File photo of the Lethbridge Police Service station. (Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

Lethbridge Police Service hires firm for new Employee Experience Listening Tour

Feb 18, 2022 | 9:11 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) has started a new initiative focused on the wellbeing of employees.

The service has hired Howatt HR, a human resources firm that specialized in psychological health and safety, to facilitate an Employee Experience Listening Tour starting this month. The process will offer civilian staff the chance to share their experiences in the area of employee and leader behaviour as well as organizational culture.

Challenges and strengths of the employees’ day-to-day experiences will be discussed in one-on-one interviews, along with opportunities to reduce harm, promote mental health and improve workplace culture within the LPS.

Police Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh said, “every employee within the Lethbridge Police Service plays a significant role and their individual contributions on a daily basis combine to make us not only a stronger team, but allows us to meet our goal of providing a safe community for our residents.”

“Our expectation is for all employees to perform their important tasks in a professional manner, and by providing them with a greater voice we can ensure they’re able to fully contribute to a respectful and healthy work place for all.”

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The listening tour follows on the heels of a survey of both civilian and uniformed employees in 2021 to obtain a better understanding of engagement levels within the service.

Over 73 per cent of respondents stated that they were proud to say they work for the LPS, more than 62 per cent were satisfied with the workplace environment and over 69 per cent felt they were valued and respected as a member of the service by their co-workers. More than 84 per cent of respondents agreed that Chief Mehdizadeh’s efforts have resulted in positive changes to move the organization forward.

During the employee engagement process, though, the LPS heard that some areas within the organization require more work, including restoring morale and trust between employees and supervisors.

The LPS said that part of the work that Howatt HR will assist with is helping employees, who may have been negatively impacted by historical incidents, get the supports they require to move to a higher level of employee engagement. In other cases, such as a recently proposed shift change to achieve a better work-life balance for some civilian staff, concerns were raised and have been addressed.

In a release, the LPS stated that, “Lethbridge Police value the contributions of every employee and the essential role they serve.”

“They deserve a healthy workplace culture, and there are a number of ongoing initiatives designed to provide employees with the tools needed to help make that a reality.”

The service noted it is not immune to harassment, but it “will not tolerate conduct that is offensive, intimidates or physically harms others.”

“Employees are encouraged to bring any concerns forward, all complaints are taken seriously, and will be investigated and acted upon thoroughly and promptly.”

The LPS has also updated and enhanced harassment and ethics training and implemented the Respect in the Workplace program. Additionally, the Lethbridge service was the first in Canada to introduce training in Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE), also known as Ethic Policing is Courageous (EPIC), to provide employees with active peer intervention strategies and tactics to prevent misconduct among co-workers.

The release concluded, “the LPS also recognizes the importance of our employees having a greater say in the direction the Service takes moving forward, and the principles which guide its daily operations.”

“Extensive feedback was gained from all employee groups as Lethbridge Police works towards a new Mission, Vision and Values, which is foundational in resetting the workplace culture.”

More on the Lethbridge Police Service is available here.