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University of Wisconsin- Parkside

Staff Satisfaction Survey Capstone Project – UW Health HIM Department

Estimated Hours Required for Pilot Planning and Completion: approximate 160 hours

Site Supervisor: Wil Limp, MS, RHIA, FAHIMA Manager, HIM System and Support (UW

Hospitals and Clinics)

Dr. Jodi Olmsted

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Background
Student name: Kayla Yun
Project title: Staff Satisfaction Survey – UW Health HIM Department
Site location: UW Health
Project total hours: 160 hours
Site supervisor: Wil Limp, MS, RHIA, FAHIMA Manager, HIM System and Support (UW
Hospitals and Clinics)
Faculty Instructor/Supervisor: Dr. Jodi Olmsted, RDH, Ph.D.
Synopsis of Site Location: UW Health is an integrated health system of the University of

Wisconsin-Madison that provides medical treatment to over 700,000 people annually via a

network of seven hospitals and over eighty outpatient clinics staffed by over 1,849 physicians

and 21,000 employees. As a healthcare organization, they exist for only one reason: Their

patients and their families. They are at the center of UW Health’s work and their mission,

values and their vision of remarkable healthcare reflect their promise to them. Their mission

strives to advance health without compromise through service, scholarship, science, and

social responsibility.
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Executive Summary

In recent years, one of the most significant concerns has been ensuring that UW Health

has the HIM workforce essential to continue delivering care to its large patient population.

The high turnover rate in the Health Information Management (HIM) department at UW

Health is due to a combination of factors, including external job offers and internal

promotions within the organization.

As such, the foundation of this capstone project will be the development of an employee

satisfaction climate survey for the HIM department at UW Health. The data collected from

this project will help to prioritize options for a future employee retention plan, with the goal

of assisting UW Health in retaining its top employees who are dedicated to the success of

their organization and its purpose and are satisfied with the work they are delivering.

This report and its accompanying appendices will explore results of an employee

satisfaction survey designed to measure how well UW Health is living up to its Respect for

People Commitment (See Appendix C). In addition, the outcomes of the HIM department's

employee engagement and satisfaction surveys will be analyzed. Survey results identify

employee satisfaction, potential areas for growth, and current successful practices for

expansion. HIM leadership will be able to use the results to identify and prioritize potential

action items based on responses received.

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Project Content

a) Satisfaction Survey Description

An anonymous staff satisfaction survey (See Appendix A) was created and distributed to

the HIM staff at UW Health. Comprehensive research was conducted to make certain that

the composition of the survey and the timetable were carried out in a way that was both

successful and efficient. Along with the survey link, an explanatory email was sent to HIM

employees to encourage participation (See Appendix B). (Criteria and composition of the

survey are as follows: The first question was a ranking scale ranging from 1-10. Questions 2

through 16 utilized a four-point Likert scale ranging from (strongly disagree to strongly

agree). The neutral option was omitted intentionally to encourage respondents to carefully

consider the question and form an opinion, as opposed to merely selecting the neutral option

as a default. Questions 17 through 25 were open-ended questions that enabled respondents

to elaborate on the Likert scale questions previously listed in the survey. The estimated

completion time for the survey should have been between 15 and 20 minutes. 72 staff

members out of 158 completed the survey, representing a 46% response rate.

b) Purpose

Identify staff satisfaction within the HIM department at UW Health for a future employee

retention plan.
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Project Objectives & Tasks

a) Objectives

 Identify impactful survey questions that reflect UW Health Respect for People

Commitment (See Appendix A and C)

 Identify appropriate tool to distribute survey to he HIM Staff

 Received survey responses timely

 Aggregate and analyze data from survey responses

 Time permitting- identify and prioritize potential action items based on

responses received

b) Tasks

 Identify impactful survey questions – research potential questions from other

sources and compile final survey

 Identify appropriate tool to distribute survey to the HIM Staff – research

options such as Survey Monkey and Doodle then upload questions to create

final survey to be used.

 Receive survey responses back timely – Survey sent to HIM staff via email

from HIM Manager with explanation of the project and ask for responses by a

set deadline

 Aggregate and analyze data from survey responses

 Collect/retrieve all responses and begin to utilize the tools available in the

system to drill down responses by questions to identify patterns

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 Prepare report to be used for final presentation in a format that visually calls

out the findings modeled after the Waggl survey used by UWH Human

Resources

 Time permitting –identify and prioritize potential action items based on

responses received – Working with the preceptor to look deeper at the patterns

identified to formulate potential follow up action plans based on survey results

c) Milestones & Deliverables

 Staff Satisfaction Survey distributed to HIM Staff (Appendix A)

 Explanatory email sent to HIM staff to encourage participation including

SurveyMonkey link (Appendix B)

 Respect for People Commitments (Appendix C)

 Summary of Survey Results (Appendix D)

 Leadership Org Chart (Appendix E)

 Leadership Survey Presentation (Appendix F)

Relevance, Future Use & Recommendations

a) Relevance

Understanding the perspectives and feelings of staff members is crucial as employee

expectations continue to develop. As we now know, fostering a healthy organizational

culture is crucial to increasing employee satisfaction, which is the emotional component

of engagement. Part of it is having a program in place to encourage staff participation.

