Project 1 Draft

Utah State Developmental Center strives to provide an effective, efficient array of critical services. They promote independence and quality of life for Utah’s most vulnerable people. Individuals with disabilities are assisted in partnership with families, guardians, and the community.

In order for USDC to be able to provide an environment that is conducive to their mission/goals, they seek to lengthen the time they employ an individual in any given role. Lengthening the time that an employee has in any given role:

• 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 as members will get to know who they are working with.

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

The current strategy that USDC has implemented to discover the ongoing issue of employee retention is to survey those that are in the process of leaving the company. This strategy has been implemented for the last year and has not led to desired results. Our recommendation includes keeping these exit surveys.

USDC needs to understand the needs of their employees. Stemming partly from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs USDC can determine whether they are 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. Our hygiene may not give us a reason to live everyday, but generally makes us function better. In business there are attributes of ‘hygiene’ which 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:

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. It is a part of the base for Maslow’s hierarchy of needs for a human. In order to start searching beyond the basic needs, we need to find out how well we are doing with the basic needs. Once that is completed we can move forward to focusing on another realm. In order to increase retention of employees we will need to focus on motivation. As humans, we cannot be totally satisfied with basic needs like hygiene. We need a reason to live, and purpose in life. Jobs can create that purpose and drive, and can be our passion. It would be a shame if bad business hygiene would get in the way of that fulfillment. Motivation brings purpose to the tasks at hand, a fulfilling reason to work, and desire to perform the tasks at hand. Some of these include:

Achievement

Recognition

Responsibility

The work itself (Opportunity to do something meaningful)

Advancement

Personal Growth

Involvement in decision making

Sense of importance to an organization

Repeat these 5 steps every quarter.

1. Create goals for USDC for the upcoming quarter.

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

   2. We recommend that the goal should be to bring that down to 10% quarterly (Q3 2020).

   3. Stretch goal should be 5%.

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

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

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

   3. It is our recommendation to 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. It is recommended that key decision makers receive a report of the quarter goals and the results surveyed (this should always include participation rates).

   2. It is recommended that key decision makers receive suggestions to improve business ‘hygiene’ or ‘motivation’.

4. Make necessary changes to the company.

   1. If there are changes that are to be 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.

5. 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)

Why will this help?

The following recommendations are based on understanding the hygiene and motivation levels of 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.

Through communication with USDC staff members we understand that as a company, you have concerns about your high employee turnover rate. To better comprehend this concern, we put together a survey and distributed it via email to USDC employees. We asked some general questions to better understand job satisfaction. The main challenge with this survey was that only 22% of the individuals the survey was sent to replied. This excludes a large number of employees and potential helpful data. From those that did respond we did gain data that of those 22% of people that responded a majority said they do feel satisfied at their job and plan to stay with USDC for a long time. The challenge with the survey was that a majority of the results came from one group of employees with the same job description. This is great for determining job satisfaction from one portion of the company, but it is important that everyone in the company has the opportunity and is motivated to respond to surveys.

To better understand why the employee turnover rate at USDC is so high and to get greater feedback from surveys we recommend that you distribute a pulse survey every quarter. A pulse survey will allow you to ask general questions about employee satisfaction in the workplace and collect any other data that you are interested in. Conducting the surveys quarterly will allow employees to frequently give their feedback and help them feel more comfortable responding and giving honest responses.

In order for employees to participate it is critical that they feel heard by those who can make changes and are asking the questions. When a survey is conducted it is important for the information to be reviewed thoroughly and that suggestions go through the correct channels to make noticeable change. As employees see that answering the surveys are effective and make a difference, they will gain more motivation to fill them out. In order to get more participation people also need to be notified before that the survey is going out and be given the necessary resources and time to do so. If the survey is presented electronically make sure that everyone has access to a computer by the time you want the survey completed. These pulse surveys should not take more than five minutes to complete, so they won’t distract from other priorities. Without sufficient feedback it is difficult for changes to be made in order to increase employee retention.

Getting this feedback will help USDC better understand the needs of its employees and how they are doing emotionally, mentally, and physically in the workplace. These things all affect an employee’s productivity and job satisfaction. Herzberg’s two-factor principles theory states that people’s level of job satisfaction is affected by motivation factors, and hygiene factors. Motivation factors include things like the achievement, recognition, and potential growth. Hygiene factors include things about the overall work environment such as policies, working conditions, and salary.

Something else that can help with job satisfaction and increased employee retention is understanding the events theory. This theory shows that there is a connection between an individual’s emotions in the workplace and their performance and job satisfaction. These can be affected by things Herzberg’s two-factor principle theory and can be negative or positive emotions. According to the affective events theory, emotions leading to job dissatisfaction and employee turnover build over time. Emotions are to be expected within a work environment and understanding the emotions that your employees are experiencing while at work can prevent lowered productivity and job dissatisfaction. Using a pulse survey quarterly can help with the challenge of high employee turnover because you will be able to understand emotions in the workplace as well as motivation and hygiene factors as explained by these theories.

Throughout our experience studying and revising people's behavior here at USDC we also came up with the recommendation of Say thank you. Based on a survey which only 138 people took on a place that has more than 500 people working we believe that some changes need to be made. Our suggestion would be to say thank you. The division in this organization is very complex in the sense that the people we really needed to hear from didn't take the survey.

One of the reasons is because that group of people works hands on. They are the ones to work directly with the residents. It makes it very difficult to have access to the computer in this situation but not impossible if encouraged by managers.

Around 8% of the survey people don't feel valued by the USDC. Our recommendation for this matter will be a thank you letter. According to a study by the Technical Assistance Research Project in Washington, there are five main reasons why any business loses a customer:

• 3% leave for convenience;

• 9% leave for a relationship;

• 15% leave because of problems with the product, price, or delivery; and

• 5% leave for miscellaneous reasons.

But the remaining 68% of customers leave for the most important reason perceived indifference. In short, they just didn't feel valued or appreciated. (Katherine Vessenes, JD. CFP)

A thank you letter would be a great start, to show appreciation and gratitude for the service. Never the last, to show how important these people's performances are important and benefits the organization.

FAQ’s

Q: How can we incentivise participation in pulse surveys?
A: First and foremost, let your employees know that 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. Promoting the idea/behavior providing 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: It is our recommendation that USDC knows how much money it is costing every year to replace 32% 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 3

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?

   1. 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?

   1. 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?

   1. 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.

It is our recommendation that USDC knows how much money it is costing/saving every year to replace 32% of its employees.

Q: What questions should I ask in a pulse survey?
A: We recommend that you 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?

We conducted a pulse survey to introduce the company to this trend, and to start the process of gaining knowledge of the current standings of the company. However, there was only a company wide 27% participation rate. Our target group, the Direct Support Professionals, only had a 9.5% participation rate to this survey.

Find out how your employees are feeling/thinking. You cannot make meaningful changes to increase your employee retention if you do not know why they are leaving.