Managers sometimes fear that asking their employees about the work environment may be opening a can of worms. What they forget is that worms thrive in dark moist environments. By bringing to light what most employees know anyway, you can demonstrate your willingness to invite real conversations that bring in the voices of everyone who works for you. In this presentation, National Research Center, Inc (NRC) illuminates the ins-and-outs of employee surveys. Learn from city managers about what their jurisdictions have done with their employee surveys—the lead-up, execution, and follow-up—that helped to set the organization on the right track.

1. Turning Your Fear into Heroism:
Harnessing Workforce Opinion
to Make Your Organization Strong
Michelle Kobayashi, National Research Center
Damema Mann, National Research Center
Connie Jacobs-Walton, Decatur, GA
Pete Peterson, Johnson City, TN

2. Why
Employee
Surveys?
National
Trends
Decatur,
GA
Johnson
City, TN

3. www.menti.com Code: 67 09 08
Why do you think some organizations
choose not to conduct employee surveys?
Have you conducted an employee survey
in the past 5 years?

4. Employee Surveys:
Friend or Foe?
Cons Pros

5. Biggest Mistakes in Employee Surveys
Lack of support from managers
Lack of anonymity
Lack of follow-up: transparency
Lack of follow-up: action
Reliance on HR only to solve problems
Overpromising

6. Uses of
Employee Data
Needs Assessment
Performance
Measurement
Program
Evaluation

7. Capturing Employee Opinion
• Anecdotal
• Provides opportunity for engagementMeetings
• Provides depth
• Systematic recruitment betterFocus Groups
• Provides breadth
• More inclusiveSurveys

8. Data-Influenced Decision-Making
“The practice of basing decisions on
the analysis of data rather than purely
on intuition.”
Foster Provost and Tom Fawcett : “Data Science and its Relationship to Big Data and Data-Driven Decision Making”

9. National
Trends

11. The NES™ Methods and GoalsObjectives
Assess organizational
strengths
Identify
organizational
challenges
Articulate the specific
needs of employees
Methods
Web survey of
employees
Response rates vary
Goals
Increased job
satisfaction
Increased
engagement
Increased
productivity and
performance
Improved quality of
local services
Improved community
life

12. Job Satisfaction
Work Group
Performance
Employee
Contribution
and Fit
Employee-
Supervisor
Relationship
Employee
Performance
Evaluation
Employee
Development
Wages and
Benefits
Communication
and Decision-
making
Respect
and Ethics
Physical Work
Environment
The NES™ Topic Areas www.menti.com
Code 67 09 08

13. Most Important to Employee Satisfaction
Respect and
Ethics
Physical Work
Environment
Employee
Contribution
and Fit
Employee-
Supervisor
Relationship
Communication
and Decision-
making
Employee
Performance
Evaluation
Employee
Development
Most important
Work Group
Performance
Wages and
Benefits

14. www.menti.com Code 67 09 08
• Benefits overall
• Connection between compensation and performance
• Dealing with high-performing employees
• Opportunities for promotion
• Overall skill set of staff
• Quality of work in my work group
• Recognizing high-performing employees
• Working relationships in my work group
What do you think is rated Highest? Lowest?

15. NES National Results
Quality of work in my work
group
Working relationships in my
work group
Overall skill set of staff
Benefits overall
Dealing with low-performing
employees
Recognizing high-performing
employees
Connection between
compensation and
performance
Opportunities for promotion
Highest
Lowest

16. Decatur, GA
Connie Jacobs-Walton
Human Resources Director

17. Overview
The
Results
The
Challenges
The Value

18. The Value of Employee Surveys
• Assess the organizations strengths
• Identify the organizations challenges
• Allowing employees to have a voice
• Setting short term and long term goals

19. Overcoming Challenges
• Employee Engagement
• Organizational Climate
• Confidentiality

20. The
Results
Now
What?
Analyze
the Data
Share the
Data
Implement
Changes

21. Words of Wisdom
• Be transparent
• Empower employees to be the change they want to see
• Listen with an open mind
• Don’t be discouraged by unfavorable results
• DO THE WORK!

22. Johnson City,
TN
Pete Peterson
City Manager

23. Why Survey?
• Employees are your most valuable resource
• Your largest single annual expense is personnel
• ALL employees are team members representing the City
• Satisfied, engaged employees are more productive
• Encouraging decision-making throughout the organization promotes efficiency
and innovation
• Establishes a benchmark to measure improvement

24. City of Johnson City, TN – 2017 Employee Survey
• In November of 2016 Human Resources launched an RFP for a City-wide Employee Survey. This is the first
time in the history of Johnson City that an activity of this nature has been undertaken. The City had
performed some department level surveys in the past, but an overall employee survey had never been
completed. The goal of the survey was work together with our entire workforce to identify areas of
deficiency and build upon areas of strength.
• Human Resources held in-person employee meetings to announce the survey process and encourage
employee participation. In advance of the survey launch e-mail and direct mailing communications were
sent to employees from the City Manager as a follow-up and reinforcement of our desire for employees to
participate in the process.
• A total of 467 completed surveys were obtained which provided an overall response rate of 51%. The
survey results established a beginning reference point for us to measure against in future surveys.
Background and Methodology

25. Johnson City employees generally are satisfied with their jobs and gave
positive assessments to their contribution and fit. The survey revealed some
very positive responses regarding employee’s feelings about their job and
working for the City.
Highlights
These areas include:
• Job satisfaction
• The City is a good employer
• Plan on working for the City a year from now
• Gained satisfaction from their job
• Know what is expected
83% responded favorably
77% responded favorably
93% responded favorably
86% responded favorably
87% responded favorably

26. • Communication – Only 35% of respondents felt that information was communicated in a timely
manner, while only 29% felt that information was clearly communicated about problems facing
the City.
• Wages and Benefits – Only 28% of employees responded positively to how their compensation
compared with similar opportunities.
• Employee-Supervisor Relationships – About half of respondents gave positive ratings to their
relationships with supervisors which tends to be lower than the benchmark.
• Employee Recognition - Only 31% of respondents felt that their contributions to the organization
were valued and recognized. Overall morale which can be directly tied to this category was also
well below the benchmarks.
Highlights – Opportunities for improvement

27. • Leadership Team Analysis of strengths and weaknesses occurred over a one month period.
• Cross-functional Focus Groups were established to take a deeper dive into the most pressing issues.
• Focus group and leadership ideas and proposed actions were combined to develop our initial actions.
Framework for action
The overarching goal of the employee survey was to give our employees the opportunity to share
their feelings regarding a variety of factors that influence overall job satisfaction. The survey report
gives us an opportunity to see our organization through the eyes of our employees. We now have a
clear reference point, both positive and negative, which will help us to move our organization in the
right direction. Our areas of weakness must be addressed with a sustained and collaborative effort in
order to make positive change. Future surveys will be the tool to measure our level of improvement.

28. How to be successful
•Don’t be afraid to ask
•Be prepared to accept what you learn
•Must be committed to make change
•Everyone must be committed
•Be prepared for criticism

29. Moving Forward
Action Planning
Get the Right
People On-Board
Take Action Evaluate

30. Discussion