Taking the time to conduct employee satisfaction surveys may provide valuable

information on how to improve working conditions for staff. The level of happiness and

commitment your employee feel in their work reflects the quality of their employee
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experience. Leadership must listen to their teams if they want to develop a plan for

enhancing the overall staff experience at UW Health.

b) Future Use

The results from this staff satisfaction survey will serve as a reference for HIM leadership

at UW- Health for years to come. The data analyzed and presented to leadership (See

Appendix E and F) highlighted areas in which UW Health HIM is excelling and the areas

in which they can make improvements. This will ensure that leadership can successfully

develop and execute an action plan that promotes employee retention.

c) Recommendations

Although it is ultimately up to HIM management to utilize the survey results to effect

departmental and organizational change, they were provided recommendations on how to

do so. The first step is to reassure employees that we would use their responses to the

survey as a catalyst for identifying new opportunities. The next step is agenda creation

and planning, which involves establishing a course of action and monitoring its progress

in order to ensure constant and effective communication across all levels of employees,

management, and administration on all campuses and within each team and department.

Conclusion

Using the survey data as a starting point for continued evaluation and discussion between

leadership and staff can assist with future efforts to keep high quality employees around. In the

future, the HIM department at UW Health may need to conduct more surveys concentrating on a

specific area of concern. This allows for leadership to effectively design an action plan for a road

ahead and determine whether any progress has been made over time. The success of any process

improvement program, such as a strategy for staff retention, depends on the organization’s
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ability to increase employee satisfaction by establishing a track record of reacting to and

addressing problems raised in such surveys. When staff have a sense that their voices are being

heard, they are more likely to speak out, even when discussing sensitive topics. When staff

realize that their employer cares enough to give them employee satisfaction surveys and really

takes their feedback into consideration, they feel more appreciated and as a result, they work

harder and more efficiently. Furthermore, pleased employees are less likely to leave the

company, cutting down on recruitment and training expenses.

Project Timeline

Week 1:

 Finalize capstone project proposal and establish remote work schedule

 Weekly Tuesday meeting from 7-8am with site mentor

Week 2:

 Create employee survey/Identify appropriate tool to distribute survey in collaboration with site

supervisor

 Weekly Tuesday meeting from 7-8am with site mentor

Weeks 3-6:

 Distribute employee survey, gather/analyze data collaborating with site supervisor

 Weekly Tuesday meeting from 7-8am with site mentor

Weeks 7-9:

 Meet with Dr. Olmsted/site supervisor for halfway check in

 Start to prepare report to be used for final presentation

 Weekly Tuesday meeting from 7-8am with site mentor

Weeks 10-12:
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 Collaborate with mentor to identify and prioritize potential action items based on responses

received, self-reflection, possible provisions, or improvements

 Weekly Tuesday meeting from 7-8am with site mentor

 Present findings to HIM department leadership

Week 13:

 Meet with Dr. Olmsted for final feedback

 Weekly Tuesday meeting from 7-8am with site mentor

 Continue final project report

Week 14:

 Final reflection and submit/present PPT and report to Canvas

References

Ahmad, N. F. D., Ren Jye, A. K., Zulkifli, Z., & Bujang, M. A. (2020). The Development and

Validation of Job Satisfaction Questionnaire for Health Workforce. The Malaysian

journal of medical sciences : MJMS, 27(6), 128–143.

https://doi.org/10.21315/mjms2020.27.6.12

Chang, E., Cohen, J., Koethe, B., Smith, K., & Bir, A. (2017). Measuring job satisfaction among

healthcare staff in the United States: a confirmatory factor analysis of the Satisfaction of

Employees in Health Care (SEHC) survey. International journal for quality in health

care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care, 29(2), 262–268.

https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzx012
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Croswell, L. (2017, November 10). 20 employee engagement survey questions you should ask.

Culture Amp. Retrieved April 18, 2023, from

https://www.cultureamp.com/blog/employee-engagement-survey-questions

Fisher // September 4, S. (2020, September 4). Employee satisfaction surveys in 2022. Qualtrics.

Retrieved April 18, 2023, from https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/employee-satisfaction-

survey/

Smith, E. (2022, June 3). 100 open-ended employee engagement survey questions. 100 Open-

Ended Employee Engagement Survey Questions. Retrieved April 18, 2023, from

https://blog.remesh.ai/open-ended-employee-engagement-survey-questions

Wiles, J. (2022, July 7). 9 questions that should be in every employee engagement survey.

Gartner. Retrieved April 18, 2023, from https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/the-

9-questions-that-should-be-in-every-employee-engagement-survey

Wong, K. (2020, March 17). 22 employee engagement survey questions. Achievers. Retrieved

April 18, 2023, from https://www.achievers.com/blog/employee-engagement-survey-

questions/#:~:text=Open%2Dended%20questions%20provide%20an,survey%2C

%20tailored%20to%20your%20organization
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Appendices
Appendix A

Staff satisfaction survey distributed to staff.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5R35KGQ

Question 1 How would you rate UW-Health as a place

to work on a scale of 1 (the worst) to 10
(the best)?

