36th District Court Promotes and Rewards Employee Engagement

By Kelli Moore Owen, Court Administrator, 36th District Court (Detroit)

“A new idea becomes a great idea when you let it out.” – Unknown

The 36th District Court revamped its intranet (the HUB) and added a new feature that allows employees to submit their comments, complaints, and suggestions via the HUB either anonymously or signed.  


Court administration offers employees an incentive to use this feature on the HUB to submit suggestions, innovative ideas, and creative concepts that inspire positive change for the court, the public, and/or the community.  If the employee’s suggestion is implemented, they receive a “Sparking Aha Moment” award and a gift card, which are presented at an awards ceremony by Chief Judge Nancy M. Blount and Court Administrator Kelli Moore Owen.  Judges, magistrates and fellow coworkers are invited to attend the ceremony and reception to celebrate the awardees and their great ideas.  This team recognition also inspires and encourages others to submit suggestions. 

Since adding the feature to the intranet, the court has received nearly 150 suggestions and has implemented almost 50 of them.  Some are listed below.

Cheryl Pearson and

Chief Judge Blount

Court Reporter Cheryl Peterson was recognized by Chief Judge Nancy M. Blount at the Awards Presentation for her suggestion to allow the electronic submission of photos/videos as evidence.

Litigants may e-mail photos or videos they wish to have entered into evidence prior to a hearing using a cell phone or any other electronic device.  This new functionality increased accessibility and efficiency for the public, security, court staff, and the bench.

Kelli Moore Owen, Jonathan Sherman,

Chief Judge Blount

Jonathan Sherman, Supervisor in the Civil/Landlord-Tenant Division, was recognized by Court Administrator Kelli Moore Owen and Chief Judge Nancy M. Blount at the Awards Presentation for his suggestion to post the court dates being scheduled if a Landlord-Tenant or Summary Proceeding case is filed “today.”  The dates are updated on the website and displayed in the Civil Division on the digital displays.  This all but eliminated the countless telephone calls and inquiries at the window from litigants inquiring what their court date would be if their case was filed today.  Of course, the court dates are displayed, but not the assigned judges.  The cases continue to be assigned by lot and are not assigned until the case is filed.

Kenyetta Ross

Kenyetta Ross, Clerk in the Information Resource Center, suggested revising the prerecorded introduction to include the additional information the caller should have ready to assist staff in providing a timelier response.  Kenyetta’s suggestion has significantly reduced the wait time for customers. 

Chief Judge Nancy M. Blount stated, “This is a wonderful, inexpensive way to promote employee engagement and boost morale.  Our employees have some great ideas.  This is a way for them to express themselves and their visions for improving services to the public and enhancing efficiency.” 

“One key element in the success of the feature is to follow up and respond to all suggestions, even if they are not implemented.  Recognize and thank the employees for submitting their ideas, provide an explanation if it cannot be implemented, and encourage them to continue to submit their suggestions,” said Court Administrator Kelli Moore Owen. 

Since the court has always hosted an intranet/HUB, there was no additional cost to add this feature.  The court maintains and updates its HUB internally and simply pays a minimal annual maintenance fee to the provider.  Other smaller courts, or those that do not maintain an intranet, could easily promote a similar no-cost concept by adding a suggestion box to common areas shared by the staff and offer compensatory time versus a gift card.  

Kelli Moore Owen is the Court Administrator of 36th District Court in Detroit, the largest urban district court in the state of Michigan, with 29 judges, 5 magistrates, approximately 300 full-time employees, and a caseload of nearly 500,000. She is a graduate of University of Detroit Mercy and has worked in the Michigan Court systems for over 30 years. Her career began at Recorder’s Court and then to Wayne County Circuit Court as the Deputy Court Administrator. While remaining in her role at Wayne County Circuit, she was recruited by the Special Judicial Administrator to assist in the restructuring of the 36^th District Court and was ultimately appointed as the Court Administrator by the Chief Judge.