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   from the issue of March 11, 2004

     
 
Area takes holistic view of survey

This is one in a recurring feature spotlighting the ways that results from the 2002 Gallup survey have been used to make positive changes on campus.

 

 

The Department or College: Print and Copy Services, and Mail and Distribution Services. Russ Bartholow, manager of Print and Copy Services, answered our questions about the neighborhood’s results.

The question addressed from the Gallup survey: “Because we did not score well overall as a neighborhood, no specific question was addressed. Wanting to create a new and healthy work environment where employees can be successful, Print and Copy Services and Mail and Distribution tried a holistic approach to the Gallup survey.”

Why was the survey addressed this way? “The supervisors and managers discussed several Gallup action plans and approaches. It was agreed that rebuilding the organization from the ground up while providing an environment where each individual employee could concentrate on his or her specific needs would produce the best long-term results. Addressing a single question was ‘the drop in the bucket’ approach to improvement.”

What was the action taken? “We researched the background of the Gallup survey. The books First, Break all the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, and Now, Discover your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton were read. Such research provided the necessary foundation to build a program that is easy to understand, simple to implement, and produces positive results for the employees, work environment and imminent careers.

“While the action plans provided by Gallup did a tremendous job of addressing specific weaknesses, our organization needed a plan with breadth. Therefore, The Summit and Bull’s-Eye plans were developed. The Summit plan focuses on the ‘Q’ questions from the survey, and its goal is to address every aspect of an employee’s career to improve his or her professional abilities and successes. The Bull’s-Eye targets each individual’s needs and focuses on the survey’s ‘I’ questions. Each individual has different obligations specific to his or her particular situation, whether that includes children, illness, education, family or cultural differences. The Bull’s-Eye tool is used to create an environment where such obligations are respected. Working together to get to the Bull’s-Eye inclusiveness, the obstacles that once created division are slowly removed.”

How has the survey and its results benefited your department? “At first the survey seemed, frankly, very silly to most. However, at the very least, the survey provided great motivation to communicate with each other about our workplace. Once our unhealthy environment was recognized, implementation of the Summit and Bulls-Eye was able to proceed. The results of these have been tremendous. The perspective of the workplace is success-based now. Respect of each other is a true concern. Print and Copy Services, Mail and Distribution has become a healthier and more productive organization. Our weaknesses are not emphasized; our strengths are.”

2004 survey

The 2004 Gallup survey is now available until March 14. Employees should have received e-mails with the Web site address and a password for the survey.

For information, call 472-0088 or (800) 788-9987, or e-mail surveyhelp@gallup.com.


GO TO: ISSUE OF MARCH 11

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