Employee Monitor starts again: ‘An important thermometer’

The Employee Monitor is a survey done every three years that TU Delft can use for purposes like finding out how employees experience their work. The questions cover issues like workload, stress, gossip and bullying, as well as about how TU Delft can better support its staff.

On Tuesday 23 January all TU Delft staff members will receive an email with a link to an online questionnaire. The survey is anonymous.

“It really is an important survey,” says Herman de Wolff, a Works Council member who has a seat on a committee that works on the monitor. “It is a sort of organisational thermometer that helps you gauge how things are going for employees in all areas. You want as much input as possible from the entire organisation. It is relevant for everyone throughout the organisation, so do not think that it is not important in your case.”

Hybrid work

This time the questionnaire includes a new section: hybrid work. “I am very curious about what it will show. Hybrid work means less stress for some, but may be negative for others,” De Wolff continues.

As in previous years, the survey will be done by IVA Onderwijs, a research bureau that designs similar kinds of surveys for other universities. A report will be issued covering TU Delft as a whole in March 2024. After that, reports will be issued for each faculty and corporate department in April 2024.

The employee monitor was first done in 2017 (in Dutch). The second was in 2020. The next survey should have been done in January 2023. The Human Resources (HR) department explains on the intranet that it was delayed by one year because of ‘a tendering process’. As an organisation receiving government funding, TU Delft is required to procure large assignments through a European tender.

‘Much has changed in the way we work since the Covid crisis’

Annemieke Zonneveld, the HR Director, says that the procurement procedure did not start too late. She did not want to speak to Delta, but answered questions in writing. She writes: ‘Procurement procedures call for much care and attention, so the process takes a lot of time. As the survey outcomes need to be comparable to previous surveys, the survey must be done in January. Given the procurement procedure, this meant that it was postponed by one year.’

The survey was done on time at other universities where IVA Onderwijs carried out the employee research and where the same procurement rules apply as at TU Delft. The Works Council Chair, Ronald Kuil, is disappointed by the year’s delay, but wants to concentrate on the outcomes. “So much has changed in the way we work since the Covid crisis. We will undoubtedly see this reflected in the reports in March and April.”

Gossip and bullying

The 2020 monitor showed that 14% of TU Delft employees experienced gossip, 7% bullying, and 6% discrimination. As a result of the 2020 and 2017 outcomes, TU Delft took various measures, including appointing an ombudsman and setting up an Integrity Office.

Faculties and corporate departments also rolled out changes. The Faculty of Aerospace Engineering (AE) had additional research done by a law and mediation firm. In 2020, 23% of the employees reported gossip, 12% bullying and 11% verbal aggression or intimidation. The percentages of gossip and bullying in particular were significantly higher than at other faculties.

‘You cannot change a work culture in just one year’

“I was shocked by the figures,” says Dean Henri Werij. “At the same time, you want to know where the issues lay. We wanted the external investigation to help us understand at which departments things were going wrong, and at which departments the atmosphere was good.”

PhD candidates

Werij’s faculty started a programme called ‘Towards Greater Connection’ in 2023 that is designed to improve the work culture. As part of the programme, there was a theme week in which AE employees, with the help of actors, acted out situations that had actually happened at the workplace.

Werij explained that “The bureau that we hired had had initial discussions with employees so the situations were taken from practice. People were confronted with their own behaviour during the acting.”

More training will be given in 2024 that will be mandatory for some departments and groups of employees. Werij cites the ‘Triangle Tuning Programme’ for PhD candidates and their supervisors as an example. “We had heard that some PhD candidates felt intimidated. This is completely undesirable. We hope that this training will help, for example in improving the communications between PhD candidates and their supervisors. It will help promotors understand how they come across to their doctoral candidates, for example. Or people can learn how to give and receive feedback better.”

AE is planning a lot more changes and improvement courses over the next few years. “You cannot change a work culture in just one year,” says Werij, “I fear that it is a lifelong project.”

Physical safety

Changes have also been made at other faculties as a result of the employee monitor. There is quite a lot of laboratory work at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, involving things like chemical substances, laser units and radiation.

 ‘Every department now has a safety officer’

“Our Employee Monitor in 2020 showed nothing very shocking in that respect, but there were still enough issues that need action to be taken in terms of physical safety,” says Dean Paulien Herder. “We created new protocols and every department now has a safety officer.”

Training is also given on social safety. Herder explains that “What was needed varied across the departments. One department started a mandatory active bystander course. Through role play you learn what you can do if you hear someone making an inappropriate joke to a colleague. So you do not need to remain silent if you see something unacceptable.”

Affordable lunch

At the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, three points for action emerged: better choices in the catering; greater attention paid to learning opportunities; and, making the workload open for discussion. “We now have an affordable lunch deal that costs EUR 2.50 targeted mostly at students,” says Faculty Secretary Hans Suijkerbuijk. “We will also offer more vegan dishes – that currently makes up 70% of the menu – in the next few years.”

‘The Dean is more explicitly conveying the message that it is okay to say no’

Making the workload open for discussion is being addressed in several ways. “The Dean is more explicitly conveying the message that it is okay to say no to new activities if they do not fit directly in your career path or as a way to show that your current workload is already high,” explains Suijkerbuijk.

He believes that the Employee Monitor has now led to ‘creating calm and space’ being included in the multi-year plan. “This has made it a goal for administrators and departments. For the rest, both employees and supervisors can take part in coaching in the area of workload, and we are encouraging supervisors to compile realistic workplans with their staff members.”