Procedures for Appropriate Use and Distribution of 2005 Employee Survey Results

The 2005 employee survey  conducted as a follow up to the 2002 employee survey which was initiated by the City Commission to find out how City employees feel about their working conditions.  While the 2002 survey was intended to establish a baseline measure of issues, from the employees' perspective, that impact the quality of work life of City employees, the 2005 survey results will provide important information that will help us work together to recognize our successes since the 2002 survey and help demonstrate where improvements may be necessary.

The City Commission and ETC Institute of Olathe, Kansas, are strongly committed to respecting the anonymity and confidentiality of every participant not only for this 2005 survey but any related survey in future years.  In addition, ensuring that the individual surveys and survey results will only be used for statistically appropriate use and will not be used to harm any employee, regardless of their position in the organization, is paramount.

With these goals and commitments in mind, the City Commission and ETC Institute have agreed to the following procedures which will control the use and dissemination of the 2005 surveys and results.

1. Completed survey questionnaires will be collected by ETC Institute during the survey administration process.  These forms will be maintained at ETC Institute 725 W. Frontier Circle Olathe, Kansas 66061.  The completed questionnaires will be considered confidential documents that will be viewed only by appropriate ETC Institute personnel.  All such ETC Institute personnel will be informed of their legal obligation to maintain strict confidentiality.

2. ETC Institute will also maintain any electronic survey data files in the same confidential manner as the individual questionnaires.

3. Citywide average results will be presented to the City Commission during a City Commission meeting or scheduled study session.  This same information will also be distributed to Department Directors and City staff. 

4.  ETC Institute will report results at the department level and make each department’s results available to the Department Director.  City Management will ensure any information provided to Department Directors will be available to employees.  ETC Institute will be available to assist departments and employees interpret  the results.

5.  ETC Institute will meet with each Department Director to discuss the survey results and assist him or her with understanding the results.

6. No survey information or results will be used in any employee’s performance evaluation regardless of their position with the City of Lawrence.  Information or results may be used to develop performance goals for upcoming evaluations but the results would be inappropriate to evaluate current year performance.

7. Because each department is different in a variety of ways (e.g., number of employees, work environment, etc.) it is inappropriate to compare one department’s results with another’s.  Such comparisons are also statistically inappropriate. 

8. Because of the possibility of identifying an employee or small group of employees, any department with less than 30 employees will only be able to see department wide results and not results on additional demographics.  (For example, the Administrative Services Department would not be able to see results based on gender.).  In addition, departments with more than 30 employees will be able to see demographic information (e.g., age, national origin, etc.,) only if the specific demographic requested equals or exceeds 5 employees.

9. The City Commission or City Manager may request additional information from ETC Institute.   ETC Institute will review the request to determine if it will likely result in identifying an individual or select group of individuals.  In the event the request will not likely identify an individual or group of individuals, ETC Institute will release the information to the requestor.  Any information released based on any such requests will also be made available to City employees.

10. A Department Director, either at his or her own initiative or at the request of an employee, may also request additional information from ETC Institute.  In the event an employee and Department Director disagree whether a request is appropriate, the Department Director and employee will meet with the Administrative Services Director to review the request.  Any decision reached at this meeting will be final.  In the event the request will not likely identify an individual or group of individuals, ETC Institute will release the information to the Department Director.  This information will also be made available to City employees.

11. The 2005 Employee Survey contains questions about the following: are:

A. Equipment and Resources

B. Safety

C. Working Environment

D. Compensation and Benefits

E. Customer Service and Community Relations

F. Leadership and Managerial Effectiveness

1. Immediate Supervisor

2. Department Managers

3. City Management

G. Employee Recognition

H. Communication

1.   Within My Department

2.   With other work units and City Management

I. Professional Development Opportunities

J. Policies and Procedures

K. City Commission

With these procedures, the City Commission underscores its commitment to listening to our most important asset – our employees.  Over time, regular employee opinion surveys will be an important part of improving the quality of working life for City employees.

If you have any questions about these procedures, please contact Chris Tatham, ETC Institute (913-829-1215), Frank Reeb (832-3201), or Lori Carnahan (832-3202).