Results of the staff survey: your priorities
This is the first in a series of articles which will give some details about the results of the Staff Association staff survey To know your priorities and the evolution of your concerns over the last decade we study how, in each of our latest three surveys, you chose from a list of 15 items the five most important and classified them by assigning them a priority, from the most important to the fifth most important. The list of fifteen items, and a short description, follows.
Career evolution (classification, level of recruitment, advancement, promotion)
Salary level
Family policy (recognition of partners, allowances, school fees, kindergarten, nursery, crèche, parental leave)
Health insurance
Non-residence and international indemnity
Annual salary adjustment (cost variation index)
Contract policy (duration, recruitment, award of IC, conditions of the beginning and ending of the contract)
Motivation at work (interest, team, supervision, mobility, reward scheme)
Pensions (retirement, disability, orphan, surviving spouse)
Learning and development policy (technical, communication, supervision, formal recognition of experience)
Balance between work and family life (working hours, part time, flexitime, work at home, Saved Leave Scheme)
Quality of life at work (environment, workload, stress, harassment)
Health and safety policy (health, radiation, fire, environmental protection)
Aligning our employment conditions with those of other European scientific organizations
Equal opportunities and diversity policy (equitable application of rules, advancement, responsibilities, recruitment)
Fig. 1 shows the results obtained in the most recent 2013 survey. The display algorithm assigns a weight of five to the item classified as the most important, four to the second most important, etc. down to a weight of one to the item chosen as the fifth most important.
Fig. 1: The fifteen proposed items classified by priority in our 2013 survey
Next we look at how the priorities of staff have evolved over the last decade. In Fig. 2 we show the six highest priorities chosen by staff in our 2003, 2008, and 2013 surveys. We observe that the concerns are quite stable over the years, i.e. the majority of items occur at least twice. Note, in particular, that “Contract policy” and “Career evolution” are at the top of the list, and this was also reflected in the choice of these two items as chapters in our 2013 survey. The obligatory item “Salary levels” remains in the top five throughout the period, while social protection issues (pensions and health insurance) are a constant worry. We see that “Motivation at Work” has been gaining in importance over the last five years and also needs to be addressed soon.
Fig. 2: Evolution of the items with the highest priorities between 2003 and 2013
Conclusion
By referring to the recurrent areas of concern as expressed by the participants in our staff surveys and shown in Fig.2, your staff delegates now have a solid roadmap to set their priorities for the coming months. However, one should also look at the items that come next on the list, such as quality of life at work, health and safety, family policy, and work-life balance (Fig. 1). They all relate to improving the work environment by making it more motivating and offering better working conditions.
The results are still being studied in detail by the methods explained in Echo 191, together with the feedback received during our recent public meetings. You, as a staff member, can also continue to provide us with further suggestions by contacting one of your delegates in the Staff Council or by sending an email to staff.association@cern.ch.
All these efforts will allow your Staff Association representatives to have a clearer picture of the wishes of all staff in their discussions with Management and Member States.
NB : La version française sera publiée dans Echo N°194
