93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
An engagement survey taken by city of Columbia employees between Nov. 28 and Dec. 21, 2018 revealed low scores for whether they felt valued for the work they do, and whether they were managed well within their department. 62 percent of employees took the survey, which included 67 questions in 10 categories, 13 demographic questions, and one question asking if employees planned to leave within the next year.
The firm that administered the survey, CPS HR Consulting, identified that among the workplace factors included in the survey, “Leadership and Management Change – Department Leaders” and “Training and Development” have the highest relative importance but the lowest scores.
The question with the highest important among six organizational cultural questions, but with the lowest scoring was, “I feel valued for the work I do.”
“We heard loud and clear that you want to feel valued and appreciated for the work you do,.” said interim city manager John Glascock in an email to employees. “We heard you say leadership in managing change as well as training and development are two of the most important issues for the majority of those who participated in the survey.”
Employees provided high score responses to questions relating to whether they respect their department’s leaders, if their department was managed well, and if they have the information they need to do their job.
CPS HR made several recommendations, which include reviewing department-specific results to identify effective approaches that can be shared across departments.
“Over the next 12-18 months, I expect leadership to use the information and tools in the report to improve our teams’ engagement levels. We have and will lean on our Operational Excellence Team, CPS HR Consulting, and other resources to improve,” Glascock said. “We will evaluate our progress on a regular basis, and in 18 months we’ll survey staff again to see if we have moved the needle.”
