From the Office of Strategic Management
The Caltrans Employee Survey, the latest version of which was conducted last fall, was developed and analyzed to understand employees’ attitudes and preferences in the areas of communication, leadership, resources and overall satisfaction. Results are used to make decisions at the district, program and enterprise levels.
With this information, Caltrans gathers insight on what matters to our employees and where we should focus time and resources.
There were 9,416 respondents to the 2024 Employee Survey. Respondents were asked to rate nine statements using a six-point Likert scale of “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree,” as well as corresponding qualitative questions. In addition, respondents were asked to respond to a variety of demographic questions.
Collectively, the Office of Strategic Management (OSM) analyzed the quantitative data along with 34,706 open-ended responses, which were categorized into themes and specific mentions.
Altogether, the results of the 2024 Employee Survey show that employees view Caltrans favorably in all measured areas. This is feedback to be proud of and a sign that steps taken by the department to promote and sustain employee satisfaction are successful.
For example, the highest ratings of favorability were to the statements, I support Caltrans Core Four Foundational Principles and a People First culture. Employees pointed to culture, safety, and strategic goals as their reasons for favorable assessment. This finding affirms that most employees are aligned with our strategic direction and understand how it is important to Caltrans’ and California’s future.
Employee feedback also highlighted specific areas for which we should consider additional improvement. As previously noted, the largest level of dissatisfaction was in relation to employees having the tools and resources needed to successfully complete their work, with an expressed need for better tools and equipment, training, and resources.
Although there is a slight improvement in satisfaction since the 2022 survey, there remains potential for improvement in this area. While being mindful of fiscal stewardship, our Caltrans divisions, districts, and programs are encouraged to engage with their teams to identify where employees’ tools and resources are deficient.
Lastly, another notable finding was attitudes around the quality of Caltrans’ internal customer service. Data here suggested room for improvement, including service received by employees who predominantly work in the field, who rated their satisfaction with this prompt the lowest.
By account, there is a need to investigate the practices and procedures of internal customer service, particularly in the areas of communication, professionalism, personnel, and leadership. By focusing efforts on our internal customer service practices, including best practices in these areas, these metrics may improve.
Stay tuned to find a link to the survey on this internal webpage.