Employee survey trends rise

Team participation cultivates positive attitudes

Six of the 12 Employee Satisfaction Index scores in this year’s Boeing Employee Survey exceeded or were equal to industry benchmarks, indicating solid progress toward the company goal to achieve overall employee satisfaction scores similar to the top 25 percent of “premier” companies.

The Boeing Employee Satisfaction Index, which is based on the responses to 12 key workplace questions within the survey, rose to 58 percent positive this year, up 2 points compared with last year. This is Boeing’s highest ESI score since it developed the index in 1993.

Other key trends indicated employees who participate in performance development discussions or on an initiative team—such as Lean or Integrated Product Team—provided more positive responses on the Employee Satisfaction Index than non-participants. This was true for all pay codes.

“The survey data shows that when employees have opportunities to share their ideas and be involved in work group decisions, they tend to be more productive and have a positive attitude about their work environment,” said Laurette Koellner, executive vice president, chief People and Administrative officer and member, Office of the Chairman. “Managers have a responsibility to provide employees with regular performance feedback and goal-setting activities.”

Sixty-nine percent of Boeing employees participated in the May survey—a 7 percent increase from a year ago. Of those who completed a survey, 51 percent provided a written comment.

“My thanks to everyone who participated in the survey,” Koellner said. “I am reading all of your comments, and as themes emerge we will take definitive action to address any shortcomings that it indicates.”

Most scores on the 41 questions asked companywide increased 2 to 5 percentage points when compared with 2002 responses. Among the results:

• A 65 percent positive response to the statement “I can report unethical practices without fear of reprisal.”
• A 75 percent positive response when asked whether a person’s work group has a clear understanding of customers’ needs.
• A 61 percent positive response about seeing “a clear link between my work and my operating group’s objectives.”
• A 72 percent positive response when asked whether “my work group looks for ways to change processes to improve productivity.”
• A 5-point gain to 52 percent positive for “I receive the needed coaching and feedback about my performance.”

Two exceptions to the steady upward trend are the survey questions dealing with the company’s ability to make changes to compete effectively—down 3 points to 36 percent positive—and how clearly senior executives are communicating the company’s strategy—down 2 points to 43 percent positive.

“These downward trends are troubling and show us where we need to focus our energies and make improvements. We are committed to making Boeing a better place to work,” Koellner said.

For more than 10 years, Boeing has measured its survey results against similar data from a list of industry and premier companies, such as Corning, Ford, Microsoft and Siemens.

For more information about the premier comparisons and management tools to aid survey discussions, visit the Employee Survey Web site at http://employeesurvey.web. boeing.com/ Survey data for the enterprise as well as for the eight major business units and World Headquarters are available.