The employee satisfaction survey had not been conducted in the past 5 years. In the light of all the changes and events that have taken place in the interim period, it seemed appropriate to start with a new, more comprehensive and complex survey, which will be longitudinal and conducted in the same format every two years.
Reviewing the work and personal life integration measures that exist in the organization, analysing the use women and men make of them, how measures could be improved and what other needs workers might have to improve or propose new measures
Problem (evidence)
Aims/objectives
To understand the perceptions of researchers, support staff and management of the working conditions in NIC and areas that need improvement.
Resources
Understanding of basic HR issues.
Knowledge of how to put together a questionnaire to get decent and relevant answers.
Statistical and methodological knowledge on data analysis and its interpretation.
Knowledge on policy measures and how to implement them.
Brief outcomes
The survey provided useful data indicating some dissatisfaction, primarily systemic in nature. For example, researchers were found to be not very satisfied with support staff. Staff on fixed-term contracts, with project-based jobs, were dissatisfied about their job insecurity and career prospects. It also turned out that foreign employees were more satisfied than Slovenian employees.
We notice there is a lot of room for improvement in the field of internal relations: in the flow of information, in HR – especially in the field of career development, etc.
Key area
Work and personal life integration
Type of action
Data gathering and analysis
Organization
Kemijski Inštitut, National Institute of Chemistry
Research institute
Action level of implementation
All RPO community with a focus on those with commitments and duties of relatives (ascending and descending relatives for example)
Implementation
PLOTINA team undertook research of previous surveys and has discovered one analysis, done in 2014 by the Trade Union that included all employees. However, the questions asked were not directly related to the staff well-being and gender issues, so new questions were designed and included in the employee satisfaction survey questionnaire.
The online survey contained 8 sections, most of which included between 8 and 12 ordinal variables. They were measured on a 5-step Likert scale (1 – strongly disagree to 5 – strongly agree), and finally included sets of demographic variables.
Challenges
The last similar survey took place several years ago. In the meantime, many systemic changes have taken place. It was necessary to re-establish the employees’ confidence to feel that they can express their opinions openly and, above all, motivate them to respond to the survey as each opinion counts.
Because it was an internet survey, we had to manage IP Restrictions – prevention of Multiple Fill Outs and eliminate unsuitable units (units that completed only part of the survey, e.g. one set).
Many respondents were reluctant to disclose answers to demographic questions. We attribute this to mistrust or doubt about true anonymity. It will be difficult to show statistically significant differences because there are not enough or very few answers and no correlation for the demographic variables.
Coping strategies
In the survey analysis only frequencies have been presented.
More detailed Outcomes/Impact
A surprisingly high number of employees (2/3) completed the survey. However, the fact that respondents did not provide answers to all questions (e.g. demographics), indicates that there is not enough confidence to express their views without worrying about the possible consequences.
In light of the results, it is imperative that policies need to be developed and followed in areas that have proved problematic. We believe that it is necessary to involve all employees in the design of these measures. In this way they will take ownership of these measures and will implement them more easily in the work environment. It is important for this action to take a holistic (360 degrees) approach and to communicate updates bottom-up and top-down to all stakeholders.
Reflection: what we would do differently
We need to boost employees’ confidence to talk openly about problems, without being concerned about consequences, as only this can indicate the areas for improvement.