City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: INFORMATION REPORTS
Lead Department: City Manager
Meeting Date: December 8, 2025
Report #:2511-5462
TITLE
City of Palo Alto Organizational Values Refresh
RECOMMENDATION
This is an informational item; no action is needed
BACKGROUND
More than twenty years ago, the City established the organizational values of Quality, Courtesy, Efficiency, Integrity, and Innovation. As would be expected, having this values statement in place for such an extended period has led to a loss of connection to the current workforce and its organizational culture as reflected in the manner through which our staff conduct themselves in providing services to the Palo Alto community.
Much has shifted in recent years, especially since the pandemic changed the way we engage with each other, residents, businesses and other community members, and how we deliver services. As an agile and resilient organization, emerging from the pandemic provided a timely opportunity to revisit and refresh our core values, so they reflect our evolving culture, aspirations, and ways of working.
Organizational values can provide a clear and unifying statement that reflects and reinforces a shared sense of purpose, and the culture we choose to uphold. This can present a unique challenge to cities, given the range of services and interactions involved with municipal services, particularly for a full-service city such as Palo Alto. Undertaking an effort to refresh an organizational values statement can also be a challenge, as commitment to both extensive employee engagement in the effort and ongoing reinforcement following the project are required for the result to be credible and sustainable.
Our approach to this undertaking was built on the foundation of the industry-leading “Special Projects Program” implemented as part of our Positive Work Environment initiative supporting organizational development coming out the pandemic. The Special Projects Program enabled staff from across the City to volunteer for projects that would help develop new skills on topics of interest. The Organizational Values Refresh project was undertaken during the second cycle of special projects. At this point the positive impact of the Special Projects Program had been established and broad workforce participation achieved. As an organizational development effort, this project is intended to complement and work in harmony with the Council Values reflected in the City Council Procedures and Protocols Handbook.
PROCESS OVERVIEW & EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
The refresh of the City’s Organizational Values was guided by citywide efforts to strengthen employee engagement, inclusion, and an organizational culture that aligns with our evolving service delivery environment. This work is built on a framework of organizational and individual responsibility that integrates the dimensions of how we present ourselves and interact with others (People), how we view our work; our “why” (Purpose), and the methods and systems that guide our day-to-day actions (Practice).
To achieve the task, a structured six-month process was undertaken inviting voices from across our organization. Participants from each department and office were invited to join an Organizational Values Refresh special project team. Their role included serving as focus-group leaders, helping interpret input, and guiding departmental feedback with a citywide lens.
Every department held focus group discussions to address three key questions:
Are the existing values (Quality, Courtesy, Efficiency, Integrity, Innovation) still relevant? What additional values are essential for our organization to succeed in the current and future environment?
Which values help us serve our customers/clients and each other with integrity? What words or phrases represent the type of culture we want to create? To ensure every employee had the opportunity to participate and feedback was incorporated at every level of the organization, a citywide survey was distributed. The survey asked questions around employees’ perceptions of the current values, their alignment with the organization’s culture, and what values they believe should guide our future. The survey also solicited comments on how values could be exemplified in everyday practice.
The values team analyzed the survey results and distilled feedback into a set of four values.
They also generated rich qualitative feedback on how those values are currently lived (and how we could do better), and what behaviors we want to reinforce. The top values and accompanying behavioral descriptions were brought back to departments for the second round of focus groups. These sessions asked for feedback on the proposed values: Do they resonate? Are the descriptions clear? How might they be lived in practice? Participants provided input on narrowing the list and refining language. Throughout the process, the Executive Leadership Team provided guidance, reviewed findings, encouraged department-level participation, and ensured alignment with our broader organizational goals. Noteworthy feedback from the engagement process included:
Employees across the organization consistently affirmed the importance of integrity, respect, innovation, and service excellence, while also signaling a strong desire for a culture that is more collaborative, inclusive, and adaptive. Many noted that our traditional values are sound, but the definition and language feel dated and do not fully reflect, for example, our increasing digital service delivery, remote/hybrid work arrangements, and continued emphasis on community trust and employee well-being.
Survey comments highlighted that “living our values” means not just words on the wall, but observable daily behaviors: how we treat colleagues, how we connect with residents, how we innovate responsibly and respectfully. A recurring theme was the importance of empowerment, both of employees and residents, to shape outcomes, solve problems, and deliver services in new, more responsive ways.
Recommended Values
The four values and descriptors that emerged from this review and engagement:
Respect
Exemplify integrity, courtesy, inclusion and professionalism Innovation
Develop creative solutions for continuous improvement
Service
Demonstrate excellence through purpose driven, collaborative problem solving Empowerment
Cultivate learning growth and shared success
These values emerged as clear, resonant, and representative of how our workforce wants to work and serve the Palo Alto community. Further, the values themselves create a short and catchy and word that would not only serve as an aspirational term, but a memorable acronym RISE, making it even more effective. Being able to Live our values means that the values are not only aspirational, but also relevant and reinforced in our everyday work.
To make this tangible, a guide, and accompanying communications toolkit, of ideas for embedding the values into new staff onboarding, performance conversations, recognition programs and service delivery standards will soon be developed. A citywide employee recognition program designed around recognizing exemplary examples of these City values in action is also being finalized. A periodic check-in to assess how well the values are being integrated and refocus efforts as needed is also anticipated.
This project was only possible due to the efforts of everyone who participated: the organizational values team and focus group participants, all employees that completed the survey and provided feedback, and the Executive Leadership Team that provided ongoing support. These voices and engagement shaped a set of values that will strengthen our organization, guide our service to the public and support our culture of continuous improvement well into the future.
FISCAL/RESOURCE IMPACT
None
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
The effort was led by a citywide Special Projects team represented by staff from the following departments and offices: Administrative Services, Community Services Department, Human Resources, Information Technology, Library, Planning and Development Services, Public Works, Utilities, Public Safety, Transportation, and Council Appointed Officers. A series of meetings and focus groups with the Executive Leadership Team and staff across the organization were held to gather input and facilitate discussions on organizational values. A citywide staff survey was also deployed to ensure everyone had an opportunity to participate. The results were shared organization-wide during the City Manager’s October all staff meeting.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This informational report is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
ATTACHMENTS
None
APPROVED BY:
Ed Shikada, City Manager