Initiative: Building a Culture of Employee Engagement

What are we doing?

In partnership with Gallup, Inc., we are starting to build a culture of employee engagement at the district. Gallup defines engaged employees as those who are "highly involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace. They are psychological owners, drive performance and innovation, and move the organization forward."

During a minimum of a three year period, we will be:

Providing Engagement training workshops for the Executive Team, Leaders/Managers, and Staff
Creating a team of "Engagement Champions" to support the organization in creating a great working environment of thriving teams
Measuring Employee Engagement utilizing the Gallup Q12 Survey
Increasing team and organization-wide engagement year-over-year

To get a more in-depth sense of what we are doing, check out the Project Kickoff PowerPoint from 29 Nov 2022 by clicking on the image below:

Want more information, but don't want to read? We've got you covered! Click the Image Below to access the Employee Engagement YouTube Playlist that contains 17 short videos on topics like:

What Makes Gallup's Q12 the Best Employee Engagement Survey
Why is Employee Engagement Important
What is Gallup's Q12 Employee Engagement Survey
Why Recognition Improves Employee Engagement, and more!

Recent Updates

Page Content

Initiative Information

Executive Sponsor

Christoph Dobson

Project Sponsor

Matt Doyle

Project Team

David Stoffel - Project Lead

Matt Yuen - Assistant Project Lead

Kat Hassett - Assistant Project Lead

Team Resources

Email us if you have any questions at: SDAODP@sacsewer.com

Why are we doing this?

Current Problem:

In 2017, part of SacSewer's 5-year Strategic Plan, and Regional San's 10-year Strategic Plan included becoming a Workplace of Choice. Creating a Workplace of Choice (WoC) means creating an organizational culture that relates to:

Strengthening employee engagement
Increasing employee attraction and retention

Our mission as a leadership team has ultimately not changed – we want to meet the unique and diverse needs of each individual and of each team so that you can perform at your absolute highest level. We are committed to fostering an open, honest, and authentic environment where you can provide your deeply valuable and needed insight and feedback.

In these efforts to meet these needs, we have previously used long surveys and vague resources that were cumbersome and difficult to leverage for managers; we recognize these shortcomings, we heard and still hear you, and we are committed to doing better moving forward in a clear and visible manner.

Here’s what we heard you say of our previous efforts, and here’s how we are responding:

	What we heard you say of previous Workplace of Choice Efforts:	How we are responding:
1	The 2019 survey was unhelpful, unclear, and lengthy	Gallup’s standard Q12 gives holistic and comprehensive insight into the state of engagement for organizations, and consists of 12 core statements. The survey will be quick to take, and your managers will have access to Gallup Access, a web platform that houses thousands of resources and tools that will be leveraged to meet your team’s unique needs. Additionally, we are utilizing Gallup to develop and coach our managers on engagement so that they are fully equipped to have these conversations with you. Before the Q12 survey launch, we will provide training for all staff, leaders, and executive team members.
2	The 2019 survey data was difficult to use	Gallup's platform makes the data digestible and actionable for managers Confidentiality and anonymity are protected while still giving informative data
3	Leaders lacked resources and support to make positive change	All leaders have unlimited access to Gallup Access which is home to to learning, advice, and action planning resources, as well as unlimited pulse survey capabilities Leaders will receive a training demonstration on how to use Gallup Access Staff identified as 'Engagement Champions' will receive training to become experts around engagement to support leaders and staff.
4	We focused on increasing "Accountability" and our "Values" for the entire organization	Gallup's acknowledges that engagement starts at the team level, and each team has unique needs Team leaders will co-create, with his or her teams, action plans on how to increase engagement

Project Impact

By measuring and increasing employee engagement, staff will feel more productive, positive, and feel a strong connection to our organization. The overall impact is that in our efforts, we hope to collectively increase employee engagement, ultimately creating a stronger workplace for all staff.

