HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-08-036 - Employee Culture Survey 2009Ki
ChiefAdministrator's
Office
Report To:
Mayor Carl Zehr and Members of Council
Date of Meeting:
October 6, 2008
Submitted By:
Carla Ladd, CAO
Prepared By:
Carla Ladd, CAO
Ward(s) Involved:
N/A
Date of Report:
October 1, 2008
Report No.:
CAO-08- 036
Subject:
EMPLOYEE CULTURE SURVEY 2009
RECOMMENDATION:
That the process for the selection of Consultants and Professional Services be waived
and Metrics@Work (formerly Brock University Workplace Health Research Laboratory)
be retained to conduct the second Employee Culture Survey.
BACKGROUND:
The City conducted its first Employee Culture Survey in February 2007 and achieved an
unprecedented 81 % response rate. Since that time, significant work has been undertaken with
respect to analyzing the results, developing action plans and implementing programs and
initiatives to address gaps and opportunities identified in the survey all in an effort to develop a
corporate culture that increases employee engagement, productivity and innovation. In order to
determine if we are making progress relative to the desired corporate culture, a second
employee survey will be undertaken, the results of which will be compared to the baseline data
collected in 2007.
In 2004, work began on shifting the culture of the organization with a view to creating a
workplace which fostered leadership, innovation and excellence in customer service: to
implement Council's "different future for City government and public service". In order to
determine areas of current strength in the organization and areas to target for improvement, we
needed to move beyond anecdotal information and obtain empirical data, specific to varied
work environments. Metrics@Work (formerly Brock University WHRL) was retained to assist us
in the development of a process and survey to obtain baseline data which provided us with an
understanding of where we were as an organization. Results from the survey were analyzed by
Brock and this information served as a starting point for our work ahead.
As an outgrowth of the survey, work was undertaken in two areas — at the corporate level and at
the Department/Divisional level. With respect to the corporate level actions, the top five priority
areas were identified and staff from across the organization volunteered to participate in working
groups charged with identifying actions to address gaps and introduce other changes believed
to move us forward progressively. Work at the Department and Divisional level was
approached in much the same way, with each staff group identifying their own process and
approach to moving forward with actions and initiatives.
Now it is time to see how we've done and if we are doing the right work. In order to determine if
the actions being undertaken at the both the corporate and department/divisional levels are
being effective, a follow up survey is needed to collect data on the same workplace factors as
the original survey so we can compare ourselves to our baseline. This will show us where we
have made improvements and where we continue to have gaps and challenges.
In order to do this, in effect the same survey and method of analysis needs to be used and as
such, we are recommending that Metrics@Work be retained for consistency and comparison
ability. In addition, Brock University (currently Metrics@Work) was originally selected to design
and implement the survey process for the City in part because of their expertise in working with
the municipal sector and their growing database of municipal workplace survey results which
allows us to benchmark our organization with other municipalities.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
In preliminary discussions with Metrics@Work, they have advised that anticipated costs for the
development, delivery and implementation of the survey would be in the range of $40,000 —
45,000. A final cost proposal will be provided following clarification around the survey design
and required analysis. Funding for the Employee Culture Survey Program is provided for in the
Corporate Plan/Program capital budget, no new funding is required.
COMMUNICATIONS:
A full communications plan will be developed to support the next survey.
Carla Ladd, CAO
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