Wadena County Commissioners: Exploring organizational changes and considering HR and administrator revisions
by Trinity Gruenberg
The Wadena County Commissioners held their regular meeting on Tuesday, January 14.
Organizational Structure
Interim Administrator Jennifer Westrum presented her initial impressions of the county’s organizational structure and identified areas for potential improvement.
She noted that many department heads have a high number of direct reports, which can limit their ability to manage and support their staff effectively. The ideal range is 7-9 direct reports per manager.
She listed several liabilities centered around inconsistent HR practices, lack of performance management, confidentiality concerns, and gaps in critical HR functions like onboarding and unemployment appeals. Addressing these areas was essential to reduce the county’s overall liability exposure.
Westrum suggested separating the HR duties from the administrator role. The administrator currently has too many responsibilities, including managing the maintenance department, solid waste, and IT, and she felt it wasn’t a good use of the administrator’s time.
She recommended creating a dedicated HR director position rather than spreading the HR functions across multiple staff. This would allow for better HR processes, policies, and employee management. She added some employees have been there for over 20 years and have never received a performance review, which is against their policies. There also isn’t a uniform method of hiring for different departments, and discipline for employees without investigations....
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