2014 Employee Engagement Survey: Why It's Important

SHARE members in 30 areas and departments got emails last Monday asking them to fill out an Employee Engagement survey. UMass Memorial wants to measure how employees feel about their jobs, and about how UMass Memorial involves employees.

SHARE encourages SHARE members to fill out the survey. UMass Memorial has committed to sharing the results of the survey with SHARE, and with you. This is an opportunity for SHARE members to be heard, and to make this a better place to provide and receive care.

Confidentiality is a big question for many SHARE members. UMass Memorial hired an outside company, Avatar Solutions, to conduct the web-based survey and analyze the results. Avatar Solutions will give UMass Memorial results for groups only, not individuals. Small groups will be combined to help protect anonymity -- the smallest group will be 15 people. You have to enter your employee ID number to take the survey -- that's to make sure only employees take the survey, that each person only takes it once, and that your responses are grouped with your teams' responses.

We believe that most SHARE members want to be respected participants in fixing problems in their areas. SHARE members want to feel like they do a good job, in a productive department, where co-workers at all levels treat each other with kindness and respect. Some areas needs a lot of culture change to get to there. This is an opportunity to see what's working well, and what departments need more help engaging employees.

Departments will be surveyed in three phases. The first phase includes the Admissions Unit, Patient Access Services (Registration and Scheduling), Dermatology, Renal Division, GI Clinic, Cardiology Clinic, Anticoagulation, and Physician Billing (Medical Group). The second phase will include inpatient departments, and the third phase will include more ambulatory departments, administrative areas, and the community hospitals. (Not all departments will be surveyed this fiscal year.)

Managers will be responsible for creating action plans to fix problems identified by the survey in their areas. Areas will be surveyed again in 90 days to see how well the action plans worked.

Here's what UMass Memorial tells managers that success with this survey looks like:

• Employees understand how their experience supports our success.
• Teams have reached the survey participation goal of 90%.
• Employees are actively involved in improvement efforts.
• Fun and enthusiasm are an everyday part of creating goals and monitoring success.
• Teams have celebrated their success.

If you have any thoughts or questions about this survey or SHARE's participation with it, give the SHARE office a call. 508-929-4020. (If you get the answering machine, my extension is 13 -- Janet.)

SHARE Dues Increase Delayed -- Small Retro Next Week

There was a snafu with implementing the SHARE dues increase this year for SHARE members at UMass Memorial. We notified UMass Memorial Payroll of the 12 cent increase at the beginning of this year, but the new amount didn't start being deducted from members' paychecks until last week.

Payroll will deduct the small amount of retro from SHARE members' paychecks next week, March 13th. For most SHARE members, the amount of the one-time catch-up retro will be $.72. (It will be less for those SHARE members budgeted for 20 hours.)

We're sorry for the confusion, folks.

Scholarship Opportunity

SHARE got a letter recently announcing scholarships that SHARE members can apply for, and an application form to make available to you. Check it out, if you have a child or a grandchild are headed to college!


To: All Affiliated Locals of the Central Mass AFL-CIO, 

We are pleased to announce that we will be awarding six $1000.00 scholarships as well as a number of $500 Platinum sponsored scholarships.

The scholarship recipients will be drawn by lottery at the May community services committee meeting and the winners will be announced at the Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament on Friday, June 6, 2014.

The scholarships will be presented at the Labor Day breakfast, September 1, 2014.

To be eligible, the student must be a 2014 graduating high school senior going on to college and a child, grandchild or member whose local is affiliated with the Central Ma. AFL/CIO. Union members must live or work in the jurisdiction of the Central Ma. AFL/CIO.

All names must be submitted by April 25, 2014 and returned to:

Paul Soucy

AFL/CIO Labor Community Services

Central Ma. AFL-CIO

400 Washington St

Auburn, Ma. 01501

If you are a SHARE member at the hospital, you are a member of SHARE / AFSCME Local 3900. If you are a SHARE member in the Medical School, you are a member of SHARE / AFSCME Local 4000. Both SHARE locals are affiliated with the Central Ma. AFL/CIO.

Please click here for a printable .pdf version of the application form to send to Paul Soucy at the above address.