There it is…the email requesting participation in the annual unit command climate survey. The Military Equal Opportunity Office at Joint Task Force-National Capital Region/U.S. Army Military District of Washington has invited all service members and civilians to participate. While all service members and civilians have received the request, some may not realize the impact, or level of anonymity the survey brings.
“Typically, climate assessments are done within the first 90 days of assuming command followed by an annual assessment,” said David Grant, deputy director of the JTF-NCR/USAMDW Military Equal Opportunity (MEO) Office. “First and foremost, we always to try to encourage people [to participate]. It’s our opportunity to fix issues we may not be aware of.”
The Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, the DoD Equal Opportunity headquarters, at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida creates the surveys and disburses them to local MEO Offices for use within their organizations.
Questions range from sexual harassment to suicide prevention. The anonymous surveys are designed to assess work culture, shared perceptions, and opinions for betterment from respondents in day-to-day operations.
MEOs at JTF-NCR/USAMDW initially disseminated the survey in February and recently extended the deadline to March 14 to garner a greater response. The voluntary survey takes about 20 minutes to complete and seeks to provide personnel an opportunity to provide feedback to improve the climate of their workplace and build morale and welfare.
“The command climate survey is an opportunity to provide the commanding general, command team, and command leadership a personal assessment of our organizational climate,” said Col. Gregory Beaudoin, JTF-NCR/USAMDW chief of staff. “It’s important that the survey remains 100% anonymous so that our people feel comfortable and confident in sharing opinions that make the command better for all of us. I encourage everyone to take a few minutes out of their day to complete it.”
The Army People Strategy highlights the importance of quality of work life through building strong, cohesive teams, enhancing rapport and trust across formations, promoting civility, equality, respect and dignity among team members and fostering the acceptance of diverse perspectives in an inclusive environment.
“Senior leaders use the survey to measure how well a command is performing from the eyes of those who matter most – our people,” said Bruce Rothwell, director of the JTF-NCR/USAMDW Equal Opportunity office. “Our office receives the results, which get broken down to the directorate level or compiles several directorates together depending on the size of the organization. We then extract trends and issues of concern raised within the survey so the command can consider possible solutions.”
“We care about our people, and it’s important to hear what they have to say,” said Beaudoin. “It’s up to us to take care of our organization, and it’s our hope that we can work together to make JTF-NCR/USAMDW the best place to work in the entire Army.”
Editor’s Note: Internet access is required to complete the survey: https://www.surveysdrc.com/mil. Each directorate has a unique access code that is required to begin the survey. Please contact the JTF-NCR/USAMDW Military Equal Opportunity office for more information on how to participate.
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