This poster is intended to provide an explanation of some of the results of the engagement survey, analyze the key takeaways, and share some information about the next steps that Dentsply Sirona is taking to improve.
In order to benchmark the level of engagement that employees have with the Company, a confidential survey was launched on February 19, 2018 in partnership with Gallup – a company known worldwide for its public opinion polling. The survey was open for three weeks and was available in 33 languages. The results of the survey are helping to better understand what is going well and what needs to be improved. To measure progress, the survey will be repeated each of the next two years.
The Global Participation Rate of the survey was 76 percent. That translates to over 11,000 employees who took part.
The scoring scale explained
Participants were asked to score their answers to 25 statements on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 represents “strongly agree” and 1 represents “strongly disagree.” A score of 5 is referred to as the “top box” score. Research has shown that significant emphasis should be placed on scores of 5. The reason for this emphasis is that employees who strongly agree with a given survey statement act differently from those who give a score of 4. A score of 4 indicates that the respondent agrees but with a caveat.
The Italian team joined the engagement survey process with big curiosity. All teams are having their engagement conversations and are building action plans.
Understanding the survey results
The survey started with the question Q00 How satisfied are you with your organization as a workplace. Though not included in the overall average engagement score (Grand Mean), this question is a measure of contentment with Dentsply Sirona as a workplace. Only 20 percent of respondents rated their level of satisfaction as a “5” indicating that there is room for improvement to ensure that the satisfaction of our employees mirrors the satisfaction of our customers.
The following Q12 (Q01-Q12) statements inform the overall average engagement score (Grand Mean) and are used because of their connection to performance outcomes and business objectives. The Q12 gives Dentsply Sirona the opportunity to benchmark itself with the industry as these are standardized statements that Gallup uses in its engagement surveys.
The Grand Mean measures overall engagement, which is an average of the 12 engagement items (Q01-Q12). Dentsply Sirona‘s grand mean engagement score was 3.60 out of a possible score of 5. The higher the score, the more engaged employees are.
In comparison to results from Gallup‘s overall database, Dentsply Sirona ranks in the bottom quartile – only 26 percent of Dentsply Sirona employees were classified as engaged.
Q12 items can be organized into four descriptive categories: Growth, Teamwork, Individual, and Basic Needs. These categories are referred to as hierarchies because every employee has a distinct set of needs, with basic needs as the foundation and growth at the top. An employee’s level of engagement can depend on how well his/her needs are being met in the workplace.
The Q13-24 (questions 13-24) are additional statements that help to provide a deeper analysis. Contrary to the Q12 items, the Q13-Q24 were developed as a team effort between Dentsply Sirona and Gallup. These items are not counted toward the overall average engagement score and they don‘t yet have a benchmark. The results are used as a baseline. Next year these items will have a comparison within Dentsply Sirona itself.
Q13 I know what Dentsply Sirona stands for, and what makes our brand different from our competitors
Q14 There is open communication throughout all levels of the company
Q15 Leaders in my company help me see how changes made today will affect my company’s future
Q16 There is cooperation between my department and other departments with whom I work
Q17 I have grown in my ability to positively impact our customers
Q18 If I raised a concern about ethics and integrity, I am confident my employer would do what is right
Q19 My company treasures diverse opinions and ideas
Q20 My supervisor creates an environment that is trusting and open
Q21 I feel encouraged to find new and better ways of doing things
Q22 The leadership of my company makes me enthusiastic about the future
Q23 I understand how the organization’s values impact how I do my job
Q24 I have clear opportunities and goals for my career development
The disconnect between brand & work culture
The Q12 items give insight into the everyday work culture and experience of employees. The average top box score across the Q12 items was 28 percent.
The Q13 provides insight into brand perception: I know what Dentsply Sirona stands for, and what makes our brand(s) different from our competitors. Of all survey items, this statement received the highest percentage of 5s (top box scores) at 39 percent.
The difference between the Q13 top box score and the average top box score across the Q12 items indicates that a gap exists between how employees perceive the Dentsply Sirona brand and the reality of the work culture – or everyday experience.
… although the scores were not where we would like, we accepted the results and engaged in a positive and candid conversation regarding the findings and areas to address …
Next steps for a more engaged workforce
In order to help create positive change, people leaders are discussing the outcomes of the survey with their direct reports and forming specific action plans in order to improve engagement within the team that they lead. Moving forward, several actions are being implemented including:
1. People leaders will continue efforts to hold State of the Team conversations and transition identified engagement barriers into action plans.
2. The next steps are focused on actions to clearly understand engagement barrier trends across the global organization. These steps include senior leadership submitting the top 1 to 2 engagement barriers identified within the business they lead to the engagement initiative team, one-on-one interviews with people leaders across each region, as well as focus group discussions facilitated by Engagement Champions. All of these efforts will lead to a clearer understanding of the top engagement barriers.
3. The executive team will utilize the collective feedback and survey results to form the first global action plan. Once formed, this action plan will be communicated to the organization.
Ultimately, these steps will have an impact on employees and the business. The steps being taken are just the start of an ongoing process around engagement. The survey will be repeated each of the next two years to fine-tune the Company’s engagement efforts.
How Engagement Champions will help
In addition to holding focus groups to identify the most common and important barriers to engagement, the Engagement Champions will be working with people managers and their teams on actions and strategies that create engaged team members.
Engagement Champions are there to support people managers during the action planning process and throughout the year.
"The feedback from this years’ survey will be discussed with the management team in detail in the next couple of weeks, working on a specific action plan, which will be implemented during the year. These actions shall consist of continuous improvements and not just one-time activities, so that the long-term engagement of everyone is secured."
Vanda Kratka, Bratislava Regional Center Manager (EMEA)
"I believe that discussing the results with the whole team and involving them into the action planning is already one of the steps to increase the team’s engagement. Of course following the action plan during the year and making sure we use all opportunities to increase the team’s engagement is another important step."
Frank Pinto, Central Regional Sales Manager, National Training Manager North America, Wellspect HealthCare (Americas)
"… the results of the Gallup Survey have allowed me to focus on two particular areas for development with my team – improving overall satisfaction, and knowing what is expected of you at work …"
Ricky Kim, Taiwan Marketing Manager (APAC)
"Regardless of whether the result score was good or bad, it was a great starting point to find out each team member’s thinking and opinion about the company … I have strong confidence that each team member will engage with work more and more in the future."
Chunxi Su, Associated Technical Manager of China (APAC)
"High engagement leads to work efficiency, customer satisfaction, greater team cohesion, and more. From my point of view, currently, our whole team is doing well in those respects. Tasks are done to a very high level in an organized and efficient way to a high quality standard. Based on the survey result, recognition is one weakness for us. Looking forward to the action plans being a practical way forward."
Paul Cheng, Implants National Sales Manager Taiwan (APAC)
"It is INSANITY to do the same things and expect different results. “Listen, deliver, respond” is the best solution for the engagement survey to make things better. This is how I motivated the team for this survey."
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Your voices make the difference
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This poster is intended to provide an explanation of some of the results of the engagement survey, analyze the key takeaways, and share some information about the next steps that Dentsply Sirona is taking to improve.