To change or not to change : a qualititative investigation into employees' experiences of a survey-feedback process in connection to an organizational level health intervention

Abstract

Organizational level interventions have proven habitually difficult to implement with successful outcomes. Recent process evaluations have identified key factors involved in successful outcomes such as participation, communication and manager behaviour. These factors have ultimately to do with fostering employee engagement and commitment to interventions. It is effectively up to the employees whether interventions achieve their goals or not. The objective of the present study was to investigate how employees perceive and experience an organizational level intervention with particular regards to the survey feedback process. Six interviews were conducted with employees that had recently been through a survey feedback meeting. The survey feedback meeting was part of a larger health promotive work environment intervention. The results of the analysis process showed that the participants had a positive view of the survey feedback process and the intervention, highlighting the participatory aspect and the role their line manager adopted. Despite a positive appraisal, the participants had little faith in the successfulness of the intervention in their department. This was mainly due to the department going through a major restructuring at the time, but the participants also failed to understand the need for or the relevance of the intervention. Possible suggestions as to how to increase employee engagement and commitment to the intervention are discussed in light of the results and previous evidence and literature. More research is needed to understand how employees’ appraisals of the survey-feedback meetings relate to their appraisals and level of engagement toward the entire intervention process, and how this influences intervention outcomes. Gaining and maintaining employee commitment is crucial in an intervention process.