News
The Tampa Port Authority board of commissioners needs to work on its communication skills, at least when it comes to how it deals with the man who runs the port.
The seven commissioners are not providing port director Richard Wainio with enough feedback, according to an outside firm hired by the port authority to review Wainio's evaluation process.
Hay Group, a human resources consulting firm, was paid $14,800 to review the process after commissioners were unable to agree on the best way to perform the annual evaluation. Commissioners disagreed about whether objective measures, such as profitability and debt payments, should be considered in the review.
Wainio's contract as port director was extended for two years in September, despite criticisms of his relationship with port tenants and businesses.
Hay Group compared Tampa's evaluation standards to those at the Georgia Ports Authority, the Mississippi State Port Authority and the Jacksonville Port Authority. It found that only Jacksonville does not use objective measures in the review of the port director.
Stephanie Sloan, a senior consultant with Hay Group who led the study, told the commissioners that they need to mutually agree on the purpose of the evaluation to provide useful feedback to Wainio. Whether they use objective measures or not, they have to mutually agree.
Wainio told members that he would welcome any feedback the commissioners could give him about his job performance at any time. He even encouraged one-on-one meetings with commissioners and himself.
"Personally, I consider that the single most important element of any evaluation process," he said.
Loading...
