Samaritan examines employee satisfaction

MOSES LAKE — A recent survey of Samaritan Healthcare employees revealed 67 percent are satisfied with their employer overall.

Survey results were presented to the Board of Commissioners Monday at their regular meeting.

The overall satisfaction rating improved from 63 percent in 2005, said Vice President of Planning and Development Scott Campbell. Press Ganey Associates, the company administering the survey, marked the most recent score as a significant increase from 2005.

"Press Ganey says they are 99 percent sure something actually changed to improve that score," Campbell said.

The results are being presented to employees at their quarterly forum Tuesday.

Samaritan Chief Executive Officer John White said having an independent analysis of employee satisfaction is important because it eliminates bias.

"It's going to take a lot of work to keep us on the right track," White said.

Employees answered 76 questions by indicating their level of agreement with a given statement. Press Ganey weighed statements by how much they contribute to employee satisfaction.

The top three important statements showing positive response by Samaritan employees were: "Overall, I am satisfied with my job," "I would recommend this organization to a friend as a good place to work," and "overall I am satisfied with this organization."

Another set of statements with negative responses indicated a need for improvement. The top three statements indicating employee dissatisfaction were: "I am satisfied with my involvement in decision-making," "promotions are handled fairly here," and "I have opportunities to influence policies and decisions that affect my work."

Questions were divided into 12 sections, and all sections showed improvement from 2005 except the work environment category.

"There are things like whether employees feel they have the equipment they need to get the work done," Campbell said.

Most of the equipment needed is included in the capital budget, he noted.

Everything else showed improvement. The staffing category went from 56 percent to 62 percent.

"People are feeling better about staffing," Campbell said. "They're also feeling better about job security."