Town of Markham

REPORT  TO FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE

 

 

TO:

Mayor and Members of Council

 

 

FROM:

John Livey

Chief Administrative Officer

 

 

PREPARED BY:

Rick Dominico

Manager, Corporate Quality Department

 

 

DATE OF MEETING:

2004-08-30

 

 

SUBJECT:

Results of 2004 Staff Satisfaction Survey

 

 

 

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report “Results of 2004 Staff Satisfaction Survey” be received.

 

PURPOSE:

To provide highlights of the results of the fourth staff satisfaction survey results which was administered in May and June of 2004.

 

BACKGROUND

 

The Town’s quality journey began in late 1996 with the formation of the Markham Management Model and an organizational assessment to identify corporate areas for improvement. The Management Model was created using the National Quality Institute’s Framework for Excellence as a guide. Their four level Progressive Excellence Program provides recognition to organizations who have demonstrated success at meeting the criteria for each of the stages of the quality journey. Markham was the first municipality in Canada to reach the Level 1 stage (2001) and received the Level II status in 2002. For the Level III award, Markham must demonstrate improvement over time in the key areas of the Model.

 

The Markham Management Model provides the framework for how this organization operates and successful application of the practices contained in the Model contributes to our corporate goal of organizational excellence. A key component of the Model is the measurement of satisfaction and Markham’s satisfaction measurement program is focused on two types of customers; external customers or citizens, and internal customers or staff. For each customer type there is a two-pronged approach to measuring and improving the services offered, as depicted below:

INTERNAL,EXTERNAL 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


DISCUSSION

 

Staff Satisfaction Survey

 

This program was initiated in 1998 and was repeated in 2000, 2002 and recently in May/June of 2004. During the period May 17 to June 2, 2004 615 employees of The Town of Markham completed the Staff Satisfaction Survey.  Ninety-five percent of the respondents were full time staff. After completion of the surveys, the survey data and comments were captured and analyzed for this report by Bench Strength Inc. The results of this year’s survey will be shared with all staff through department meetings and posting on the internal intranet site. Overall, the results reflect a decline from the 2002 survey, with more areas demanding attention and improvement than in previous surveys. Some of the specific highlights of the Staff Satisfaction Survey include:

 

            Overall staff participation rate:         73% (615 employees)

 

            Top scoring items include:

                                               

Item #

Subject

Mean

86

I provide a high level of service to my customers.

4.46

84

My work group provides a high level of service to its customers.

4.26

88

In my work group, staff go the extra mile to make sure our customers get what they need.

4.23

75

I can clearly identify the immediate customers for my work.

4.22

85

My work group’s services are delivered in a timely fashion.

4.10

72

My co-workers are committed to doing quality work.

4.02

46

In my work group,  staff do not give up  when things get tough. 

4.00

36

The Town of Markham is a safe place to work.

3.99

87

In my work group, customers can easily find the right staff to deal with their situation.

3.98

 

 

           

 

 

Low scoring 2004 items included:

 

Item #

Subject

Mean

66

In my work group, unplanned priorities often disrupt normal activities and add to our workload.  (Please elaborate below)

1.99

30

I am satisfied with the performance management system.

2.64

32

In the last six months, time pressure at work has not caused me worry, “nerves”, or stress.

2.71

28

My compensation package is fair in terms of my responsibilities and level of contribution to the Town.

2.79

10

In my work group, employee morale is high.

2.81

69

Over the last two years there has been improvement in the timeliness and effectiveness of the performance management system.

2.88

51

Effective actions have been taken in my work group to improve in the areas identified in the last staff survey.

2.89

52

There is an appropriate level of communication between my work group and other work groups.

2.98

54

Over the last two years there has been improvement in inter-departmental communication and co-operation. (Please comment below)

2.98

 

 

 

Overall satisfaction of staff with the Town of Markham as a good employer:

 

 

1998

 

2000

2002

2004

 

Overall Satisfaction with Town

 

 

 

62%

 

 

 

67.6%

 

 

78%

 

 

70%

 

           

Improvement Plans

 

Leaders workshops occurred in late June to provide Directors and senior managers with an overview of the Town results and to provide specific results for their respective departments. Each Department is required to identify and select two or more specific areas for improvement that pertains to their unit, along with feedback on Town-wide improvement areas related to workload and communication between departments. This process is to include all staff in the department, with improvement plans established by the end of September. Regular progress reporting on these plans will be managed by the Corporate Quality Department. Where appropriate, departments that have a significant number of potential improvement areas will receive facilitated support from outside of their department. Areas identified for this assistance are:

 

·        CIO’s Office

·        Fire and Emergency Services

·        Operations

·        Waterworks

·        Roads

·        Parks

·        Human Resources

 

Town-wide improvement areas have been identified as follows:

           

                        Performance Management System

                        Workload and its impact, including unplanned priorities

                        Use of Town’s customer satisfaction measurements

                        Inter-Departmental communication and cooperation

                        Management practices

 

These areas have been listed as corporate operational priorities for 2005 and the CAO and Commissioners Committee (CCC) will be leading and tracking the implementation efforts for each of these priority areas. An external review  of the performance management system is under way, specific management practices are being identified for potential improvement, and all staff are being asked for their specific feedback on the workload and communication/cooperation areas. The results of the upcoming citizen satisfaction survey will be used to respond to the customer satisfaction area.

 

SUMMARY

 

The Markham Management Model is a key component of the Quality Services through Quality People initiative and includes a strong focus on improvement measurement for both staff and external customers. The results of our fourth staff satisfaction survey provide the organization and specific departments with direction for improvement efforts that will assist the Town with its goal of Organizational Excellence.

 

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

No financial implications are to be considered in this report.

 

 

 

___________________________                                          ________________________

Rick Dominico                                                              John Livey

Manager, Corporate Quality                                                     Chief Administrative Officer