Municipal HR Best Practices

Instructor:  Roseann McGrath

Roseann McGrath is a trusted HR advisor with 38 years of experience, including over 22 years as Human Resources Director for Lower Merion Township. A former municipal executive leader, she also brings HR expertise from healthcare and employment services. Since retiring, she has provided HR consulting focused on compliance, strategy, and performance, guided by the belief that human capital is an organization’s most valuable asset

This session is designed to be interactive. To encourage open discussion and active participation, this session will not be recorded. Come prepared to turn on your camera, share your thoughts, and participate in the conversation. Your experiences and insights will help make the learning meaningful for everyone

Course Description

Do HR Right—Strengthen Your Skills to Support People, Performance, and Public Service

Build a workplace that is fair, respectful, and productive—where people want to stay and succeed

Our employees are our most valued asset and most important strength. Managing human capital is just as important as managing financial capital and therefore should be given the same priority (if not more).

As local government professionals are increasingly asked to do more with fewer resources—often balancing multiple roles—strong HR practices are essential. Whether you are a new HR professional to municipal management or perform HR responsibilities in a non-typical HR role this is the ideal session for you.

Participants will gain essential HR knowledge and skills, from transactional fundamentals to strategic, transformational practices. The course provides ready‑to‑use tools such as checklists, templates, job descriptions, performance evaluations, employee handbooks, and policies.

Beyond compliance, the course emphasizes employee engagement and organizational culture. Participants will learn how to foster a safe, inclusive, and respectful workplace that supports open communication, accountability, fairness, and mutual trust. The program offers an overview of best practices for human resources management in local government, focusing on leadership, innovation, diversity, equity, inclusion, performance excellence, and legal compliance—ultimately building a resilient, agile, and empowered workforce.

Key Topics

• Employee relations
• Recruitment and retention strategies
• Performance management
• Compliance with employment law
• Disciplinary actions, documentation, and appeals
• Proactive measures to prevent issues

Who Should Attend

• This practical, interactive course is designed for new and experienced HR professionals, municipal managers, and staff who handle HR responsibilities outside of a traditional HR role
• Municipal supervisory and management staff
• HR Professionals
• Elected, newly elected, and appointed officials

By the end of this course, participants can expect to be able to:

1. Build and maintain positive relationships between your municipality and its employees
2. Attract and hire qualified candidates, as well as list strategies to retain top talent
3. Describe the elements of a performance management system
4. Locate resources to ensure that all HR practices adhere to local, state, and federal employment laws
5. List the procedures for addressing employee misconduct or performance issues.
6. Explain the importance of developing and implementing policies and practices to prevent HR-related problems before they arise

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Registration

• Send a message to lla@pml.org for group rates for 10 or more registrants
• By registering for this course, you are authorizing the League Learning Academy to forward information to you at your email address related to educational offerings.
• Once your registration is completed, you should receive a confirmation email from The PA Municipal League. It contains the zoom link to the course. If you do not receive an email, check your spam folder.
• Participants must attend the entire 6-hour session to earn a course certificate.

Cancellation & No‑Show Policy

• Cancellations must be submitted in writing at least 72 hours before the class to receive a full refund.
• Cancellations after 72 hours may receive a partial refund, minus a processing fee.
• No‑shows or failure to cancel will forfeit the full registration fee