NIH/OHR - 2000 HRMI Results on Individual Questions

Prepared by
The Institute for Behavioral Research in Creativity
Salt Lake City, Utah
Copyright IBRIC, April, 2000

Human Resource Management (HRM) Index

Introduction

The HRM Index summarizes employee descriptions of their work environment. The Index is derived from responses to a carefully selected set of questions (1 through 14 on the survey) about how effectively people's time, energies, ideas, and abilities are used. The questions gather information about the following areas important to organizational performance:

Responses to the individual questions are combined, and the Index is reported on a three-point scale (low, average, or high) showing how your component stands relative to the total organization surveyed. Questions 15 through 20 on the survey are specific to HHS and do not contribute to the HRM Index; however, data on responses to these questions can be used to track how employees describe these aspects of their work environment.

Putting Things in Context

It is helpful to view your HRM Index results in the context of the larger organization of which you are a part. Comparing the Index and data on individual questions between your component and the organization as a whole will help you understand how your component varies from the norm. You may find that your component has different strengths and/or weaknesses than the organization.

In addition, HHS has measured employee perceptions over time using the HRM Index, and trend lines for the total organization and major components have been developed. In analyzing your results, you should also consider the trends. Is there movement up or down, or have things remained stable? What might be influencing the trends? If your component has a trend line, how does it compare to that of the entire organization?

Overall Results

Based on the responses of 1830 employees, the HRM Index for your component was high compared to the total organization surveyed. Your continued attention to resolving management issues will help maintain or further improve both your component and the organization as a whole.

Since the Index is based on responses to multiple questions, some aspects of the work environment may be better than others. To help identify areas where improvement efforts may be beneficial, you should review the data on responses to the individual survey questions. These are available from your manager for the larger organization to which you belong or follow for your own component if your Index was based on a minimum of 100 respondents. While data on responses to individual questions must be interpreted cautiously, they can provide topics for discussion and problem solving. Your support in dealing with issues discovered during such review would be greatly appreciated.

Results on Individual Questions

Organizations, like individuals, are neither uniformly perfect nor problematic. Responses to individual questions can give an idea of those aspects of work life that are most satisfying or most troublesome to employees. If your component is part of a larger organization, you can compare the data from the larger organization with your own. Since the data do not tell how much emphasis should be placed on any individual area, you will want to involve employees in setting priorities for follow-up action. Use the information below to celebrate your strengths and guide your improvement efforts, but interpret it cautiously given its limitations.

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Very ineffective	8%	10%
B.	Generally ineffective	22%	26%
C.	OK - Satisfactory	37%	37%
D.	Generally effective	28%	23%
E.	Very effective	5%	4%

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Very positive	15%	10%
B.	Generally positive	46%	44%
C.	Neutral	19%	22%
D.	Generally negative	15%	19%
E.	Very negative	4%	5%

3. During the past year, have the energies and abilities of you and your co-workers been used in an effective manner?

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Almost all of the time	18%	15%
B.	Most of the time	43%	41%
C.	Sometimes	28%	31%
D.	Rarely	9%	10%
E.	Almost never	3%	3%

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Almost always	30%	23%
B.	Usually	40%	40%
C.	Sometimes	22%	26%
D.	Rarely	6%	8%
E.	Very rarely	2%	3%

5. Are there any signs of employee discontent (sick leave abuse, complaints, or arguments) in your work group?

		This Group	DHHS
A.	None	15%	12%
B.	Very few	28%	24%
C.	A few	22%	22%
D.	Some	19%	23%
E.	Quite a lot	17%	19%

6. Are people treated fairly with regard to training opportunities, length of lunch periods, leave, etc.?

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Always treated fairly	39%	30%
B.	Almost always	22%	23%
C.	Generally	20%	24%
D.	Sometimes	11%	14%
E.	Rarely treated fairly	7%	9%

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Very frequently	8%	11%
B.	Frequently	17%	19%
C.	Sometimes	37%	38%
D.	Seldom	27%	23%
E.	Almost never	11%	8%

