Stanford Employee Survey

Topics Background, Purpose of Employee Satisfaction Surveys –Survey Specifics –Survey Participants, Spring and Fall 2010 Fall Survey Process –Timeline –Identifying Reports –Preparing for Action Planning Phase –Strategic Communication Reference Information Slide 2

Background, Purpose of Surveys

Background ● Uniform use of employee survey tool increases the understanding of key areas of employee concern across all schools and units ● Some areas had been conducting surveys that provided great information to them but not useful to identify university-wide themes, trends ● Selection committee recommended a vendor (3D Group) in 11/2009 ● First survey process held in spring, 2010: Highest rated category: – Teamwork Lowest rated category: – Feedback and Coaching

Why Conduct Employee Satisfaction Surveys Employees Morale booster—“We care about you” Indicates that management is listening and will follow up with results Managers ● Gain staff feedback about both their own leadership and about work conditions ● Use the results to engage staff in proactively addressing issues in the workgroup Stanford ● Communicates to employees they are a partner in Stanford’s success ● Sets a benchmark for employee satisfaction for participating schools/units (SU norms) ● Provides metrics for managerial accountability

Employee Engagement/Retention Tool ● Typically, satisfied and engaged employees: Higher productivity Better customer service Likely to speak well of employer, refer others to work here Tend to be high performing, continuing to learn and develop skills Appreciate being asked their opinions ● Surveys give you a confidential way to “take a pulse”

Survey Specifics ● Survey contains:  53 rated items  5-point scale  “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree” + ‘N/A’  Rated survey items are grouped into 11 categories, called dimensions; results are reported by dimension and item  1 open-ended question:  “Your opinion is important to us in the continual improvement of our organization. What one action can we take to make this a better place to work?” Slide 7

Spring 2010 Survey Participants Six Organizations: Office of Development Office of Public Affairs School of Earth Sciences School of Education Stanford Alumni Assn. VP Undergraduate Education (VPUE) Slide total staff members surveyed Overall participation rate: 85%

Fall 2010 Survey Participants Business Affairs Human Resources School of Humanities & Sciences School of Law School of Medicine Residential & Dining Enterprises 4,975 staff members set to be surveyed October 4-15, 2010

The Survey Success Foundation: Leadership Commitment ● Sponsorship, clear setting of expectations up front is important Ensure managers know you expect them to have discussions with their staff when results are known ● Communicate before, during, and after the survey Communicates seriousness of process and shows that senior leaders are engaged To all: state why the survey is helpful; encourage participation To Managers: emphasize the importance of action planning Follow up with all staff to ensure successful action planning process Communicate at all levels of the organization

Fall Survey Process

The survey is the start of the process Next survey process targeted for Spring, 2012

● Fall survey open October 4 through October 15, 2010 Reports delivered in November, prior to Thanksgiving holiday Senior Leadership presentations can take place in early December, prior to winter closure Manager Action Planning training sessions and staff discussions can take place starting in January, 2011, after winter closure Key Dates & Deliverables Due to the winter closure, it is recommended the action planning phase occur in early Areas can accelerate this as feasible, taking into account the winter closure break. Slide 13

Identifying Reports ● Three types of reports with survey data: Rollup Report: Aggregate data for entire school, VP area, or organizational unit – With or without comments from 1 open-ended question Manager Report: Data for specific manager; must have 5 responses to get a report – With or without comments Demographic Report: Data based on specific variable; variable must be identified for each employee. Examples are: work location (building name or address); if the employee reports to a staff or faculty member; years of service; etc. No comments.

Reports Available with Survey Results Dean or VP Assoc. Dean or Assoc. VP Asst. Dean or Director AssistantManager 1Employee 1Employee 2Employee 3Employee 4Employee 5Employee 6Manager 2Employee 1Employee 2Employee 3Emp AEmp BEmp CEmp D 1. Rollup report of school/unit (one rollup report required) With or without comments May also want rollup of each large organizational unit; e.g., departments (optional)/ May also want his/her own manager report, if more than 5 direct reports (optional) 2. Demographic report (optional) Reports data by up to five variables; e.g., length of service. Does not include comments. 3. Comments Coded report (optional) Analysis done to group comments by theme. To ensure confidentiality, a report is not generated if there are fewer than five responses This manager eligible for Manager report of work group/department (optional), assuming at least 5 staff respond. With or without comments. This manager not eligible for Manager report (fewer than 5 direct reports), but might want a Rollup report of aggregate data for group

Sample Report Pages Results are shown both by category (dimension) and by each survey item (question) within each category

Action Planning Process ● Purpose of action planning is: For all in the organization to understand results – Leadership is briefed first and determines how to communicate organization-wide results to employees (leadership briefing required) For managers to engage employees in collaborative brainstorming to maintain and/or improve organization and create action steps on viable ideas – Managers are trained to lead employees through a discussion (optional) – Managers are coached individually to plan their discussion (optional)

Timing for Action Planning Phase ● Action Planning begins when survey results are delivered to each school/VP area in mid November: Senior Leader(s): attend a briefing of the results  Recommend scheduling this to occur prior to winter closure Managers:  Attend a training session to learn how to best proceed with staff discussions (will receive rollup or manager report in training, if applicable)  After training, managers talk with staff to review high level results and brainstorm action steps  Recommend manager training and discussions occur after winter closure

Communicate Strategically ● All employees need to hear about the survey process more than once,* and possibly using different media: announcements Newsletter article(s) All Hands meeting(s) Manager announcements in group staff meetings *At minimum: once before, once during, and once after the online survey is open, October 4-15

Reference Information Each school/area’s human resources staff are leading the project and have access to communication templates and detailed project and costing information. In central Human Resources, Learning & Organizational Effectiveness: Valerie Beeman, Project Lead: Survey web site: Slide 20