Case Study: Harvard University Human Resource Department Staff Survey
About Harvard
Harvard University has roughly 16,500 faculty and staff with a wide range of experience and expertise across a diverse campus architecture. The University’s Human Resources department is the main point of origin for communication to this audience about University policy and benefits as well as information gathering.
Business Challenge
Harvard’s HR department wanted to gather information and feedback from all staff to understand their level of engagement and commitment to the university. They sought to chart a path for policies and initiatives to better engage Harvard employees at every level. The team decided that a survey of employees would work, but past attempts had been met with skepticism or lack of awareness resulting in poor participation. The team wanted 30% participation to claim success and to develop statistically relevant recommendations for employee engagement.
Hart-Boillot Strategy
Working closely with the HR communications team, Hart-Boillot planned a campaign of blanket communication supported by a group of volunteers from offices around the university who would help build buzz about the survey. The survey campaign was concentrated around a 15 day online and offline survey period. In addition, Hart-Boillot promoted daily drawings for Red Sox tickets and Apple iPods to bolster participation.
Results
Harvard University has roughly 16,500 faculty and staff with a wide range of experience and expertise across a diverse campus architecture. The University’s Human Resources department is the main point of origin for communication to this audience about University policy and benefits as well as information gathering.
Business Challenge
Harvard’s HR department wanted to gather information and feedback from all staff to understand their level of engagement and commitment to the university. They sought to chart a path for policies and initiatives to better engage Harvard employees at every level. The team decided that a survey of employees would work, but past attempts had been met with skepticism or lack of awareness resulting in poor participation. The team wanted 30% participation to claim success and to develop statistically relevant recommendations for employee engagement.
Hart-Boillot Strategy
Working closely with the HR communications team, Hart-Boillot planned a campaign of blanket communication supported by a group of volunteers from offices around the university who would help build buzz about the survey. The survey campaign was concentrated around a 15 day online and offline survey period. In addition, Hart-Boillot promoted daily drawings for Red Sox tickets and Apple iPods to bolster participation.
Results
- The Survey gained an amazing 80% participation from across the University
- The HR team fielded only a few calls regarding the survey, meaning the tools used to deploy and conduct the survey were clear and understandable
- Internal Harvard audiences raved about the Staff Survey logo and remarked about how easily identifiable the materials were and how easy it was to take the survey
- The Harvard Survey logo was adopted by all University departments to communicate the results and subsequent changes associated with the survey
