Driving change within RTD: Join the Employee Ownership Task Force

The EOTF is a collective of RTD employees spanning many divisions, both salaried and represented by Amalgamated Transit Union 1001, that are tasked with identifying solutions to the agency’s workforce’s biggest issues, all while supporting the agency’s strategic priority of Employee Ownership.

Jane Sullivan and Ben Celius, RTD’s senior performance analysts, oversee the EOTF.

“The EOTF is a way to give our frontline employees a way to impact the strategic work of the agency,” Celius said.

Formed as a product of the 2021 Employee Survey, the EOTF identifies ways to address key issues that emerged from the survey to improve the employee experience and make RTD a great place to work – and thrive. This year’s EOTF will be tasked with exploring key focus areas of security, internal communication and retention, with a “boots on the ground” approach.

“We can come up with impactful solutions if we better understand challenges and the environment, and there’s nobody better to highlight those challenges than employees themselves,” Sullivan said.

EOTF members are expected to participate in employee outreach, having conversations and making connections with their peers so the task force can better understand the areas that need the most improvement, how to make effective improvements to those areas and to acquire recommendations for solutions.

“Our hope is that the employees will have a better understanding of what will work and what won’t work,” Celius said.

EOTF members working on the key issues of security, retention and internal communications will be supported through active involvement of “project champions.” Three key individuals were identified who are actively involved in each of the key focus areas and serve as a direct liaison, or “champion,” to the EOTF and can identify channels of improvement and feedback regarding these areas. These individuals are:

• Laurie Huff, Internal and Executive Communications Manager (Internal Communication)
• Mandi Singleton, Learning and Training Specialist (Retention)
• Broderick Fowler, Transit Police Commander (Security)

“The EOTF provides employees with the opportunity to learn, grow and connect with those outside of their responsibilities that they may not have otherwise worked with,” Sullivan said.

Interested in making a difference at RTD? Applications for the 2024 Employee Ownership Task Force are now available on the Hub! Fill out the digital form or request a paper copy from a manager or supervisor by Feb. 14. For questions regarding the application process, send an email to [email protected].