Beginning Nov. 8, UNMC employees will be asked to complete a confidential survey that measures employee satisfaction and perceptions. The survey measures employee responses regarding factors that research has indicated influence employee retention. The questionnaire will provide comparative data to the first UNMC survey, conducted in the fall of 2002.
UNMC again has retained Career Design, Inc., a private consulting firm, to conduct the confidential 2004 employee satisfaction survey. The 32-question survey will provide UNMC’s Human Resources with data on perceptions employees have about UNMC and will help Human Resources identify strategies for employee retention and satisfaction.
UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., has emphasized creating a culture that builds employee loyalty and satisfaction in UNMC’s Strategic Plan. Increasing employee satisfaction and retention has been established as a strategic initiative.
“The 2002 survey identified areas where we were strong and also helped us design and tailor programs to enhance those areas where employees said we had shortcomings,” said John Russell, assistant vice chancellor for Business and Finance and executive director of Human Resources at UNMC. “Now, we’ll be able to see where we’ve made improvements and where we still have additional work to do.”
The electronic survey will take only a few minutes to complete, Russell said, and is completely confidential. Employees should complete the survey by Friday, Nov. 19. As was the case with the first survey, results will be tallied and published in UNMC Today. Results of the first survey may be viewed at the Human Resources Web site at https://app1.unmc.edu/hr/intra.
Employees soon will receive an e-mail from Career Design, Inc., explaining the confidential survey. Please note that Career Design uses the e-mail return address of info@careerdesigninc.com. Employees also will receive a randomly generated access code, which they will use to access the survey. Once the survey is completed, their access code is purged from the system, assuring complete confidentiality.
The survey will be sent to all full- and part-time regular employees with Lotus Notes e-mail addresses, excluding temporary employees. Regular employees will receive a paper survey only if they do not have a Lotus Notes account or access to a computer, or if they request a paper survey.
As a result of the first survey, UNMC bolstered its management training opportunities by initiating The Management Series, and the Administrative Colloquium for managerial-professional staff and collaborated with Community Partnership in developing and presenting Foundations for Success. UNMC has created additional on-campus educational opportunities, including business writing, communications skills, and conflict management courses. The electronic Mid-Week Management Briefing began in early 2003.
As follow-up to the first survey, formal, in-depth focus groups have been conducted in several units and smaller, informal employee groups have been held to gain employee opinions on key issues such as benefits and training. In response to the benefits meeting, employee input has led to the beginning of additional services such as sick call at employee health, and to closer collaboration with new programs such as Simply Well.
The 2004 survey mirrors the 2002 survey, with the exception of a few questions, Russell said. “It’s to everyone’s advantage to complete the survey so we can make UNMC an even better place to work,” Russell said. Questions about the survey should be directed to 559-5827.