Self Directed Internship
Why is it Important?
My self directed internship was at my current employer, Sun Federal Credit Union. Each year the credit union conducts an employee engagement survey. This survey is a mixture of open ended questions as well as questions that ask you to rate a particular job function or company initiative, policy, or procedure. The survey have been conducted annually for 6 years now. The credit union began to see a decrease in some of the ratings it was receiving regarding overall job satisfaction, confidence in management, and level of stress in the work environment. This was a very alarming statistic for the credit union. Sun Federal wants its employees to be satisfied in their positions as well as have confidence in management while maintain a healthy work balance that reduces stress.
As a result of the survey findings the credit union decided to create an Employee Engagement Group. This group was designed to “provide sincere feedback, sensitivity, and actionable recommendations directly to the President/CEO related to the annual Employee Engagement Survey results. The insights and understandings provided by the group offer valuable discernment that directly and positively champion the health of Sun Federal’s culture. The group is highly engaged in supporting employee-centric initiatives and experiences; always promotes open and honest feedback across the organization and within their local areas of influence.” As soon as I heard they were creating this group I volunteered automatically.
The President/CEO, HR Manager, Executive Assistant, and 6 additional credit union employees all sat together to collaborate and analyze the data a bit further. As a staff employee I was able to give valuable feedback from a perspective that upper management was unable to see. Through our discussions, recommendations, and mission driven implementations, we were able to create change in the organization that allowed the employees to feel as though their opinions mattered as well as strengthening their overall morale and productivity.
Employee Engagement is very important to any organization. The key to a survey of this caliber to work is actually doing something with the results. If an organization just does a survey and never talks about it then there is no point in having the survey. My employer took the results and actually did something about it. This showed the employees that the credit union cared about their contributions to the survey. It also motivated employees to be more forthcoming with issues sooner rather than later. You have to know the right questions to ask and what exactly engages your employees. The following article is a good explanation as to why this is so important: http://www.business2community.com/human-resources/nail-employee-engagement-survey-01515764#3sTUMhQLTwG2RYV2.97
Sitting on this committee in the role taught my very valuable lessons. It taught me that as an HR professional I have to be sure to keep communication open in the organization that I am working for. If we do not have an open line of communication we can never fix issues. Employees are the biggest asset that any company has. They are the people who help the business strive. To not listen to their feedback is a disservice to the company and its customers.
To verify my involvement in this Self Directed Internship please reach:
Maggie Fryer
Executive Assistant
Sun Federal Credit Union
(419) 794-7534