the City of Issaquah.

ADR: Negotiation and Facilitation

September 14, 2020 by Linda Gallagher
Category: Administration and Management

This blog post provides an overview of negotiation and facilitation, two Alternative Dispute Resolution tools.

Want Better Teamwork? Take More Breaks

September 16, 2019 by Byron Katsuyama
Category: Administration and Management

A recent study suggests that team members in problem-solving groups need time alone as well as face-to-face meetings to get the best possible group results.

Risk Management Strategies

April 1, 2019 by Roger Neal
Category: Guest Author , Administration and Management

This blog examines three strategies you can use to manage risks: risk prevention/control, risk reduction, and risk avoidance/ transfer.

An Introduction to Risk Management

October 15, 2018 by Roger Neal
Category: Guest Author , Administration and Management

In this blog, guest author Roger Neal examines the basic elements of local government risk management, including the benefits of risk management, risk assessment, prioritization, and the adoption of risk management response strategies.

Retaining Institutional Knowledge in the Wake of the Silver Tsunami

June 18, 2018 by Byron Katsuyama
Category: Administration and Management

This blog focuses on the potential loss of institutional knowledge that the silver tsunami may leave in its wake, and some ways your organization may be able to capture and retain this valuable knowledge.

Easy Problem Solving Using the 4-step Method

June 7, 2017 by Jennifer Haury
Category: Guest Author , Leadership and Management , Administration and Management

Is your worksite suffering from 'change fatigue' and your staff, leery of any new improvements? Guest author Jennifer Haury offers a 4-step problem solving method to help you avoid making new changes that ultimately fail to address old, underlying issues.

Succession Planning: Navigating the Incoming Wave

April 3, 2017 by Lynn Nordby
Category: Administration and Management

The accelerating retirement of public sector workers born between 1946-64 is predicted to hit like a wave. This post looks as what some local governments in Washington are doing to plan for the expected leadership turnover.

Don’t Do That! Part Two

February 1, 2017 by Lynn Nordby
Category: Administration and Management

Part 2 of this 2-part series on the “worst” leadership habits identifies at least one, agreed-upon bad habit that leaders everywhere should avoid at all costs.

A 4-Step Approach to Progressive Discipline

October 11, 2016 by Marci Wright
Category: Guest Author , Administration and Management

Clear and consistent guidelines allow supervisors to manage employee disciplinary issues while providing employees with the information and the opportunity to improve performance. Supervisors often coach and counsel employees to fix minor behavioral- or performance-related issues but a template, such as the 4-step progressive discipline process, gives an employers tools to proactively manage more challenging cases.