GNWT Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey. Report of Results August 2011

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1 GNWT Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Survey Report of Results August 2011

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3 INTRODUCTION Background In 2004, at the Annual Public Service Commissioners conference, measuring employee satisfaction and engagement was raised as a challenge for public sector organizations. Jurisdictions from across Canada agreed to conduct Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Surveys (EE&S Survey) using a common set of questions. The fourth and most recent Employee Engagement Survey was conducted in February 2011 by the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT). The survey consists of thirty-one questions of which nineteen are common questions asked by the other jurisdictions participating in an inter-jurisdictional activity on employee engagement. In the GNWT, the EE&S Survey was conducted bi-annually from In 2011 the survey was expanded to include additional questions to report on specific action items contained in 20/20: A Brilliant North and will now be conducted annually. The survey response rate has increased from 36% in 2006 to 48.3% in Reading the Report The 2011 report includes data from employee surveys conducted since Twelve new questions have been added to the survey since it was first delivered in For this reason, not all questions have statistics dating back to the 2006 survey. The GNWT average agreement score is based on the survey results of all respondents, where Agreement Score measures those who responded Strongly Agree or Agree to a statement. The term Disagreement Score is used when measuring those who responded Strongly Disagree or Disagree to a statement. The Employee Engagement Index is an index used by all jurisdictions to measure the engagement of its employees and refers to the average of employee agreement scores for the following six questions: o I am satisfied with my department o Overall, I am satisfied in my work as an GNWT employee o I am proud to tell people I work for the GNWT o I would prefer to stay with the GNWT, even if offered a similar job elsewhere o I am inspired to give my very best o I would recommend the GNWT as a great place to work When reviewing the results charts at the end of this report, please note statements marked with an asterisk. (*) As a result of slight wording changes in the questions, 2010 and 2011 are not strictly comparable to previous years. 2

4 The inter-jurisdictional results are used with permission of the Employee Engagement Interjurisdictional Initiative. For further information on the initiative or this results report, please contact 2011 SURVEY RESULTS The GNWT sits on the Employee Engagement Inter-jurisdictional Team (EEIT). This team consists of all provinces and territories (except Quebec) and the Government of Canada. The Inter-jurisdictional Agreement Score (IAS) is the average score of the results provided by all EEIT participants to each of 19 standard questions. The most recent IAS s come from the 2010/11 survey results. In both 2010 and 2011, the GNWT scored above the IAS on 18 of 19 questions. The statement where the GNWT scored below the IAS was the related to a preference to stay with the GNWT even if offered a similar job elsewhere. For the fourth consecutive survey, the GNWT was the top scoring jurisdiction in response to the statement on jobs being a good fit with employees skills and interests. When comparing the GNWT 2010 and 2011 survey results, 7 of the 30 common questions showed an increase in agreement scores whereas 23 of the 30 common questions showed a decline in the agreement score. Despite the decreases to several of the agreement scores, the GNWT actually outperformed the inter-jurisdictional average, where seventeen of nineteen questions showed a decline between 2010 and 2011 and the remaining two questions remained unchanged. Strengths identified in the GNWT by the survey include providing jobs that are a good fit with skills and interests, while allowing employees to do challenging and interesting work. Employees also feel they had a positive working relationship with their co-workers. Areas of concern identified are in relation to diversity and inclusion issues, work related learning and development opportunities, and opportunities for career growth within the organization. Critical areas identified are related to employee relationships with senior management, both in terms of confidence in senior management and how information was communicated by senior management. Employees also feel that there were not adequate rewards and acknowledgements programs in place to identify and celebrate individual and team efforts. While many agreement scores declined in 2011, the GNWT still scored above the 2008 scores on 14 of 18 questions. Although the GNWT did not have the same success on the Employee Engagement Survey as it did in 2010, the majority of the results still show improvement when compared to the 2008 agreement scores and the GNWT continues to outperform the interjurisdictional average. 3

5 Survey Analysis Survey analysis has been done to identify GNWT strengths, areas of concern and critical areas, based on the survey results. These results were identified by examining: o High (over 80%) and low (below 55%) agreement scores o High disagreement scores o Positive or negative trends over several years o Comparison to the Inter-jurisdictional Agreement Scores (IAS) o Variations in results based on gender, age groups, occupation groups, length of service, location of positions 4

6 STRENGTHS BASED ON SURVEY RESULTS My job is a good fit with my skills and interests. (87.6%) The GNWT continues to be the leader amongst all jurisdictions when matching employees with jobs that fit their skills and interests. This can be attributed to the wide range of opportunities available in the GNWT, as well as the need to recruit individuals to fill skill-specific positions. The GNWT was the top scoring jurisdiction in response to this statement for the fourth consecutive survey. Agreement scores were highest amongst Management, and Technical or Professional occupation groups. My job gives me the chance to do challenging and interesting work. (80.4%) Although this question is not asked in other jurisdictions, it continues to be one of the top agreement scores, with an average agreement score of 80% over the past four surveys. While 86.5% of Management and 84.3% of Technical or Professional employees agreed with this statement, only 69.1% of employees in the Administration occupation group agreed with this statement. This represents a significant gap in opinion by occupation group. I have positive working relationships with my co-workers. (88.8%) The GNWT scored above 87% agreement score on this question for the fourth consecutive survey. This falls within 4.2% of the top scoring jurisdiction in Canada. It has also been the top agreement score of all questions on all four surveys. 5

