Employee Survey Communications Campaign Employee Survey Communications Team Region of Waterloo Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

Transcription

1 Employee Survey Communications Campaign Employee Survey Communications Team Region of Waterloo Kitchener, Ontario, Canada Need/Opportunity / The Region of Waterloo is an upper-tier municipal government that provides the community with a majority of its municipal services, including public health, waste management, roads services, transit, social assistance, child care, emergency services, water supply and overall growth planning. The Region of Waterloo is always striving for excellence. Part of that excellence includes attracting and retaining skilled and dedicated employees, and fostering a workplace that is engaging and supportive of its staff. It has been anticipated that this will be an increasingly difficult task in the years to come due to the demographics of the company s workforce. According to Linda Duxbury, a business school professor at Carleton University, within the next decade, for every two people who are retiring, there will be less than one person to take their place. These demographic changes will have a profound impact on the Region of Waterloo and all public sector organizations. The Region of Waterloo chose to undertake an organizationwide employee survey in November 2008 to give staff a mechanism to voice their opinions about their workplace. The feedback from the survey will help the Region of Waterloo develop actions to improve its work environment and make this organization an even better place to work. This will allow the region to attract talented, new employees and retain current employees. In turn, this will help the region effectively deliver important programs and services to the community it serves. Intended Audience(s) / The primary audience for the Employee Survey Communications Campaign was the region s 3,000 full-time, part-time and temporary employees. Communicating with this large and diverse audience was a challenge because employees are spread out in various facilities. Employees work different hours, and only about 75 percent have access to regional and the employee intranet. In addition, the region s employees include both unionized and nonunionized staff. During the planning stage of the communication campaign, the region had to take all of these audience characteristics into account. In addition to the primary audience of employees, there were also secondary audiences: 4 The employee survey committee (ESC). This committee was made up of management and frontline employee representatives from various departments. These employees, who volunteered to be part of the committee, gave input and feedback on survey logistics as well as the overall campaign. 4 Worksite action teams (WSAT): Each of the region s facilities had a worksite action team in place to answer staff questions about the survey, coordinate campaign materials, hold events, and help with survey distribution and other logistics. _ 209

2 Management staff. Management staff, consisting of commissioners, directors and managers, helped disseminate messages about the employee survey to their staff. Goals and Objectives / A communication committee was formed to undertake a comprehensive communication campaign in support of the Region of Waterloo s employee survey. The primary goal of the campaign was to engage employees by creating buzz and achieve a high survey response rate (i.e., 65 percent or more). Research indicated that having a high survey response rate is extremely important for two reasons: It increases the validity of the data collected and gives employees confidence that actions taken based on survey results are in their best interests. Thus, achieving a high response rate will allow the region to have confidence in the survey results and take appropriate actions to improve the workplace. As stated above, this will allow the organization to attract and retain employees and better deliver its services to members of the community. Solution Overview / Before designing a specific campaign, a communication committee (made up of two corporate communications staff members and two human resources personnel) conducted research on employee survey best practices and spent time gathering input from members of survey teams and committees. Once this information was compiled, a comprehensive four-phase Employee Survey Communications Campaign was developed. This campaign was endorsed by the corporate leadership team and developed with extensive frontline input from both the ESC and WSAT. Because each played an active role in fine-tuning the campaign, individuals in these groups acted as strong supporters and ambassadors of the survey. Each phase of the campaign lasted two weeks, and was designed to give employees an increasingly greater level of awareness, appreciation and understanding about the survey. Worksite action teams were instrumental in dispersing communication materials and developing survey incentives and events for their own particular work site. The four phases of the Employee Survey Communications Campaign are outlined below. One: Awareness one consisted of a teaser campaign that began in late September 2008, long before the November launch of the survey. The goal of this phase was simply to create buzz and get employees talking. The topic of the teaser campaign was not revealed, but simply posed the question, Are you doing it? Materials (portal advertisements, posters, s, newsletter, etc.) featured photos of various employees (from all departments) looking caught in the act with captions like Cyndi Dienesch at Sunnyside Home is doing it. Are you? Two: Awareness two revealed the purpose of the campaign: the employee survey. Materials featured different _ 210

3 photos of the same employee models completing paper and electronic surveys with captions like Eliseo Martell is taking 30 minutes to complete the employee survey. Will you? The key message during this phase was that the survey would take only a half hour to complete. Additional messages were conveyed via a semi-permanent page on the portal and via worksite action teams. At this point, the actual survey period had not yet begun, and the team was still working to raise awareness. Three: Appreciation During phase three, the Region of Waterloo was able to expand the campaign and give more specific key messages, including: 1) the employee survey is confidential and anonymous, 2) it takes only 30 minutes to complete and 3) there will be weekly drawings for great prizes. In addition to posters, s and portal advertisements, tent cards were displayed in cafeterias and staff lounges at all facilities. These tent cards contained key messages and photos of employee models. Just before the actual launch of the survey (3 November), a large event was held for about 80 staff members who were helping with the survey. The goal of this event was to energize survey representatives, give them information and have fun. The event featured music, games, prizes and snacks. At the end of the event, a large group photo was taken, and employees enjoyed cake. During phase three, the organization also launched a video of the company s chief administrative officer (CAO) talking about the survey and posted it on the Region of Waterloo s portal. It was shown at staff meetings for those without portal access (e.g., bus drivers and paramedics). Worksite action teams were given money (about CDN$1.50 per employee at their site) to hold a survey event or incentive of their choice. Some teams had prize raffles, and others held fun events or purchased coffee and cookies for employees. Four: Understanding During the final two weeks of the survey, a final message was conveyed: Make the difference. Be the difference. See the difference. This message was meant to help employees understand that feedback is extremely important and will help to make a positive difference in the workplace. During this phase, posters and portal advertisements featured a compilation photo of all 28 employee models. WSATs encouraged employees to complete the survey if they hadn t done so already. All staff members who were helping with the survey were encouraged to wear their bright yellow t-shirts displaying the campaign s final message. In addition, the CAO sent out an and visited various work locations to talk to employees about the importance of the survey. Vehicles/Materials In order to reach many employees with differing hours, work sites, and levels of access to and the employee portal, the Region of Waterloo made use of a variety of vehicles and materials, as outlined below. _ 211

