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FAQs – Survey Process

    How will my company be notified throughout the survey process? Will I receive regular updates?

    All registrants for the Best Companies to Work for in Colorado Program will be emailed access to their own Administrative Portal on April 11, 2016.  Through this private website hosted by ModernThink, the Primary Contact at each participating company will be able to:

    • Upload employee email addresses for survey distribution
    • Request any access codes/login sets for employees without email addresses (online option only).
    • Order paper surveys
    • Download, complete and upload Survey Verification Forms
    • Customize Job Role and Department (optional)
    • Increase survey audience by oversampling (optional)

    You will also receive periodic updates regarding the survey timeline. However, we recommend that your company notes the dates that we send to you in your calendars for easy reference. It is important that you read all instructions and details sent to you from ModernThink.

    How long will it take to complete the ModernThink Infrastructure and Practices Inventory© (IPI)?  Will this require a lot of research?

    This organizational audit will take between 8-10 hours to complete, depending upon how easy it is to retrieve your company's information regarding company policies, practices and demographics. Some research may be necessary. The IPI is completed online, and can be saved intermittently before your final submission. If you are a previous participant in this program, and would like a copy of your IPI from last year, please email coloradobest@modernthink.com and we will send you an electronic copy of your previous submission for reference.

    How long will it take for our employees to complete the survey?

    It should take approximately 10-15 minutes for each employee to complete the employee survey.

    Can my company see the employee survey before we sign up to participate?

    Yes, please call ModernThink directly for a copy of the survey at 888.684.4658.

    Can the job role and department demographics on the employee survey be customized to more closely align with our organization?

    Yes, for a fee, the job role and department demographic categories can be customized. Please call ModernThink for more information or select the “Customization” option on the registration form, a ModernThink team member will then contact you with more information.

    Do employee surveys go to everyone?

    If you have 250 or fewer employees in your company, then the answer is YES!  If you employ more than 250 associates in Colorado, a random sample of up to 400 full-time employees (and part-time employees working at least 20 hours per week) will be asked to complete the survey. Please see the Applicant Information page for more details.

    All employees should be included in the sample including senior leaders and managers. We make no distinction between union and non-union employees. Union employees must be included in the survey process. Seasonal, temporary, per diem or independent contractor employees should NOT be included in the survey process. We only survey permanent employees (full-time and part-time working at least 20 hours per week).

    Our company has employees in many states.  Will the employee survey apply to those who are out of state?

    Only individuals employed in Colorado will be surveyed as part of your program fee.  However, if you are interested in surveying beyond the required random sample, we are glad to accommodate you for an additional fee.  For more information about "oversampling" please contact Helene Perdue at hperdue@modernthink.com or 888-684-4658 ext. 110.

    We have more than 250 associates to be surveyed.  Who decides which employees will receive the survey and how they are distributed? Do we have to give you a list of who is being surveyed?

    The Primary Contact at each company will perform the random selection. There is no requirement to submit the names of those who were selected; however, we will ask for a detailed description of your random selection process in the Verification Form to ensure there is no bias.

    If you are supplying email addresses, it is your responsibility to make sure that the employees' email addresses are current and accurate.

    If you need assistance creating a random sample please contact ModernThink at coloradobest@modernthink.com or 1-888-684-4658.

    What if we want to survey more employees than the required random sample?

    Based on requests from applicants in previous years, ModernThink has provided the opportunity to survey additional employees beyond the required random sample. There is an additional fee for this option. If you are interested in expanding the survey audience, please contact Helene Perdue at ModernThink at hperdue@modernthink.com or 1-888-684-4658 ext. 110.

    How does the online survey process work?

    For the online survey, companies submit a list of employee email addresses. Employees are then sent an email invitation directly from ModernThink. The invitation includes a link to the online survey along with unique access information. The link directs employees to the online survey where they submit their confidential responses. We can only send email invitations to company email accounts. It is the responsibility of each company to supply accurate, up-to-date email addresses.

    Not all of our employees have email addresses.  Can we still utilize the online survey?

