LANSING — On Tuesday, the state of Michigan released the results of the 2018 Employee Survey — the final survey during Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration.

Approximately every 18 months since 2012, the Michigan Office of Performance and Transformation has administered an employee survey to approximately 45,000 state employees. The survey measures the level of employee engagement across state government. All executive branch departments participate in the survey except for the Department of Attorney General and the Department of State.

Research shows that improved engagement leads to better performance, higher citizen satisfaction and more trust in government. The state of Michigan is a recognized leader in employee engagement and was awarded the Employee Engagement Award for the government sector at the 2018 North American Employee Engagement Conference.

In the most recent survey, 74 percent of the state’s workforce (more than 33,000 employees) participated to provide feedback – a 16-percentage point increase since the first survey in 2012. This year’s employee engagement score of 75 percent exceeds the public-sector benchmark of 58 percent which measures state, local, and federal government engagement scores across the United States. In fact, every agency in the executive branch of state government exceeded the public-sector engagement score.

Since 2012, several improvements have been implemented in response to employee survey results. Examples include more than 2,000 people trained in the state’s Lean Process Improvement methodology; more than 3,000 current and emerging leaders completing leadership development training; and almost 2,400 administrative rules being rescinded to eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens on citizens and state employees.

The success of these improvements is reflected in the 2018 Employee Survey results. Six years ago, employees questioned transparency, leader direction and commitment to change. Today, the survey results indicate that more employees view their work environment as being inclusive and describe their leaders as being caring, communicative and encouraging feedback. Since 2012, more than 6,000 employees have converted from “Captives” (low engagement, low likelihood of staying) to “Champions” (high engagement, high likelihood of staying).

“Every employee at the state of Michigan is important, and each of their opinions matter,” said Gov. Snyder. “The data from the survey provides invaluable information to the incoming administration to continue the work to improve government services and maintain our momentum.”