• Engagement levels have declined. Our engagement score is 67%. This is down from 72% from the previous engagement survey. In looking at the whole picture of the survey, responses indicate employees are less content at work than they were six months ago. This sends a strong message to all of CDHS leadership, and we want you to know that you were heard. I am personally committed to understanding this more and taking action. I know the pandemic has made things much harder, and we have work to do.

• Most employees enjoy positive and supportive relationships with their supervisors. In fact, supervisor satisfaction is our highest scoring category at 69%.  This is the most important relationship for most employees — I’m thrilled this is improving.

• Only 35% of employees think there is open and honest communication at CDHS.  This is a huge area to investigate. It seems that the communication issue may be related to hearing from higher levels of leadership.

• Only 33% of employees feel that people are held accountable for their performance. Again, an area of concern that we can improve on.

• Sentiments about facility and division leadership, workplace safety and our client focus have declined most significantly since our previous survey.

• Seventy-eight percent of employees have a clear understanding of what’s expected of them at work. This is our most positive scoring question.  

We have work to do to improve the employee experience, and are grateful for how your candid feedback makes it possible to know what we should focus on. It can be hard to see immediate change in an agency as large as ours, but you have our word that we are prioritizing and working to address these concerns.  And, we will be working with all levels of leadership.

Full survey results have been shared with your office and division leaders, who will be working to make positive changes based on your office, division and/or facility results. We’ll continue to be in touch at least monthly regarding action planning, but for now we encourage you to reach out to your office or division leadership if you have any questions. You may also reach out to the HR Learning, Engagement and Development team at cdhs_LEAD@state.co.us for more information.  

Together, we can build a better workplace where all employees can thrive.

Thank you,

Michelle, on behalf of the entire Executive Management Team