AWWA ACE56146

This paper presents a process for management to determine what their employees are feeling called the Employee Confidence Index. It starts with establishing a set of criteria that the employees feel are important measures that they use to determine their satisfaction and confidence in a utility or public works organization. These criteria are determined through focus groups of employees at all levels throughout an organization and are quantifiable. Then a process is established to assess whether or not the organization is living up to these criteria. This is done by: an interview process with employees rating the organization; rating the importance of the particular criteria to them; and, rating the organization in terms of whether they are getting better or getting worse relative to this criteria. This leads to a calculation of Employee Confidence Index and knowledge of where the employees' morale is truly at, on a quarterly basis or more often in a period of concern. This paper describes a systematic approach to determining and developing an Employee Confidence Index process. Real-life examples are given of how this system leads to true and accurate knowledge of employee morale, allowing an organization to act on a problem based on quantitative data. Includes figures.