Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
PA-10: Assessing Employee Satisfaction

Individual departments often conducted employee satisfaction/employee engagement surveys specific to their employees. These surveys have been replaced by one annual, comprehensive engagement survey for all employees of the institute. Both on-line and hard-copy survey methodology is available to staff, dependent on their needs/skills. All responses are guaranteed confidentiality and data analysis by our Institutional Research department or external consultants, preserve the confidentiality. Participants are also allowed to provide specific comments on specific areas requiring improvement across the institute. These comments are aggregated, analyzed for common themes and provided to NAIT's Executive Director of Human Resources for consideration. Major themes requiring action are determined, and auctioned. Full transparency of the process is ensured: an introduction of the survey and its purpose is provided in communications from the President/CEO; summary of survey results are posted on NAIT's staff portal and on public site; an analysis/short list of improvement themes identified through the written responses are posted, and initiatives undertaken to address the issues are communicated to all staff. Updates are provided as appropriate.

Results from the employee satisfaction survey have been used to support the development of various initiatives including: - Organizational Development provides the Essentials of Leadership at NAIT, which is a three-day course that provides new supervisors with critical information they need in order to oversee such things as our collective agreements, as well as legal and human resource procedures. This course is open to all new NAIT supervisors. - Organizational Development also provides the Leadership Development Course Series, which features half-day modules such as coaching, delegating and performance management and aims to develop leadership skills for individuals aspiring to, or currently in, leadership positions. This ensures these people develop and are equipped with the skills required to be successful in management roles as their careers advance at NAIT. - Update to the NAIT Way Values card, coupled with education at leadership meetings to get the word out and inform the community about NAIT’s core institutional values. - The President Glenn Feltham and the Provost and VP Academic Neil Fassina attend Open Houses, campus events, and are both active on social media to promote NAIT and discuss the direction it is heading. - Small institutional infrastructure deficiencies noted by staff in the survey are itemized and fixed.