Question 2 I would recommend UW-Health to others

as a good place to work.

Question 3 I am satisfied with my current role.

Question 4 My position description matched my

expectations.

Question 5 My initial training provided by the HIM

department was sufficient.

Question 6 Ongoing training offered by the HIM

department helps me to be effective and
efficient in my job.

Question 7 I have the necessary resources to do my

work successfully.

Question 8 My job makes good use of my skills and

abilities.

Question 9 I feel I have adequate opportunities to

develop my professional skills.

Question 10 I am satisfied with my chances for

promotion.

Question 11 I am interested in career advancement

within the HIM team at UW-Health.
Question 12 I am interested in working with my HIM
leader to develop a career plan with
specific goals.
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Question 13 I feel that my current HIM leader

encourages me personally to succeed
beyond just achieving department goals.
Question 14 The HIM department at UW-Health
encourages continued learning and
professional growth.
Question 15 The HIM department at UW-Health
provides me with the opportunity for
learning, development, and personal
growth.

Question 16 My current HIM leader provides

constructive feedback that is used to help
me plan and set career goals.

Question 17 Do you feel that HIM leadership provides

you with the appropriate amount of
feedback, support, and guidance to help
maintain and improve your daily
performance? Please explain.

Question 18 Are there ways in which HIM leadership

communication could improve? Please
explain.

Question 19 In what ways could the HIM department at

UW-Health improve its professional
development offerings and career path
culture? Please explain.

Question 20 Do you feel encouraged by your direct

supervisor to offer suggestions for
improvements? If so, do you feel like your
ideas are received and are actions taken on
those ideas? Please explain.

Question 21 Do you feel appropriately recognized by

HIM leadership when you perform well at
your regular work duties? Please explain.
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Question 22 What are some ways in which the HIM

department at UW-Health can more
clearly express employee appreciation?
Please explain.

Question 23 Do you believe the HIM management at

UW-Health has your best interests in mind
when making business decisions? Please
explain.

Question 24 Do you feel that UW-Health attracts,

develops, and retains people with diverse
backgrounds? Do you feel that diversity
and inclusion are important? Please
explain.

Question 25 Is there anything else you would like to

share that you find important to your
employee experience here in the HIM
department at UW-Health?
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Appendix B

The following email was sent to staff with the SurveyMonkey link and a brief description to

encourage engagement for the staff satisfaction survey.

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Appendix C

Respect for people

Our Commitments
The Respect for People commitments have been shaped by the input of our UW Health
Employee Advisory Council, along with UW Health Way guiding teams and senior
leaders. These groups evaluated multiple sets of behavioral standards, including
organizational performance standards, Patient and Family Experience Promise and
Sportsmanship Expectations (UW Health at The American Center) to create a single set
of Respect for People expectations with these five commitments:

 Engage and Own It

We find better ways to do things by actively engaging in change, improvement
and innovation. We give constructive feedback in a respectful manner.


Appreciate and Encourage

We prioritize growth and learning for ourselves and others. We express gratitude.
We choose positivity. We value others’ strengths.
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 Listen to Understand
We seek to understand by remaining present while listening to others. We strive
to see things from another person’s view.
 Connect with Others
We practice humility and show compassion. We communicate clearly and
respectfully. We value diversity, equity and inclusion. We seek common ground
and we withhold judgment.
 Be Accountable
We keep our commitments by being on time and following through. We speak up
about concerns and share appropriate information. We own our attitude. 

Importance of Respect for All

When respect is lacking, it negatively impacts staff performance and morale, which
impacts the safety and experiences of our patients as well. In 2018, UW Health
experienced a decrease in nurse satisfaction, Culture of Safety Survey scores and
Patient Experience Survey scores, along with increased in employee turnover. Because
these measures represent the health of our work environment, it is critical that we
reverse the negative trends and work to improve our culture. Currently, there are
dozens of improvement projects focused on improving our work environment. Ensuring
a respectful environment for all is vital to our long-term growth and vitality as an
organization.

Training, Support and Accountability

All leaders, providers and staff will receive training and support to ensure understanding
of the Respect for People commitments in words and behavior. To hold everyone
accountable, these commitments now serve as our organizational performance
standards for annual evaluations. New employee probationary evaluations and leader
assessments and observations will consider our Respect for People commitments as
well.

Remarkable Healthcare Starts With Respect for People

We cannot achieve our vision of Remarkable Healthcare without Respect for People.
Each of us must uphold these commitments so together we can enhance our culture
and environment and deliver safe, high-quality care and remarkable experiences for our
patients and their families.

Appendix D
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Summary of Survey Results

Results - Question #1

Results - Likert Scale Questions #2-16 Favorability by Category

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Results - Question #18

Results - Question #19

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Results - Question #22

Results - Satisfaction by Question Category

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Appendix E

Leadership Org Chart

The org chart below shows the leadership that survey findings were presented to on April 4th,

2023, at 3:00pm CST.

Appendix F

Leadership Survey Presentation

This PowerPoint was presented to HIM leadership at UW Health on April 4th, 2023.

Staff Satisfaction
Survey Presenation.pptx