4 Vehicles/materials One Two Three Hard copy posters X X X X Portal articles and advertisements X X X X Region News (employee newsletter) X X s from the CAO X X X X s from the survey provider X X Word-of-mouth from WSAT representatives X X X X Survey launch event Events at various locations X X Tent cards in cafeterias and staff lounges X X Stickers (given to employees to wear) X X X T-shirts worn by survey representatives X X Information packages for management and WSAT members X X A video of the CAO talking about the survey Weekly drawings and prizes X X CAO site visits Thanks in large part to the success of the Employee Survey Communications Campaign, the final response rate was 73 percent. This information, plus details on survey follow-up, was communicated to staff through the employee portal, the newsletter and WSAT channels. A detailed report on final results is expected from the survey provider in March Senior management will communicate these results to employees at that time and work to create action plans to address identified issues both corporately, and in each work area. X X Four X Implementation and Challenges / Time Line Planning for the Employee Survey Communications Campaign began in June The communication campaign itself began late September 2008, and the actual survey period was from 3 24 November A post-survey campaign will last throughout Budget The Employee Survey Communications Campaign was executed on a limited budget of approximately CDN$15,000. This budget covered the following: Design and printing of 1,000 posters Design and printing of 3,000 stickers Printing of 250 t-shirts Design and printing of tent cards Photography costs CDN$1,600 CDN$1,260 CDN$1,600 CDN$540 CDN$2,000 _ 212

5 Ballot boxes Weekly drawing prizes Money for WSAT events Thank-you cards for survey representatives Miscellaneous Total CDN$100 CDN$1,000 (plus donated prizes) CDN$5,000 CDN$300 CDN$1,000 CDN$14,400 Other costs associated with the implementation of the survey itself (e.g., consultant fees, paper and electronic survey costs, mailing costs, staff time, etc.) were covered under a separate budget. Because the Region of Waterloo is a public sector organization, it was important to avoid creating the perception that the organization spent a lot of money on this campaign. The region made efficient use of its budget by utilizing internal and/or inexpensive resources. For example: 4 Internal corporate communications and HR staff managed the campaign rather than hiring an outside consultant. 4 Photographs were taken by a local photographer who charges reasonable rates; models were staff volunteers. 4 All materials (posters, tent cards, portal advertisements, etc.) were designed by an in-house graphic designer. 4 Most of the ballot prizes were donated by departments. 4 The CAO survey video was shot and edited by internal information technology (IT) staff. 4 Many staff volunteered to help out with the campaign (e.g., on worksite action teams). Challenge Skepticism about follow-through Confidentiality concerns Preference for paper/electronic surveys Too busy/unionized environment/ shift work, etc. Solution The region s corporate leadership team is fully dedicated to following through with appropriate actions based on the survey results. This was communicated to employees through various channels, including CAO site visits, information on the portal and articles in the staff newsletter. The Region of Waterloo stressed the confidentiality of the survey in distributed materials; employees were given the choice of submitting hard copy surveys in a drop box or mailing them directly to the survey provider. Metrics@Work sent an to staff stressing confidentiality measures. Questions about confidentiality were answered on the internal portal, and measures were taken within the survey to protect identities. Employees were given the choice of completing either a paper or electronic survey. All employees, including shift workers, were given 30 minutes of paid work time to complete the survey. This was well-communicated. _ 213

6 Challenge Employees located at over 20 work sites Lack of awareness/ apathy No access to e- mail/portal Other Solution WSATs were created for every work location. They helped customize communications, planned site-specific events and ensured all materials/messages reached employees at their site. The survey campaign was designed to create awareness through a variety of vehicles and channels; employee models were used to create interest; drawings/ prizes were used as incentives. In addition to electronic communication, the organization made use of posters, memos, a video, site visits, events and word-of-mouth at all sites. The Region of Waterloo created a dedicated survey address and phone number for employees to use if they had any questions or concerns. Everyone received a prompt response. Measurement/Evaluation / The success of the survey was measured by the final response rate. Thanks in large part to the Employee Survey Communications Campaign, the region s response rate of 73 percent overall (and 78 percent for full-time employees) was excellent. In comparison, five similar municipal employee surveys conducted in the past five years by the organization s survey provider, Metrics@Work, had an average response rate of just 55 percent. According to Metrics@Work, the response rate was well above average which is, in part, a testament to the communications campaign that was implemented. The high response rate will give employees confidence in the validity of the results, and allow the Region of Waterloo to develop appropriate actions to address identified issues. In addition to the response rate, the region also asked for feedback about the survey campaign (via an online questionnaire) from members of the worksite action teams and the employee survey committee. Of the 60 responses, 87 percent agreed or strongly agreed that the survey campaign achieved its goal of encouraging a high rate of response. In addition, 78 percent of respondents said employee reaction to the campaign materials was positive or extremely positive. Many of the comments received in the questionnaire included praise about the use of employees in survey materials and the high level of management support for the survey. The Region of Waterloo plans to use a similar communication process in 2009 as it develops and implements action plans based on survey results. The organization hopes this campaign will be received as enthusiastically as its 2008 Employee Survey Communications Campaign. _ 214