Improvements noted during wing climate survey

Published June 21, 2006
By Lt. Col. Gary Lockard
434th ARW Public Affairs

GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind -- The results of the most recent Air Force Climate Survey are in and Grissom members gave the 434th Air Refueling Wing high marks in numerous areas.

The survey, offered every two years, measured how people feel about leadership, supervision, training, communication, recognition, job satisfaction and other aspects of the Air Force.

"I was impressed not only with the results of the survey, but more importantly, this survey compared to the last one," said Col. Kerry Keithcart, 434th ARW vice commander. "It showed all of the areas we improved in."

Categories that received higher ratings this time around included recognition (plus 12%), participation and involvement (plus 9%), satisfaction (plus 9%), unit flexibility (plus 8%), training and development (plus 5%), and job enhancement (plus 4%).

The survey was open to all unit members and 529 people participated. This included officers, enlisted personnel and civilian employees. The survey was conducted from Oct. 1 - Nov. 23.

"Historically, when you do research, if you get 20 percent participation, that's pretty good," explained Colonel Keithcart. "The fact that we had over 500 participants (approximately 33% of the wing) is phenomenal. It speaks well for our wing that so many people chose to participate."

While all portions of the survey were important to senior leadership at the base, areas that were identified for improvement during the last survey were of most interest. One of the key areas targeted for improvement was recognition.

The wing's Human Resource Development Council was a key player in developing recommendations to improve the recognition process. In the 2003 survey, only 63 percent felt the wing was doing a good job with recognition. The efforts have paid off those who said the wing was doing a good job in this area rose to 75 percent.

"A lot of times, the unsung heroes, the guys and gals who are out there doing the job, don't get big awards or medals," said the colonel. "We wanted to make sure they are recognized and appreciated for all they do. We still have room to improve and will continue to work this issue."

Overall, the survey measured more than 50 areas. Other notable responses included the amount of people who said they had trust in their supervisor (92%), felt the unit was accomplishing its mission (97%), were satisfied with their jobs (90%), were provided opportunities to improve their (87%) and are proud to tell others they are part of the 434th ARW (92%).

"I think that is what is so good about the military, and Grissom specifically, is that we have a large level of trust," explained Colonel Keithcart. "That is so critical because of our jobs. When there have been surveys at large, the military has one of the highest trust levels of any profession. At Grissom, our level of trust is even higher."

Other notable trends that emerged from the survey were people felt they are prepared to go to war, are ready to deploy, have a strong conviction the things they do are important, feel the wing is successfully accomplishing its mission, are given a chance to improve their skills and what they do on a regular basis is meaningful.

Wing leadership was also pleased that the 434th ARW scored anywhere from 2 to 11 percent higher in most key categories than the average Air Force unit.

To view the complete results of the climate survey, click here.

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Improvements noted during wing climate survey

Public Affairs Staff