Un«»d Slim Environmental
Washington. DC 204«Q
OSWER Directive Initiation Request
1. Direcuv*
9230.0-13
Orlglnitof Information
N«m« of Contact Person
Melissa Shapiro
MU Cod*
OS-220
Office
HSCD
TUT
Minimizing Problems Caused by Staff Turnover
4, Summary of Directive (include fine! statement ol purpose)
Presents suggestions to assist Regions in minimizing community
relations problems caused by frequent turnover of Superfund staff.
S, Keywords
St. Does This Directive Supersede Previous D'rectrve(s)?
6. Don R Supplement Previous Directives}?
No
No
I I Yes Whit dirtcttYt (numb*, UU«)
Yes Whit dlrectJve (numb«r. tK«)
/. Dnn Lev*
xxj B-Sgn«dbyOfHe«Dlftctof [ [ C - For Review A Comment [ | D - tn D^vetopfrw.t
8. Document to bt distributed to States by Headquarters? I I Y»
No
Betti C. VanEpps, OERR Directives Coordinator
12/19/90
10. Name •nd Title of Approving Omoai
Henry L. "Longest II/ Director, QERR
D«te
12/19/90
EPA Form 1315-17 (Rev. S-17) Prtvnus editions vt obsolete.
OSWER OSWER OSWER O
VE DIRECTIVE DIRECTIVE DIRECTIVE
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UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
WASHIf.:'GTOI'I. D.C. 20460
DEC 1 9 1990
OFF.CE:F .
SOLID WAS~E AND EM::QGE';~" ":::=.',:
OSWER Directive #9230.0-13
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: .
Minimizing Problems Caused by Staff Turnover.
(Superfund Management Review: Recommendation
.#43 M,N,O)
FROM:
Henry L. Longest II, Director
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response
TO:
Director, Waste Management Division
Regions I, IV, V, VII, VIII
Director, Emergency and Remedial Response Division
Region II
Director, Hazardous Waste Management Division
Regions III, VI
Director, Toxic and Waste Management Division
. Region IX
Director, Hazardous Waste Division
Region X
Purpose: To minimize community relations problems caused by
the frequent turnover of EPA Superfund staff.
. Background: The Superfund Management Review (SMR) found
that staff turnover often hinders communication between EPA staff
and affected communities. The SMR suggests that many important.
goals of the Superfun!i Community Relations Program, such as
maintaining consistent contact with citizens to secure their
trust and confidence in EPA, are not being met, and will not be
met, if EPA staff do not work together to maintain continuity
both within the Agency and with the community. .
~~ . .
Problems resulting from staff turnover will likely occur if
community members are not aware that a staff change has been made'
or why it has been made. The problems increase if the hew staff
member is not familiar with the history of the site, past .
community relations activities at the site, and/or the personal
relationship that his or her predecesso~ had with the community.
Implementation: The SMR pffers the following
recommendations to Regional Superfund teams to help maintain
continuity throughout staff turnover:
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OSWER Directive #9230.0-13
,1) Communicate staff chanaes to the community as soon as
possible. Sharing staff changes with the public is without a
doubt the most effective way to minimize the problems caused by
turnover. EPA should inform ~he community of staff changes
either before they occur or as soon after as possible. The
fOllowing techniques offer methods to maintain continuity with
communities despite inevitable complications ,caused by
geographical constraints, abrupt staff resignations, and lengthy
position vacancies.
o
Send out notices and/or fact sheets to inform community
members of an approaching staff change.' If the change
is sudden, and advance notice is not possible, send the
notices out' as soon after the change as possible. If it is
not feasible to develop a written notice specifically for the
purpose of explaining the staff transition, include the
information in the next site mailing that is 'distributed,
regardless of its primary intent.
Subject to approval by the particular employees involved,
include information about why the change is occurring,
where the departing employee will be working, and a
profile of the new employee including his or her credentials.
This .isparticularlyimportant at sites where the community
h~s requested that an, employee be replaced, and then for some
unrelated reason, that employee actually leaves the Agency.
o
o
Introduce the new employee to local officials and community
leaders who are involved at the site. This provides an
opportunity, either by telephone or through direct contact,
to respond to questions and concerns they may have about the
change.
"Pass the torch" during a public forum, such as a public
meeting, and have the outgoing staff member introduce his
or her replacement. Introductions should include a short
profile of the new staff member, and the outgoing staff.
member should give a brief statement about his or her
destination. Although this is the most effective way to
introduce new staff to the community, a few constraints can
make this type of event difficult. For'example, often an
outgoing employee does not give ample notice to allow time to
pla~ such a meeting, or leaves before the meeting takes
place, or the position does not get filled immediately,
leaving no one to whom the torch may be passed.
2) Educate new staff about the site's history. the
community's involvement .and concerns. and the importance of those
. concerns. Regions should establish a close working relationship
between community. Relations Coordinators (CRCs) and Remedial
I.
o.
2
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OSWER Directive #9230.0-13
,
Project Manager~ (Rr~s) to ensure that new staff receive
community relations information immediately upon their arrival in
the Regional office or their assignment to a new site. If, for
example, an RPM is new to a site, the CRC should be responsible
for welcoming the RPM, handing over detailed site-related
information, and. briefing them on any community concerns that
developed during the tenure of the previous RPM. This should
liter.ally happen during the new RPM's first day on the job.
Regions also should utilize their experienced senior staff to
advise new RPMs and, CRCs, and help them to "learn the ropes." .
3) Maintain c{.ntinuitv on the site team. If one member of a
team leaves, the other should not leave soon, if possible. For
example, if the RPM is replaced, the CRC should remain, and vice
versa. Management should consider the continuity of the team
before reassigning staff. This will help mitigate the problems
associated with major personnel changes.
4) Provide communications traininq to all Superfund staff
who deal directlv with the public. Provide community relations
skills.training for new staff members as soon as they come on
board to prepare them for community relations activities.
If turnover is too .frequent to hold training every time a new
person comes on bQard, at least insure that the new person is
given a community relations handbook and is briefed about basic
community relatiotls skills until ~e or she can attend a training.
If possible, develop an abridged community relations training, or
mini-training, to prepare new staff members untii they can attend
a more formal , comprehensive training. . .
Conclusion: Frequent staff turnover within the Superfund
program can be a detriment to community relations at Superfund
sites. The strong, positive rapport EPA strives to build with
citizens must not be undermined by poor continuity between
Superfund and the public, and within the Superfund staff. By
utilizing the siDiple,.yet effective, techniques mentioned above,
Regions can minimize the disruption caused by staff turnover.
For more information regarding community relations in
Superfund, contac:t. .Melissa Shapiro or Jeff Langholz. of my staff
at FTS 398-8340 and FTS 398-8341, respectively. .
--
cc.:.
Regional Community Relations Coordiriators (I-X)
3
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