Final Version of Project 1

Background

Utah State Developmental Center (USDC) strives to provide an effective, efficient array of critical services. USDC promotes independence and quality of life for Utah’s most vulnerable people: individuals with disabilities. This group of people are assisted in partnership with families, guardians, and the community.

For USDC to provide an environment conducive to its mission/goals, it seeks to lengthen the time of employment in any given role. Benefits of this mission are the following:

• Provides valuable knowledge (understanding policies and procedures) and thereby efficiency to serving the clients of USDC

• Saves money, as USDC must invest resources to find, hire, train, and acclimate new individuals to its unique culture

• Prevents liabilities, as not having the appropriate coverage in its facilities is a liability to USDC

• Supports the culture of teamwork and unity as members will get to know who they are working with

Problem

Within one year, USDC has seen 32 percent of their total employees change roles within the company or leave. The frontline staff position (Direct Support Professional) makes up 69 percent of the company. This position alone saw a staggering 61 percent of its members move within the company or leave in the last year.

The current strategy USDC has implemented to discover the ongoing issue of employee retention is to survey those who are in the process of leaving the company. This strategy has been implemented for the last year and has not led to desired results.

Data and Research

USDC should understand the needs of its employees. Stemming partly from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, USDC can determine whether the company is providing basic necessities or reaching beyond the basics.

Frederick Herzberg created a theory called the two-factor theory (motivation-hygiene theory). He relates a business to the human's hygiene and motivation. One's hygiene may not give reasons to live everyday but generally makes one function better. The attributes of business ‘hygiene’ generally do not create motivation to stay at a job; however, just like human hygiene, when maintained, they can decrease potential dissatisfaction. Some of these include the following:

• working conditions

• coworker relations

• policies and rules

• supervisor quality

• base wage, salary

• benefits (paid insurance, vacations)

Just as hygiene is important to a human, it is important to a business. Hygiene is a part of the base for Maslow’s hierarchy of needs for a human. To start searching beyond the basic needs of employees, one must first find out how well the company is doing with the basic needs. Then one can move forward to build upon the base. To increase retention of employees, one needs to focus on motivation. As humans, the basic needs (for instance hygiene) are not totally satisfying. The reasons to live, or one's purpose in life, are usually higher forms of purpose than maintaining basic hygiene. What one does for a living can create purpose and drive. A career can be one’s passion. Bad business hygiene can tragically get in the way of that potential personal fulfillment. Motivation brings purpose to the tasks at hand, a fulfilled reason to work, and desire to perform the tasks at hand. The following can help measure the level of motivation:

• achievement

• recognition

• responsibility

• the work itself (opportunity to do something meaningful)

• advancement

• personal growth

• involvement in decision making

• sense of importance to an organization

Solution One

Repeat these four steps every quarter.

1. Create goals for USDC for the upcoming quarter

   1. USDC’s Direct Support Professional separation rate is currently 15 percent every quarter Q1 2020 & Q2 2020

   2. A good working goal should be 10 percent quarterly (Q3 2020)

   3. Stretch goal should be 5 percent

2. Check in on the hygiene and motivation of employees quarterly through a “pulse survey”

   1. Questions will target the ‘hygiene’ and ‘motivation’ of the employees

   2. Participation rate should be taken as seriously as the responses received. Low
      participation reflects low hygiene and motivation in a company. Goal for
      participation should be 100 percent or the high 90s

   3. Roll out a “pulse survey” as an integral part of the
      USDC’s goals to provide higher job satisfaction. Everyone should receive some sort of formal meeting or contact regarding this company policy. This survey should be optional but incentivised heavily

3. Review the pulse survey quarterly

   1. Key decision makers receive a report of the quarter goals and the results surveyed (this should always include participation rates)

   2. Key decision makers receive suggestions to improve business ‘hygiene’ or ‘motivation’

4. Make necessary changes to the company

5. If changes are made

   1. An email/meeting will be communicated explaining the feedback that was received and what the new policy/changes USDC is implementing in direct response to that feedback

   2. A specific date should be outlined for the new change if it is not to be effective immediately

Solution Two

Repeat the following step every quarter.

1. Send a quarterly report of the money lost/saved due to the current employee turnover rate.

   1. This will show the costs of: finding (e.g. indeed.com), hiring (e.g. interviews, reviewing resumes), training (e.g. MANDT), and onboarding (e.g. shadowing, getting employee to full productivity)

Solution Three

Continue performing exit surveys.

Overall Recommendation

The recommendations given are based on understanding the current standing of hygiene and motivation levels in USDC prior to attempting to fix them. The given quarterly pattern will put pressure on management to provide reports that analyze their current status and provide course corrections to increase overall job satisfaction and thereby employee retention.