8. Do the employees in your group have the authority they need to do their jobs well?

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Yes, in everything they do	11%	9%
B.	Yes, except for unusual problems	39%	37%
C.	It's generally OK	25%	27%
D.	Not as much as needed	19%	20%
E.	Almost never have authority needed	5%	6%

9. Do the people in your work group share their expertise, knowledge, and skill to help get the work out?

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Very extensive sharing	26%	19%
B.	Extensive sharing	36%	35%
C.	Some sharing	29%	33%
D.	Little sharing	6%	8%
E.	Very little sharing	3%	4%

10. When performance is discussed, are members of your work group told of ways to improve their performance?

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Almost always	21%	16%
B.	Usually	32%	30%
C.	Sometimes	22%	26%
D.	Seldom	17%	17%
E.	Almost never	8%	10%

11. Is information about what is happening in the organization communicated to your work group in a timely fashion?

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Communications are very timely	14%	11%
B.	Generally timely	30%	27%
C.	Usually OK	19%	20%
D.	Some delays	14%	18%
E.	Delays are common	23%	24%

12. Are there any continuing problems that reduce the efficiency of your work group?

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Essentially none	16%	12%
B.	A few	32%	30%
C.	Some	27%	29%
D.	Quite a lot	14%	15%
E.	Many problems exist	10%	12%

13. How much encouragement is given to people in your work group to try new approaches for getting the work done?

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Strong encouragement	32%	25%
B.	Some encouragement	34%	34%
C.	Neither encouraged nor discouraged	19%	24%
D.	New ideas not wanted, but allowed	8%	9%
E.	New ideas are, in effect, discouraged	7%	8%

14. Is there a need for change in your work group? Consider if your work group could benefit from improved management practices, different policies and procedures, etc.

		This Group	DHHS
A.	High need for change	18%	21%
B.	Rather high need for change	17%	20%
C.	Some need for change	37%	38%
D.	Little need for change	18%	14%
E.	Very little or no need for change	9%	6%

15. Are you able to balance your work and family life through the use of flexible scheduling and leave options provided by your OPDIV/STAFFDIV?

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Almost always	42%	44%
B.	Usually	28%	30%
C.	Sometimes	14%	12%
D.	Rarely	9%	8%
E.	Never	7%	5%

16. Are your managers and co-workers supportive of your using flexible scheduling and leave options to help you balance work and family life?

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Very supportive	38%	37%
B.	Generally supportive	28%	31%
C.	Neutral	19%	18%
D.	Generally unsupportive	8%	7%
E.	Very unsupportive	6%	6%

17. Do you see the union(s) and management working in partnership to improve the quality of work life in your OPDIV/STAFFDIV?

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Almost always	2%	5%
B.	Frequently	5%	10%
C.	Sometimes	11%	24%
D.	Seldom or never	16%	21%
E.	I don't know	65%	40%

18. In the Department of Health and Human Services, have union-management partnerships had a positive effect on service to the public?

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Yes, substantial positive effect	2%	4%
B.	Yes, moderate positive effect	6%	12%
C.	Limited positive effect	4%	12%
D.	Little or no positive effect	9%	17%
E.	I don't know	78%	55%

		This Group	DHHS
A.	GS 1-8, WB, WG, WL, WS, WT	15%	17%
B.	GS 9-12, CC 1-4	35%	35%
C.	GS/GM 13-15, CC 5-6, FC, AD	46%	45%
D.	SES, SBRS, ALJ, ASG, SL, ST	3%	2%

		This Group	DHHS
A.	Civilian permanent employee	96%	92%
B.	Civilian temporary employee	0%	0%
C.	Commissioned Corps Officer	4%	8%
D.	Contractor	0%	0%

Please submit questions about the Report to Wendy Thompson, Director of the NIH Work and Family Life Center at thomsow@od.nih.gov, or on 301-435-1616.

The Secretary's Quality of Work Life Survey on Organizational Climate

Human Resource Management (HRM) Index

Introduction

Putting Things in Context

Overall Results

Results on Individual Questions