Project Goals

	Stakeholder	Business Level Requirements/Project Goals	How we will measure success
1	@a user	Increase employee knowledge around engagement, specifically: What employee engagement is Why it's important Understand what your role is How engagement is measured using the Q12 survey Why it's important	Completion Date: March 2023- Before the Q12 Survey Launch, provide training for the following: Impact of Leader Workshop (Executive Team) Creating an Engaging Workplace for Engagement Champions (30 Engagement Champions) Creating an Engaging Workplace for Managers (All leaders) Creating an Engaging Workplace for Individual Contributor (All staff) Gallup Access Manager Training (All leaders) - Leaders receive training on reading and interpreting their data, the resources available to them, and the action planning tool in Gallup Access
2	@a user	Identify and create a team of "Engagement Champions" to help promote engagement initiatives that will provide learning, coaching and support to accelerate engagement and optimize growth	By January 2023 - Identify the right group of Engagement Champions (30 max) By March 2023 - Provide a 2-day workshop for Engagement Champions By March 2023 - Create a schedule of ongoing meetings to ensure Engagement Champions are supported
3	@a user	Launch Gallup Q12 Engagement survey on an annual basis	Launch date for the first annual survey TBD
4	@a user	Conduct Leadership Results Briefing with the Executive Team	Conduct approximately two weeks after the close of the Q12 Engagement survey

Timeline and Description - Year 1

Below, you will get a sense of the high-level timeline of Deliverables, Dates, and Descriptions of what will be happening over the next twelve months (December 2022-December 2023).

Please note that the below dates are an estimate and are subject to change depending on schedules and availability.

Phase of Project	Deliverable	Date Complete (Estimate)	Description	No. of Workshops Offered (if applicable)
Phase 1: Prior to Survey Launch	Project Kickoff Call with Gallup, Inc.	November, 2022	Introductions with Gallup Team; Project Overview. *Audience: Project Team*	N/A
	Identify Engagement Champions	February 20, 2023	Identify and create a team of "Engagement Champions" to help promote engagement initiatives that will provide learning, coaching and support to accelerate engagement and optimize growth.	N/A
	Deliver Impact of Engagement Leader Workshop	March 20, 2023	2-hour workshop with the executive team delineating the role of upper level leadership in this engagement journey. Audience: Executive Team 9am-11am (Goethe - Sunset Maple)	1
	Deliver Creating an Engaging Workplace for Engagement Champions	March 20-22, 2023	3-day course for strategically chosen leaders who will play key roles in driving engagement and training managers. Audience: Identified Engagement Champions Day 1 (half-day) - March 20 - 12:30pm (Goethe - Sunset Maple) Day 2 (full day) - March 21 - 8:30am (Goethe - Sunset Maple) Day 3 (half-day) - March 22 - 8:00am (Goethe - Sunset Maple)	1
	Deliver Creating an Engaging Workplace for Managers/Supervisors	March 22-28, 2023	Half-day course for Managers/Supervisors to be trained on engaging their teams. *Note: You only need to attend one of the below sessions.* Audience: Managers/Supervisors with 1+ direct report Session #1 - March 22 - 1:00pm (Goethe- Valley Oak) Session #2 - March 23 - 8am (Plant - Commons) Session #3 - March 23 - 1pm (Plant - Commons) Session #4 - March 27 - 8:30am (Virtual) Session #5 - March 28 - 1:00pm (Virtual)	5
	Deliver Creating an Engaging Workplace for Individual Contributor	March 29, 2023	This virtual, 1-hour company-wide webinar highlights everyone’s role in engagement. Session #2 - March 29 - 2:30pm-3:30pm (Virtual / Assembly Room (Goethe) / Commons (Plant) *Audience: Individual Contributors (Non Managers/Supervisors)*	4
Phase 2: Survey Fielding	Q12 Engagement Survey Launch	April 10, 2023	Gallup Q12 Survey launches for all staff	N/A
Phase 2: Survey Fielding	Q12 Engagement Survey Close	April 24, 2023	Gallup Q12 Survey closes for all staff	N/A
Phase 3: Post-Survey	Results Reveal (first look at results, operational training on reports in Gallup Access)	April 25, 2023	Preliminary discussion on the Q12 results Audience: Gallup/Project Team	1
	Leadership Results Briefing Session	April 27, 2023	Executives dive into their data with a Gallup Senior Consultant to pull out unique storylines and discuss recommendations moving forward. Audience: Executive Team
	Gallup Access Manager Training	3 weeks after close	In this 1-hour session, all managers/supervisors receive training on reading and interpreting their data, the resources available to them, and the action planning tool in Gallup Access.	?
	State of the Team Conversations	Within 1 month of Manager Training	In these conversations, managers/leaders get to present their teams’ data to the team while leading a fruitful conversation around the state of their team’s engagement. From this, an action plan can begin to be developed with the guidance and assistance of team members themselves to ensure relevant, visible plans. Audience: All Teams	N/A

Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions about Employee Engagement or the Gallup Q12 survey, click on the below FAQ guide to get more information!

Engagement Q12 FAQs.pdf

Manager/Staff Resources

Below are resources for managers to learn more about Employee Engagement.