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Senior management's actions support this organization's mission and values.
Survey Domain: Organization
Survey Theme: Organizational Alignment
Understanding the Issue: The first step is to understand the issues behind the survey performance scores. Unless you are absolutely sure that you understand the issues related to a particular survey item, the best place to start is identifying them, and the section Understanding Issues can help you do so. The activities described in Understanding Issues can be used for any of the survey items.
One of your roles as a manager is to serve as a link between senior leaders and your employees. Your work group will often reflect your own attitudes about senior management, so make sure your communications about senior management are informed and balanced.
Improvement ideas:
Use the Envisioning a Solution Activity in Understanding Issues to explore what employees think about senior management's support for the organization's mission and values.
Find out how much employees know about the organization's mission and values. If employees are unclear on the organization's mission and values, invite someone from the senior team to fill in the gaps.
Evaluate how visible senior management is to your department. Have your employees met senior leaders and/or know who they are? Does anyone from the senior team periodically come to your departmental meetings? Your employees should have regular contact with your immediate manager, as well as other senior management. How does senior management communicate with employees in the organization? Are employees informed about important senior management decisions and their impact on the organization? Use information gained from the Envisioning a Solution Activity (exercise) (in tip #1 above) and your analysis of senior management's visibility to present this information to the appropriate person in senior management.
Find out from your peers if their employees also gave this item a low rating. If they did, combine information you gathered from employees across departments and present it to the senior team.
Invite your supervisor or someone else from the senior team to discuss the connection between your departmental and organizational goals. Give employees a chance to ask him/her any questions they would like to have answered.
Resolve your own questions about senior management's actions. If you have questions, it is likely your employees may have the same questions. Talk to your manager or others who can get you answers.
Evaluate the information you provide to employees about senior management and how you share that information. Do you share your negative feelings/frustrations in regard to senior team decisions with your employees? Make sure you do not create a "wall" between your employees and the organization. Periodically share with employees important information on actions/decisions made by senior management.
Evaluate your departmental goals. Do they support overall organizational goals? During staff meetings, spend 10-15 minutes updating employees on organizational changes.
(MI 622)