STAFF@WORK
SURVEY ANALYSIS, 2011-2015
OVERVIEW OF THE SURVEY
The survey is designed to assess employees’ satisfaction with their work environment. The survey consists of 53 items
measured on a 5-point scale ranging from 1(strongly disagree) to 5(strongly agree).
Items are repeated each year to enable tracking of performance trends.
Survey items cluster around six Dimensions (see Pg. 2):
•
•
•
•
•
•
Satisfaction with UC San Diego
Department Mission and Goals
Department Effectiveness
Department Diversity Climate
Supervisor Effectiveness
Employee Effectiveness and Satisfaction
There is also a single-item Overall Satisfaction score based the statement:
“Overall, I am a satisfied UC San Diego Employee.”
The goal of the survey is to identify key Strengths (areas where Units and UC San Diego are doing well) and Opportunities (areas
where issues can be addressed). A given item or survey Dimension is assigned a place on the map of Strengths and Opportunities
based on two factors: 1) How strongly did people agree with that item or combination of items (Dimension) and 2) how strongly
was that item or Dimension related to Overall Satisfaction.
SOME NOTES ON STATISTICS AND ANALYSES
Keep the item response scale in mind when looking at item and dimension MEAN scores:
Below 3.o: LOW
3.0 to 3.5: MARGINAL
3.6 to 3.9: GOOD
4.0 and above: EXCELLENT
Similarly, the size of the CORRELATION reflects the strength when looking at the relationship of items and dimensions to Overall
Satisfaction:
.1:WEAK
.30 MODERATE
.50 STRONG
Finally, statistical significance does not always translate to real-world significance. Whether or not they are significant, differences
between means are probably more important when they:
•
•
Change direction (e.g., move from neutral to positive, neutral to negative, negative to positive)
Cross a boundary (MARGINAL to LOW; GOOD to EXCELLENT)
1
HOW TO USE THIS REPORT
The following table shows a description of the figures and tables contained in the report and where they can be found.
Report Section
Overview
Location
Page 1, Top
Left
Dimension Ratings Breakdown
Page 1, Top
Right
Page 1,
Bottom
Page 2
Satisfaction Means by
Dimension
Survey Mean Score Trend
Analysis
Strength/Opportunity Plot by
Dimension
Page 3 Top
Left
Strength/Opportunity Plot by
Survey Item
Page 3
Bottom
Left
Page 3
Bottom
Left
Interpreting the
Strength/Opportunity Plot
Table of Strength/Opportunity
Scores
Page 3
Right
Staff@Work Survey Items
Page 4
Description
Contains an overview of survey responses, including:
• The survey response rate and overall average score
• Key trends (increases, decreases, high scoring items)
• Items representing the top three Primary Opportunities
• Breakdown of Overall Satisfaction item responses
Shows percentage of responses at each level of the 1 to 5 response scale for each of
the six survey Dimensions.
Shows side-by-side comparison of mean Dimension scores across years of survey
administration.
Shows mean scores by item for comparison across years of survey administration.
Indicates any changes from previous years and how Unit compares with total scores
of the overall Organizational Unit. The arrows are pointed up or down if there is a
change greater than .09. Yellow highlighted cells indicate a statistically significant
change from the previous year. A green cell at the far right of the table indicates this
question in the unit scored higher than the overall Organizational Unit. For example,
for a VC level report, the “overall Organizational Unit ” is the UCSD rolled-up result.
Shows where each survey Dimension falls on the map of Strengths (average mean
score of all Dimension items) versus Opportunities (relationship to Overall
Satisfaction).
Shows where each survey item falls on the map of Strengths (mean score) versus
Opportunities (relationship to Overall Satisfaction).
“Strengths”: Items that fall in this category are those that scored above the mean
score of satisfaction and below the mean score in relationship to satisfaction. Thus,
these are items that are scoring well but are not as strongly related to satisfaction.
Continue the good work here.
“Influential Strengths”: These are items that are scoring well and are also strongly
related to satisfaction. Thus, keep up the good work here. These are critical to
continuing satisfaction.
“Secondary Opportunities”: These are items that are scoring lower but are not as
strongly related to satisfaction. These are not critical to making changes, but keep an
eye on these to see if they move into “Primary Opportunities.
“Primary Opportunities”: These are items that are scoring low in satisfaction and
are also important to impacting satisfaction levels. These are where to concentrate
improvement efforts.
Exhibits data from Strength/Opportunity Plot by Survey Item in table form, showing
individual item means, correlation with Overall Satisfaction, and comparison with
previous year. PO, or “Primary Opportunities” are highlighted in yellow to emphasize
the area with greatest opportunity for change.
Shows all survey items by item number and Dimension.
2
HOW TO USE YOUR RESULTS
SHARING THE RESULTS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP!
Discuss the meaning of results with leadership and staff.
•
•
•
•
•
Ask what these results mean to them. Are there any surprises? Where there any particular cases or exceptional situations that may put
the results in context?
Is there a common understanding of what the questions mean?
For the Strengths/Primary Opportunities scatter graph chart, look at the overall picture. Is the overall mean score already at or above
4.0? If so, be realistic about the ROI of investing resources to making these scores even higher.
Be sure to look at patterns across time as well as the current year.
Consider a 5-year picture to place current results in context.
Commit to taking specific needed action based on your results.
•
Identify benchmarks that you are trying to meet. For example, how do your results compare to UC San Diego overall?
Communicate the results.
•
For example, post results on your internal webpage. DON’T FORGET CELEBRATE THE POSITIVE!
A note about the Verbatim comments.
•
The verbatim comment files are not edited or redacted. They provide valuable insight into the thoughts and feeling of your staff, directly
in their own words. It is intended for the VC, and for Senior Leaders at the VC’s discretion. Trust is critical. Be sensitive to how these
verbatim are used or communicated within your organization. The verbatim are anonymous but grouped by unit level, and thus
perceptions of anonymity may be a concern. We do not advise that these files be disseminated widely within your organization.
3