‘Constant bullying.’ Franklin County HR director is the 3rd to resign over toxicity
Franklin County is set to lose another Human Resources director over toxic behavior in the county.
HR Director Sam Hughes’ resignation was announced Friday by the county’s new administrator Mike Gonzalez.
The move comes just two months after Hughes warned commissioners that if elected officials continued to contribute to a toxic environment, she would be leaving.
“I am leaving the county on April 19, 2023 due to what I feel is constant bullying in the workplace,” Hughes wrote in her resignation email.
“While we have a policy, have confronted negative and aberrant behaviors over the last 7 months, there needs to be an absolute intolerance for this conduct at all levels,” she said. “These individuals ‘never’ believe they have a problem yet three HR directors, two county administrators, one public works director and approximately 45 staff have left in the last 13 months.”
“Despite all that, there are some really fine people here,” Hughes wrote. “I would like to thank Clint (Didier), Rocky (Mullen), Duane (Davidson), (Mike Gonzalez), Larry (Ziegler), Matt (Beaton), some electeds and the 98% of staff including mine who are collaborative, fun and whom I will miss.”
She is the third HR director to leave the county in less than 18 months.
Building tension
When Hughes warned she was considering resigning back in February, she compared the situation to the movie “War of the Roses” in which a couple going through a divorce try to drive one another out of their shared home.
“I had one of the worst days professionally yesterday, which made me really examine whether I want to continue to work here or not,” she said at the time.
“Rather than going to work and having positive experiences, which is normal to me, I feel like I’ve stepped into a scene from (the film) War of the Roses. I am not 100% dead here, but I plan to meet with some of you to see what we can do to stop the exodus of personnel and the carnage that disrupts this organization on a continual basis.”
It was unclear what she was talking about during that February meeting, but in the two months since, at least one reason has become apparent: conflicts with the sheriff’s office.
At one point Sheriff Jim Raymond asked commissioners to spin off human resources for his employees over issues involving the civil service exams.
While the issue with the civil service exams was never fully explained in public, the county did recently approve moving the examiner position to a standalone, part-time role.
The departure comes just two weeks after the county’s new administrator began work. That hiring also was contentious, with commissioners disagreeing over the process, qualifications of candidates and the pay structure.
“I want to make is clear I’m not leaving because of Mike Gonzalez,” Hughes said in the statement. “Mike is a great guy and has a big task ahead of him but if he can bring unity to the courthouse, Franklin County will be a fabulous place to work.”
Hughes also had to navigate a series of raises that were approved by the commission, then later rescinded.
Resignation
Gonzalez said in a news release that he had a “very positive conversation with Hughes about the next steps for the office” after she signaled Wednesday her intent to leave.
“I talked with Sam about her reasons for leaving at this time. I accepted her resignation with a heavy heart. Her reasons are very personal and she asked me not to share those,” Gonzalez said in the news release.
“But she assured me that she is committed to Franklin County and helping me with the transition as she takes the next steps in her career. She will be available even when she leaves to answer questions for us. So, I’m very grateful she will work with us when she departs. I really appreciate how gracious she been with me during this time.”
Longtime Franklin County employee Margot Wilder has been moved into the interim HR director position.
Gonzalez said she has nearly two decades with the county, much of that in the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Her current role is HR generalist II, making her the most senior member of Hughes’ staff.
“Sam and I talked about Margot Wilder stepping into the Interim HR Director role,” Gonzalez said. “Margot is capable, talented and is very familiar with our system. I’m confident that she will pick up right where Ms. Hughes left off.”
Gonzalez said Wilder will inherit several large projects the county is working on, including a salary survey, classification and job description review.
“Director Hughes has assured me that she will work with Ms. Wilder to make sure there’s a smooth hand-off of this extremely important project,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez said he was disappointed to see Hughes resign, but understands she’s faced many of the same challenges that others in her position have over the past few years. He said that he felt like the office is headed in the right direction though.
That sentiment also was noted by some county commissioners as well after Hughes addressed the situation in February.
Gonzalez said in the news release that he is committed to addressing the issues with employee dissatisfaction.
“I feel great about Margot coming in and leading our team. We recently hired an additional assistant that will onboard this month,” Gonzalez said.
“In regards to Director Hughes, some of the things she shared with me I’m going to look at closely,” he said. “I want to make sure each of our employees come to work feeling empowered, enthusiastic and fulfilled. I truly wish her the best because she is a good person who will be missed by her staff.”
Third in 2 years
Hughes accepted the HR director position in October 2022, after the previous two HR directors left in the span of a year, also citing workplace toxicity.
Longtime HR Director Carlee Nave left in January 2022 saying she was joining an organization where she wouldn’t have to worry about surprise termination or public ridicule.
She worked with Tri-Cities Community Health until October and is now the head of HR for Benton County, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Her replacement, Eric Wyant, served in the role from January 2022 through August. Before that he worked under Nave.
His resignation stated he had been placed in the middle of fights between elected officials. He is now the assistant HR manager for Benton County, according to his LinkedIn profile.
