MGT leaders and engagement champions have spent the past several weeks seeking to understand our division’s engagement survey data.

First, Michell Clark, MGT officers, and HR Business Partner Gina Lewis looked at our survey results and in particular the questions on which our division’s scores were lower to find themes and patterns. Then, they identified three areas that will be the focus of the division’s improvement efforts along with the Boardwide area of focus “safe to speak”. These are:

  • career development
  • communication/transparency
  • performance management

Next, the engagement champions invited randomly selected employees from across the division to attend engagement discussion sessions. In these sessions, participants were asked to share their thoughts on two related survey questions for each area, along with what we could do to improve our performance in these areas. The champions collected more than 70 flip chart pages of feedback, which are summarized below.

Michell and the officers are in the process of developing action plans based on this feedback, so stay tuned for more to come on that. In the meantime, please contact Gina Lewis, Keisha Hargo, or Kevin May, MGT’s engagement champions, if you have any questions.

Summary of feedback on MGT Division areas of focus

Career development

Related survey question 1: My job makes full use of my skills and abilities.

Feedback on why/why not

  • My skills and abilities are fully utilized through varied assignments
  • Insecure managers and employees not open to change, risk, or creative ideas from staff
  • Management does not fully embrace technology
  • Inefficient work habits and processes
  • Knowledge is lacking about employee roles and skills
  • Bias and favoritism in utilizing skills and abilities

Feedback on how to improve this area

  • Improve decisionmaking by leveraging staff expertise
  • Assign more cross-functional and stretch assignments
  • Managers/staff should listen to and learn more from one another
  • Overcome bias and favoritism
  • Improve efficiency of work and processes

Related survey question 2: I have career opportunities at the Board.

Feedback on why/why not

  • Promotional and developmental opportunities exist
  • Budgetary and monetary barriers to opportunities
  • Bias and favoritism are barriers to opportunities
  • Low turnover and flat organizational structure are barriers to opportunities
  • Lack of upward mobility

Feedback on how to improve this area

  • Training and development (leadership training, cross-training, mentorship)
  • Overcome bias and favoritism
  • Better communication
  • Career path programs and succession planning

Communication/transparency

Related survey question 1: I trust senior leaders of my division.

Feedback on why/why not

  • Transparency is low, information does not flow freely
  • Not everyone knows who the senior officers are
  • I have very little dealings with senior leaders and no interaction
  • Senior leaders don’t involve staff in decisions
  • Too much favoritism

Feedback on how to improve this area

  • More opportunity for all staff to interact with all MGT officers
  • Post senior leader profiles for staff to see and learn more about them
  • Be visible, get out of your office
  • Be more transparent
  • Two-way information sharing between levels

Related survey question 2: Senior leaders communicate honestly.

Feedback on why/why not

  • Insight is not provided into why a decision is made, even though staff is expected to support it
  • Favoritism
  • Senior leaders’ communications do not make it down to line employees
  • I don’t have enough interaction with senior leaders to know if they communication honestly or not

Feedback on how to improve this area

  • More transparency
  • Share failures and what we learned from them
  • Explain the “why”

Performance management

Related survey question 1: There is a fair system in place to evaluate employee performance.

Feedback on why/why not

  • 3Cs is fair
  • 3Cs doesn’t apply to LEU
  • 3Cs is better than PMP
  • Staff needs more feedback on the “how” – how they are rated on it, how to apply it, etc.
  • Staff doesn’t understand what it takes to achieve each rating; how you are scored is not clear
  • Fair system that people apply in an unfair way
  • Managers are afraid to give negative feedback
  • Lack of transparency
  • Managers are not trained on the evaluation system
  • Lack of trust in managers
  • Fear
  • Some officers/leaders do not buy into the 3Cs process

Feedback on how to improve this area

  • LEU needs their own evaluation form
  • Separate ratings from compensation
  • Have clear expectations for each rating; more education on the ratings
  • More training for managers giving feedback
  • Give everyone the same opportunity to make a difference and do special projects
  • Be clear on what behaviors and responsibilities are required to advance
  • Employees should be able to evaluate their managers (“360-degree reviews”)
  • More accountability for managers to follow the process
  • Have more manager-employee interaction
  • Eliminate favoritism
  • Transparency

Related survey question 2: Senior leaders have created a work environment that drives high performance.

Feedback on why/why not

  • Not sure what high performance means
  • Lack of senior leadership visibility and support
  • Lack of resources
  • Trust

Feedback on how to improve this area

  • Clarify what high performance means and communicate it to employees
  • Senior management should be more visible and involved with staff
  • Include staff in decisionmaking and accountability
  • Recognize and reward employees