Fall 2009 Update: Impact on Employee Engagement From a Supervisor's Perspective
"How has School at Work Impacted My Employees?"
A survey of the direct supervisors of School at Work graduates was conducted during August 2008. The purpose was to determine supervisor perceptions regarding the impact that School at Work had on employee behavior. The on-line survey, implemented by Catalyst Learning Company, was distributed to School at Work coaches, who then forwarded it to graduates' immediate supervisors. Managers of over 300 employees from 24 sites participated in the study.
Terryl Kendricks, CNO Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth “Our engagement scores over the last few years have improved—we’re in the high 90s, 95% or 96% participation rate—and as far as satisfaction, very high. Just the fact that we have this program, they know that the organization is interested in their growth and development. Four is the maximum, and we get 3.89 or 3.9 for our overall ranking in that specific category.”
“SAW gives our employees the self-confidence and skills they need. They then take that positive attitude back to their department, and it spreads. Our employees are engaged and feel that we have gone beyond expectations.” - Louise Truitt, Director of Human Resources, Doctors Hospital Columbus, Columbus, GA
Impact on Facility - Skill Set Area
Percentage of employees who increased capability or results in this specific area
Accountability
66.2%
Productivity
67.7%
Advancement Potential
77.2%
Verbally identified career & education goals
66.2%
Loyalty to facility
70.1%
Impact on Employee - Skill Set Area
Percentage of employees who increased capability or results in this specific area
Reading & Understanding Workplace Documents
81.9%
Communications: Grammar
81.8%
Communications: Listening
83.5%
Time management and organizational skills
72.5%
Confidence (range is across a variety of activities)
73.2-86.6%
Initiative; Willingness to perform new tasks
85.1%
Teamwork; Willingness to work together as a team
86.63%
Confidentiality: Understands and maintains
84.3%
Professionalism; Interest, appearance, punctuality, etc.
86.7%
Sample Quotes from Students' Supervisors
“My employee became more organized in her duties…she better understands why it is important to perform certain tasks in a certain way.”
Allan Loper, Administrative Director of Lab Services River Region Health System, Vicksburg, MS
“My employees’ attendance improved, and SAW made them more inclined to share new ideas in their work setting. The only way this program can be improved is to see if there’s an opportunity for more staff to participate.”
John Williams, Assistant Manager, Housekeeping Columbia Regional Hospital, Columbia, MO
“My employee’s writing skills in both e-mail and more formal documents improved. In the past, messages were all in one paragraph and difficult to understand when going from one thought to the next. This improved significantly with format and clarity of thought, making messages and communication much more effective. Their critical thinking improved too; this had a lot to do with the medical portion of the program…it made their ability to understand the bigger picture better as well as being more open to another’s point of view.”
Richard Parker, Director of Facilities Services, Northwest Medical Center, Tucson, AZ
“My employee has become more professional in his actions and attitude. His work ethics have dramatically improved and he shows a desire to stay in the medical field and grow.”
Richard Miller, ESD, Project Manager Norton Healthcare, Louisville, KY
“Five years ago, I worked in the food service department. After SAW I got promoted to a tech assistant in radiology and then patient advocate—that’s two job advancements after participating in the program!”
Amy Coffman, Promoted from Food Service to Patient Advocate, Baptist Medical Center, Jacksonville, FL