A pulse survey was conducted by 5a Consulting to introduce the company to the values of business hygiene maintenance. Good business hygiene maintenance will promote a work culture of transparency and communication. This pulse survey has already started the process of gaining knowledge of the current standings of the company in its hygiene and the motivation of its employees. 27 percent of the total company participated. The target group, the Direct Support Professionals, only had a 9.5 percent participation rate to this survey. Every non-participate could be likened to a pulse flatlining. The response rate sampled here is near equivalent to a code blue for business hygiene. It would be irresponsible to make a business change in regards to the direct feedback received, when it is such a poor sample of the overall target group. USDC’s business hygiene needs to be addressed first and foremost. Did the target group know about the survey? If not, why? If so, why was it not taken? Creating a pattern of listening and responding to the pulse of the target group will instill confidence opening communication and transparency in the workplace.

Keeping track of finances is a business hygiene essential. Knowing what one is paying for gives incentive to businesses to make adjustments. Maintaining this information will lower dissatisfaction in the expenditures of the company.

Continuing the practice of listening to those who are changing positions or leaving USDC can again measure hygiene and motivation.

In conclusion, the recommendation is to find out how the employees are feeling/thinking. One cannot make meaningful changes to increase employee retention if one does not know why they are leaving/changing positions.

FAQ’s

Q: How can participation in pulse surveys be best incentivised?

A:​ First and foremost, let your employees know you will do something with their feedback, and then actually do (see steps 1-4). People do not like to give out their opinion if they feel like the recipient does not care. Suggestion #1: Create time at work for them to complete the survey. This alone shows employees that you value their feedback. Suggestion #2: Healthy competition. Add a question at the beginning of the survey asking what building they work in. Keep track of the participation rates of each building and make it a competition of which building can get the highest participation rate.

*Do not provide money or prizes for pulse survey participation. This gives the wrong kind of incentive. This would be promoting the idea/behavior that providing one’s feedback is only valuable if something additional is gained. (See the study done by David Greene and Mark R. Lepper: Effects of Extrinsic Rewards on Children's Subsequent Intrinsic Interest)

Q: How do I calculate a quarterly report of the money lost due to the current employee turnover rate?

A: USDC should know how much money it is costing/saving every year to replace 32 percent of its employees. Below are some guidelines to follow to get an estimate on how much is spent per quarter due to employee turnover rate.

Q1 2020: January 1 - March 31 Q2 2020: April 1 - June 30

Finding:

1. Who is employed at USDC that participates in finding/screening?

   1. What were they paid for their finding/screening time during the given time?

2. What third parties (if any) are providing assistance to USDC in finding/screening? a. What were they paid in total during the given time?

3. Building, computer, software, or other expenses that were used for Finding? Grand total amount:

Hiring:

1. Who is employed at USDC that participates in the hiring process?

   1. What were they paid for their hiring time during the given time?

2. What third parties (if any) are providing assistance to USDC in hiring? a. What were they paid in total during the given time?

3. Building, computer, software, or other expenses that were used for hiring? Grand total amount:

Training:

1. Who is employed at USDC that participates in training?

   1. What were they paid for their finding/screening time during the given time?

2. What third parties (if any) are providing assistance to USDC in training?

   1. What were they paid in total during the given time?

3. Building, computer, software, or other expenses that were used for training? Grand total amount:

Onboarding:

1. Who is employed at USDC that participates in onboarding?

   1. What were they paid for their finding/screening time during the given time?

2. What third parties (if any) are providing assistance to USDC in onboarding? a. What were they paid in total during the given time?

3. Building, computer, software, or other expenses that were used for onboarding? Grand total amount:

Final Calculation

1. Add together the grand total amount for all 4 categories (finding, hiring, training, onboarding). This is the total costs of hiring for the quarter.

2. Divide the total of step 1 by the number of employees lost. This is how much it cost per employee lost.

3. *Optional* (If the employee costs are from the same department) Add together the potential estimated salary/hourly wages that would have been collected by the lost employees during the quarter. Compare the total costs of hiring with how much it would have cost to retain the employees.

Q: What questions should I ask in a pulse survey?

A:​ Target the following areas:

• Individual buildings​: Which building do you work in? (A, B, C, D)

• Work groups​: What is your job title at USDC?

• Age groups​: Which category includes your age?

• Genders​: What is your gender?

• Employment length (so far)​: How long have you been with USDC?

• Estimated employment length (to come)​: How many years do you think you will stay at USDC?

• Future Opportunity​: Do you feel like you have opportunities for professional development within USDC?

• Job/Life balance​: I am satisfied with the balance between work and life outside of work in this job.

• Supervisor guidance​: I feel like I am getting adequate one on one guidance with my immediate supervisor.

• Supervisor confidence​: How likely is it that your immediate supervisor will receive and consider your suggestions or ideas to solve a work problem or issue?

• Management confidence​: How likely is it that USDC upper management/Administration will receive and consider your suggestions or ideas to solve a work problem or issue?

• Value at current role​: Do you feel valued at USDC?

• Work Culture​: Please rate what you believe is the current level of "teamwork" for your current work unit (you, your coworkers, and immediate supervisor).

• Job satisfaction​: How satisfied are you working at USDC?

• Job satisfaction​: How likely are you to recommend USDC to a friend as a place to work?