(A) The County is committed to making its business a good place for all employees to work. This goal is achieved by developing and maintaining a cooperative working relationship among employees based on mutual respect and understanding. Employee opinions, thoughts, and feelings are important, and the County recognizes the need for procedures that will allow employees to bring questions, suggestions and concerns to its attention. At the same time, it is important to recognize and follow the chain of command since many problems or concerns can be best addressed by those closest to the problem.
(B) Employees should feel comfortable in discussing any questions, comments or matters of concern with his/her supervisor or department head, taking into account the following suggested steps:
(1) Employees should organize their thoughts on the issue;
(2) Adhere to the chain of command by first contacting one's immediate supervisor;
(3) If the issue cannot be resolved with the supervisor, the employee should schedule a meeting with the next person in the chain of command. If all other levels of the chain of command have been exhausted, the employee may wish to discuss the matter with the elected official over that individual's department.
(C) In order to assist employees in following these guidelines, each department and division should establish and inform its employees of the chain of command (for that department/division).
(D) While the County may not be able to fully address every issue, every effort will be made to assist employees and take their opinions into consideration.