7 AREAS OF CONCERN BASED ON SURVEY RESULTS Diversity Issues In the EE&S, there are three statements related to diversity and inclusion: I feel the GNWT promotes an inclusive work public service where staff are treated equitably. The GNWT promotes cross-cultural awareness opportunities for employees. The GNWT provides adequate sensitivity training with regards to people with disabilities in the workplace. Agreement scores for all three statements have been consistently low. The agreement score on the statement related to an inclusive workplace has been on a downward trend since 2006, dipping below 50% for the first time in Although questions on sensitivity training and cross-cultural opportunities rose slightly between 2010 and 2011, both questions sit at or below 50%. My organization supports my work related learning and development. (67.2%) While the GNWT continues to score above the inter-jurisdictional average on this question, it dropped 4.5% between 2010 and This may attributable to increased fiscal restraint which limited training opportunities. This emphasizes the need to evaluate the current training opportunities being provided to employees. Only 57.0% of employees in Administration positions agreed with this statement, 10.2% below the GNWT agreement score. I have opportunities for career growth within the GNWT. (50.4%) Although the GNWT scored above the inter-jurisdictional average on this question, the score dropped 3.2% from % of employees in Management positions agreed with this statement, well above the GNWT average. Only 45.1% of employees in Administration positions agreed with this statement. Employees in the age group had the lowest agreement scores, with a significant drop-off from employees in the age group Employees with over 10 years of service followed a similar pattern, although the agreement score appears more closely linked to age. 6

8 Given that employees gain experience and job advancement over their career, it is more common that older employees occupy senior or peak positions. These positions offer limited additional opportunities for career advancement. For this reason, the opportunities for advancement tend to decline for older employees. 7

9 CRITICAL AREAS BASED ON SURVEY RESULTS The following areas have been identified as critical, either because they presently hinder the work of the GNWT, or threaten to if the current trends continue. Employee Relationships with Senior Management In the EE&S Survey, there are two statements that specifically reference Senior Management: I have confidence in the senior leadership of my department. Essential information flows effectively from senior leadership to staff. Only 59.5% of survey respondents agreed when asked if they had confidence in the senior leadership of their department, down from 61.5% in Meanwhile, 48.9% of respondents agreed that essential information flows effectively from senior management to staff, down from 50.8% in While the agreement scores of both statements are decreasing, both are still approximately 5% above the inter-jurisdictional averages. The statements on senior management have the highest Strongly Disagree scores. 9.5% of respondents strongly disagree that they have confidence in senior management, while 11.8% strongly disagree that essential information flows effectively from senior leadership to staff. Only one other survey question had a comparable Strongly Disagree score. When asked about confidence in senior management, 65.9% of employees in Administration positions agreed with the statement. Meanwhile employees in Management and Technical or Professional positions had agreement scores of 54.5% and 54.0% respectively. When asked about the effective communication of senior management, 53.7% of employees in Management positions agreed with the statement. 44.7% of employees in Technical or Professional positions agreed with this statement. Employees with less than one year of service had the highest agreement scores, with a steep drop off in agreement scores for all respondents who have more than one year of service. The GNWT has adequate reward programs in place to help celebrate and acknowledge individual and team efforts. (36.4%) The agreement score for this statement was 36.4% in 2011, up slightly from 35.1% in Disagreement scores also climbed from 31.5% in 2010, to 32.2% in This is the second lowest agreement score in the survey and the only question where the disagreement score is nearly as high as the agreement score, showing a clear divide in opinion on this statement. 8

10 9.7% of all respondents strongly disagreed with the statement. Only the two statements on senior management had such high Strongly Disagree scores. Only 32.5% of employee in Technical and Management positions agreed with this statement, compared to 34.6% who disagreed with this statement. While 37.1% of Management agreed with this statement (slightly above the average), 42.3% of Management disagreed with this statement. This is the highest disagreement score in response to any statement from any occupational group on the survey. Opinions are more divided on this statement than any other statement in the survey. Additional research and consultation is required to determine the root cause of the divide. 9

11 SUMMARY Overall, employees of the GNWT have higher engagement and satisfaction than the average jurisdiction in While many scores declined in 2011 compared to 2010, there has still been an overall upward trend since The vast majority of employees find their work interesting and challenging, and a good fit with their skills and interests. They also have positive working relationships with their co-workers. While employees are satisfied with their work and co-workers, there is a need for opportunities for career advancement and work related learning and development. Without these opportunities for advancement and development, the GNWT may face retention challenges, as employees begin to look elsewhere for employment opportunities. A critical concern that has surfaced from the most recent survey is confidence in senior management, and senior management s ability to effectively communicate to employees. A final critical area is the perceived lack of adequate rewards programs in place to recognize individual and team efforts. Nearly one in ten employees strongly disagree that such rewards programs are in place, while one-third disagree on some level. Management, in particular, disagreed with this statement, with a 42.3% disagreement score. Given the importance of recognition to employee performance and retention, this is an issue that should not be overlooked. Assessing customer service, productivity, and retention, finds 57.7% of the difference between low and high performance is predicted by five climate factors. One of those key factors is recognition. In high performing cultures recognition means more than money, and employees are appreciated in many different ways. 1 The results of the survey will assist in the development of the second three-year action plan, that will come into effect April 1, 2012, for 20/20: A Brilliant North, the NWT Public Service Strategic Plan. The survey results will also be taken into consideration in the development and updating of individual Departmental Human Resource Plans. 1 Lizz Pellet, CEO EMERGE International, Fellow, Johns Hopkins University, Albertajobcentre.ca 10

12 EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT & SATISFACTION SURVEY 2011 Results 11

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