Fall is considered by some to be the best time of year for a reset — setting new routines, clarifying goals, and building momentum before the new year. In this issue, we focus our attention on an aspect of the court system that is often overlooked: employee engagement through the lens of team building and professional development programs. These topics are extremely important to the proper functioning of the justice system. With the slower pace of fall upon us, now is the perfect time to review or establish such initiatives.
As we learned during this year’s annual conference in July, promoting and maintaining public trust and confidence is an essential component of the role courts play in society. By offering professional development opportunities for court staff to grow and fostering a collaborative team environment through team-building practices, court leaders can improve employee engagement by positively altering institutional culture and job satisfaction. The resulting impact of such efforts will ultimately trickle down to the end user, the public, by improving the quality of services provided.
We hope the visions shared by the authors motivate you to continue the discussion surrounding the importance of human capital within the judicial branch and encourage you to embrace employee engagement efforts as a primary and strategic initiative for the continued modernization of the court system.
