City of Oregon City: Assessment to Transformation
Location: City of Oregon City, Oregon
Sector: Municipal Government
Lead Consultant: Dr. Lamont W. Browne
Engagement: Multi-year strategic partnership (2022–Present)
The BreakPoint
Oregon City faced challenges familiar to many municipal governments: Opportunities to strenthen leadership practices and outcomes, inconsistent performance management, and questions about whether their organizational culture could support the workforce they needed to build.
They didn't need another consultant to validate what they already knew. They needed a partner willing to diagnose what was actually broken and help them build something better.
The Challenge
City leadership identified several critical gaps:
Leadership alignment: Department heads weren't operating from a shared framework
Employee engagement: Staff felt disconnected from decision-making and organizational direction
Communication breakdowns: Information wasn't flowing effectively across departments
Leadership development: No clear pipeline for developing future leaders
Performance management: Inconsistent practices made accountability difficult
The ask wasn't for a report. It was for a roadmap they could actually execute.
The Approach:
Phase 1: Comprehensive Organizational Assessment
The engagement began with a deep diagnostic of Oregon City's organizational infrastructure:
Staff engagement sessions: Interviews and facilitated discussions across all departments
Culture analysis: Identifying what was working, what wasn't, and why
Leadership practices review: Evaluating how decisions were made, communicated, and implemented
Communication audit: Mapping information flow and identifying breakdowns
Strategic action plan development: Translating findings into clear, prioritized recommendations
The resulting DEI and organizational culture framework didn't just name problems: it gave leadership a practical roadmap for addressing them.
1. Employee Stay Survey & Workforce Insights
Designed and facilitated a citywide survey to understand why employees stay, what drives engagement, and where leadership could improve retention.
Survey design and administration
Focus groups with employee representatives
Data analysis and trend identification
Leadership presentations with actionable recommendations
Phase 2: Multi-Year Strategic Partnership
Because of the credibility and results established in Phase 1, Oregon City retained BreakPoint for five additional strategic initiatives:
2. Organizational Excellence Action Plan
Translated survey findings into a comprehensive improvement strategy, including:
Design of a citywide employee recognition program
Department-specific recognition systems
Clear priorities for leadership action
3. Leadership Development & Supervisor Training
Delivered practical training that strengthened supervisory capacity across the organization:
Setting clear performance expectations
Coaching employees effectively
Managing performance issues with accountability and empathy
Building positive, high-performing team cultures
4. Performance Management System Redesign
Partnered with Human Resources to rebuild the City's performance management framework:
Created consistency across departments
Built in regular coaching and feedback mechanisms
Made evaluation processes more effective and less burdensome
5. Leadership Pipeline Development
Established an Aspiring Leaders Cohort to build long-term leadership capacity:
Identified high-potential employees
Provided structured training and mentorship
Created pathways for internal promotion
The Results
0%
Attendence in Optional Training Sessions
0%
Increase in Employee Satisfaction
0%
Increase in Survey Engagement
Clearer performance expectations and accountability structures
100% of staff state improvement in communication and clarity of expectations
Increased investment in leadership development and internal promotion
92% of participants would recommend the Aspiring Leaders Cohort to another colleague.
100% of leadership vacancies filled by internal staff during tenure with client
Sustained organizational improvement through multi-year partnership
Established a new set of operating principles to drive that enhances employee engagement, satisfaction, and performance
What Made the Difference
Most consulting engagements end with a report. This one evolved into a five-project, multi-year partnership because the work delivered results leaders could see and staff could feel.
The initial assessment didn't just identify problems, it built the trust and credibility needed for deeper, more complex transformation work.
What Staff Said
The Break Point Difference
Oregon City didn't need a one-time assessment. They needed a partner capable of:
Deep
diagnosis
Going beyond surface symptoms to identify structural root causes
Practical
strategy
Translating insights into actionable, implementable plans
Sustained partnership
Staying engaged through implementation, not disappearing after the report
Capacity building
Equipping internal leaders to sustain improvements long-term
This is what transformation looks like when organizations choose courage over comfort.
Ready to Rebuild?
If your organization is facing similar challenges, leadership misalignment, retention struggles, or performance management systems that aren't working, let's talk.