More Howard County Public School System employees this year reported being engaged in and enthusiastic about their jobs, according to a Gallup, Inc. survey conducted in October.
Through a partnership with HCPSS, researchers from Gallup have annually measured staff and student engagement for the past two years, a key aspect of Superintendent Renee Foose's Vision 2018 five-year strategic plan for the school system.
According to the Gallup survey conducted from Oct. 17-31, 40 percent of HCPSS staff surveyed are engaged employees — the most desired result — which is up from 34 percent last year.
Engaged employees are those who are enthusiastic about their jobs and speak positively about their employer throughout the community, according to Tim Hodges, Director of Research for Gallup Education.
"When employees are engaged, things happen differently, better, faster, stronger," he said.
The Howard County Board of Education was presented with the second set of survey results that measure staff and student engagement from Gallup during its Monday meeting.
The survey found that 48 percent of HCPSS employees are not engaged — meaning they're not as enthusiastic as some of their colleagues, but they're also not actively disengaged like 12 percent of their peers in the October study.
Actively disengaged employees are those watching the clock waiting for the day to be over, according to Hodges.
In the 2013 study, 12 percent of HCPSS employees also fell under the actively disengaged category, but Hodges said it's nearly impossible to manage that number to zero.
The goal is for a 5:1 ratio of engaged employees to actively disengaged employees, Hodges said, and HCPSS ratio came in at 3.33:1 this time around.
Gallup measures employee engagement through a 12-question survey, including questions on employee recognition, satisfaction and work ethic . Gallup then categorizes employees as actively engaged, not engaged or actively disengaged.
The 6,712 HCPSS employees surveyed represented 84 percent of the school system workforce.
Hodges specifically noted that HCPSS employees reported a marked increase in the times they were recognized for their work and the time they spent talking about their individual progress.
"These second-year survey results show that we are on the right track in emphasizing engagement as a critical driver of both student achievement and staff effectiveness," Superintendent Renee Foose said in a statement. "While we have more work to do, this data gives us valuable insight for refining our improvement strategies."
Gallup also breaks the results down by school and in Howard County, elementary school employees reported a higher engagement level than secondary schools, but Hodges said that mirrors a national trend.
He added the a higher teacher to student ratio and the fact elementary students are typically more engaged is responsible for that trend.
To increase employee engagement moving forward, Hodges advised the board and school system to focus on employee strengths, name the right people to be leaders and principals and develop a culture of recognition.
The Gallup student poll measures levels of hope, engagement, and well-being among students in grades 5-12. More than 30,900 Howard County students participated in the 20-question survey between Sept. 30 – Oct. 31.
According to survey results, 55 percent of students reported feeling hopeful, 54 percent reported feeling engaged and 65 percent reported to be thriving in terms of their well-being.
Hodges said HCPSS student data mirrored their peers across the nation.
More information about the survey and this year's results can be found online at http://www.hcpss.org/about-us/gallup.