CLIMATE (THE ATWORK CLIMATE SURVEY)

One of our major clients has said that using the AtWork Climate Survey was the best initiative their organisation had ever done, as it brought to light hidden issues that were unknowing eating away at their workplace climate, and ensured that action was taken to address these.

Without good information it can be hard to know what is going on in your workplace! Particularly in larger organisations (50 upwards) a structured survey conducted by an skilled external consultant is probably the most accurate and cost-effective way of capturing the “climate” of your workplace.

The AtWork Climate Survey was originally developed for Rural Finance, where it’s been used to keep a finger on the organisational pulse since 2007. More recently other organisations have taken on this great tool. Everyone using it gains solid insights from staff through a structured online survey that produces a useful report capturing the key indicators of "climate":

• Behaviour, attitudes and feelings that characterise life in your organisation
• Prevailing, average and long term patterns

The survey is implemented online. Information is collected in a systematic way, from a sample of individuals or right across the organisation. Participation rate is high - typically 80 to 90% of staff will complete the survey.

Using an external provider gives an assurance of confidentiality for staff, critical in ensuring you receive real information rather than what staff might think their organisational leaders want to hear.

The AtWork Climate Survey can help you:

• To benchmark your organisational climate
• To assess climate across a number of key categories, as well as on individual items
• To gather "qualitative" feedback on staff perceptions of your organisation - strengths and development needs
• To assess what staff are saying about particular aspects such as service, branding and related issues in the customisable section of the survey

The AtWork Climate Survey standard structure measures climate across the following categories:

• Team Leadership & Performance
• Departmental/Divisional Performance
• Organisational Leadership, Management and Change
• Fair and Reasonable Treatment
• Communication
• Learning & Development
• Performance Management
• Remuneration & Benefits
• Engagement & Retention measures

What you do after the survey is critical. AtWork can assist with developing a strategy based on the results, and an implementation plan if needed.

There are few guarantees in corporate life, but this is one. You WILL have positive outcomes through this process. One of AtWork’s key clients felt it was the best thing they had ever done for their organisation. They gained unexpected insights and were able to respond to turn around challenging situations and introduce changes that benefitted not only the staff and organisation but customers too.

To find out more about how the AtWork Climate Survey can help you, contact info@atworkconsulting.com.au