Why Bridgeport? Treating City Employees, Volunteers Well Leads to Better Treatment of City's Customers
By Jon Griffith on November 23, 2024 from Why Bridgeport?
“The customer comes first” is a management adage repeated frequently by business leaders. Conceptually, assuring your customers are happy and satisfied is an undeniably good idea. Unfortunately, achieving that goal can be more difficult than it sounds.
The challenge is that customers must deal with the business’s employees. Employees may or may not embrace the concept of putting customers first to the same degree as management. That disconnect can spell trouble for a business or organization.
Achieving the goal of happy and satisfied customers may require a new way of thinking for those in leadership. Instead of the mantra of 
“putting customers first,” a smarter strategy may be putting employees first. Respected, happy, engaged, and satisfied employees are more likely to serve your customers well.
“putting customers first,” a smarter strategy may be putting employees first. Respected, happy, engaged, and satisfied employees are more likely to serve your customers well.
For a municipality, our customers are our citizens. To those on the city council and in city government administration, it means our citizens come first. Based on my previous hypothesis, this would mean we need to focus on putting our municipal employees first. In the City of Bridgeport, we do a great job of caring for our employees. However, there is always room for improvement.
In my coaching days, I quickly learned that the best teams were those that each team member understood they were valued and an important part of the group. I spent significant time ensuring they knew I cared about and valued them and their contributions. My opening day speech every season began with some version of this idea:
“I don’t care who your parents are. I don’t care what kind of car you drive, how big your house is, or who you know. What I care about is 
you. I care about your effort, dedication, and improvement. I care about what kind of person you are. I care about your character. Great teams depend on the efforts of every team member. Great people make great teams. You are important. Every person matters, every point counts.”
you. I care about your effort, dedication, and improvement. I care about what kind of person you are. I care about your character. Great teams depend on the efforts of every team member. Great people make great teams. You are important. Every person matters, every point counts.”
From my first days on Council until today, I have prioritized talking with our employees, learning about their jobs, and expressing my extreme appreciation for what they do. I do this because I value them, their input, and their contributions to the team. This applies to every one of our employees.
From the guys down in the ditches working on water and sewer lines, the parks and rec employees cutting grass in our parks on those 90-degree-plus days, our finance staff processing mountains of data and paperwork, the police officers and firefighters risking their lives protecting the city and its residents, all the way up to the department heads and city manager. All of our employees are valuable and important to the effective operation of the city and providing first-class service to our residents.
This same concept applies to those who serve on our boards, committees, and commissions. The work they do on behalf of the city is invaluable. They help to distill information and ideas on the ground level, assess and evaluate ideas and projects, and provide recommendations and input to the council.
I attend as many meetings of our fourteen boards, committees, and commissions as possible. Not only do I learn a tremendous amount each time, but I also want to show the volunteer members of those groups that I appreciate their efforts and that what they do is very
important and impactful for the city.
important and impactful for the city.
As long as I am involved in the City Council in any capacity, I will always fight for our employees and volunteers. Why? I genuinely care about them and what they do, and they will serve our community and residents better when they know they are valued and respected.
“Why Bridgeport?” Whether you are coaching cross country athletes and asking them to run 10 miles on a hot and humid August morning or looking to a public works employee to get out of bed in the middle of a frigid February night to fix a broken water line, good people will always give you their best when they know you believe in them and have their backs.
When our municipal employees and volunteers are respected, happy, engaged, and dedicated, they will give their all and go above and beyond to improve our community. We are blessed to have great employees and volunteers here in Bridgeport. They are outstanding people who take pride in their work and the city. Their efforts are one of the primary reasons we are the envy of communities across the state and region.
The Bridgeport City Council and municipal administration understand that our residents come first, and to make that happen, we know we need to put our employees and volunteers first.
Editor's Note: Top photos show city staff hard at work, while VIPS (Volunteers in Police Service) members are shown below.
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