FM Employee Satisfaction Still Strong

by Kate Riley

We had wonderful participation in the 2003 FM Employee Satisfaction Survey—83% of our staff answered the survey conducted this past April. The overall satisfaction rate was again very positive; 53% of staff rated themselves as highly satisfied with Financial Management as an employer. At the July Leaders Event, we further analyzed the results to determine what our strengths are, where we need to make improvements, and what our next steps should be.

Key survey findings
The strengths we identified include:
• This is an enjoyable place to work.
• There is confidence in the leadership.
• Staff have opportunities to learn and grow.
• Staff feel that they have the information and materials needed to do their work.

Where we saw needed improvements were
• FM leadership is perceived as inconsistent in its management practices.
• Staff want more recognition, encouragement and to feel more valued.
• FM would benefit from better teamwork and cooperation.
• Better planning is needed to ensure FM meets its objectives.

What happens next
We agreed at the Leaders Event that we needed to better understand why leadership is perceived as inconsistent—what are examples of favoritism; what keeps staff from trusting what leaders say; and what do people mean when they say leaders say one thing and do another. To explore these topics, we will gather input through a series of activities this fall.

As far as recognizing staff and promoting teamwork, remember to use the RQT program. Various awards allow us all to recognize those who demonstrate staff or leader qualities or those who have made improvements and deserve a TOPS award. The new Bravo award has been very successful in giving us all another way to recognize each other.

In regards to better planning, the EIT will be revising our strategic plan at this year’s retreat in October and developing dashboard measures to ensure that we’re on track. After we have finalized the strategic plan for the division, departments will be identifying those initiatives they need to implement to support our overall direction.

Individual departments have been discussing the results and identifying how they can make improvements. SFS had a productive day-long retreat to focus on how they could rid themselves of office politics. Payroll has been working with its staff to improve the overall satisfaction in their unit. Both Financial Accounting and Financial Services will be conducting retreats in October to better understand their results.

As you can see, we are moving ahead to address the results of the survey. Look for information on how you can contribute coming soon. For additional information about the survey including the full results, contact your EIT member.