The Challenge

The Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority (CMCMUA) is a public authority responsible for wastewater treatment, solid waste management, and recycling services that support communities throughout Cape May County.

While CMCMUA was staffed by committed public-sector professionals, leadership recognized growing challenges related to attracting and retaining talent, modernizing HR practices, and gaining clearer insight into employee engagement. The organization initially sought support for a compensation study; however, early discovery revealed that compensation was only one part of a broader opportunity.

Recruitment methods had not kept pace with modern labor market expectations, onboarding lacked consistency, and CMCMUA had never conducted a formal employee engagement survey. Without a holistic view of the employee lifecycle, it was difficult to prioritize changes that would most effectively strengthen engagement, performance, and long-term sustainability.

The Solution

Lindenberger Group partnered with CMCMUA to take a step back and evaluate the full employee experience—from recruitment and onboarding through development and retention.

Senior Consultants John Pizutelli and Elaine Rizzo served as strategic advisors, working closely with executive leadership and HR to modernize people practices while respecting CMCMUA’s public-sector structure and regulatory environment.

Key elements of the engagement included:

Employee Lifecycle Review: Conducted a comprehensive assessment of talent acquisition, onboarding, development, benefits, and internal processes to identify gaps and establish clear priorities beyond compensation alone.

Modernized Talent Acquisition & Onboarding: Recommended updated recruitment strategies and enhanced onboarding materials that better reflected CMCMUA’s mission, values, and career opportunities, moving away from outdated hiring approaches.

Customized Employee Engagement Survey: Designed and administered CMCMUA’s first organization-wide engagement survey, tailored specifically to its operating environment. This included statistical key driver analysis to identify which factors most strongly influenced overall engagement.

Focus Groups & Employee Insights: Facilitated in-depth employee focus groups to explore survey findings, validate themes, and gather candid feedback around career development, work environment, communication, and leadership practices.

Policy & Governance Support: Assisted leadership with the development of new policies, including remote work guidelines, and supported board-level communication to ensure clarity, alignment, and transparency around proposed changes.

The Impact

Through its partnership with Lindenberger Group, CMCMUA achieved meaningful progress and gained a clear roadmap for continued improvement:

Data-Driven Leadership Decisions: Leadership gained actionable insight into employee priorities, enabling focused investments in areas most likely to improve engagement and retention.

Stronger Employee Voice: Employees felt heard through structured surveys and focus groups, strengthening trust and opening productive dialogue across the organization.

Modernized HR Practices: Updated recruitment, onboarding, and policy frameworks positioned CMCMUA as a more competitive and forward-thinking public-sector employer.

Trusted Advisory Relationship: Lindenberger Group became a trusted partner to CMCMUA leadership, providing objective, experience-based guidance tailored to the realities of a government authority.

Lessons Learned

This engagement highlights the value of looking beyond an initial request to uncover deeper organizational needs. By expanding the scope from a compensation study to a full employee lifecycle review, Lindenberger Group helped CMCMUA modernize its people practices while preserving its strong commitment to public service.

As Elaine Rizzo reflected:

“What started as a compensation study evolved into a true partnership. By listening closely, using data, and focusing on what would make the biggest difference, we helped CMCMUA gain clarity and momentum to better support their people and strengthen the organization for the future.”