    Yes! The online survey can still be utilized as long as employees without company email addresses are able to access the Internet at work. In such a case, ModernThink will provide your organization with login sets (usernames and passwords) for employees without email addresses so that they can complete the online survey. In this scenario, the company may need to set up a computer station/kiosk to facilitate this process.

    Your company will need to alert ModernThink of its need for login sets, and how many are needed, through the Administrative Portal.  Then, your company's Primary Contact will be responsible for distributing the login sets, along with an instruction letter/email.

    How does the paper survey process work?

    ModernThink will send your company an exact number of paper surveys and envelopes that must be distributed to employees.The return envelopes are not postage-paid. Employees complete the survey, place it in the envelope, seal it and then drop the completed survey off at the designated collection post, managed by the Primary Contact. Completed surveys are then collected, consolidated and shipped (Federal Express/UPS) by your Primary Contact to ModernThink’s processing facility. Completed surveys must arrive to our processing facility by June 1 to be counted.

    Is there a minimum response rate? Can we offer incentives?

    While a 100% response rate is not necessary, we would like to see as high a response rate as possible. The average response rate last year was approximately 64%. While companies that have not reached 64% may still be considered, response rates are taken into account during the analysis process. The higher the response rate the more representative it will be of your company as a whole and the more valuable your company’s data will be at the end of the process.

    Companies in the "small-sized" category (25-99 employees) must have an 80% (or better) response rate to be eligible for recognition.

    The Best Companies to Work for in Colorado™ program is a competition.  In order to ensure a level playing field for all participants, incentives of any kind are strictly prohibited.  In other words, your organization may not provide any enticements either to try to increase response rates or influence employees’ answers.  Incentives include, but are not limited to, the following: monetary gifts, prizes, time off, food, drawings, raffles, bonuses, etc.

    The same is true for any penalties.  Your organization may not try to influence participation rates and/or responses by implicitly or explicitly threatening any adverse impact on employees who choose to participate or not and/or who choose to respond/answer in a particular manner.

    How does our company ensure an adequate response rate?

    The key to a strong response rate is proactive communication. We will work with you to make sure that employees receive the necessary communication, both prior to, and during, the survey, to ensure adequate response rates.

    How does ModernThink protect the confidentiality of the survey data?

    At ModernThink, we go to great lengths to ensure the anonymity of your employees' survey responses. For example, we only report data back to organizations when there are five or more participants in a particular demographic category.

    ModernThink destroys all email lists after the survey process. At no point do we solicit employees from these email lists, nor do we sell or share these lists with anyone. Your designated Primary Contact will be kept in our database so that we have contact information for program participants. Please see our Statement of Confidentiality below.

    Statement of Confidentiality:

    The program partners, the Colorado SHRM State Council (COSHRM) and ModernThink LLC, respect your privacy and actively protect the confidentiality of the data collected at both the organization and individual level.

    Company Data

    Through the survey and research process, ModernThink will be collecting, analyzing, and evaluating organization data and other sensitive information.  ModernThink LLC, the party most directly responsible for gathering and storing the data, has satisfied the US-European Union data protection “Safe Harbor” requirements.  It has also received the Better Business Bureau’s Online Reliability Seal.

    ModernThink and COSHRM protect your company data in a variety of ways:

    • Data is collected and maintained on a secure server
    • Data will not be released, sold or traded to any unauthorized third party
    • Data is shared internally with employees and/or contractors only on a need to know basis
    • Vendors, contractors and/or other agents who work with and/or process any parts of the data are advised of the importance of maintaining confidentiality and are required to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements
    • Company-specific employee survey scores will not be released without your permission; data from your company may be combined with data from other companies and then reported back in aggregate form
    • Information regarding a company’s participation will not be released, unless it is already public information (e.g., publication of the recognized companies). COSHRM or ModernThink LLC may, however, release the registration list in any given year to other authorized media partners and/or list sponsors.  If doing so, they will ensure that any recipient of the registration list signs a Non-Disclosure Agreement expressly limiting use of that list to authorized activities in connection with the Best Companies to Work for in Colorado program.

    Notwithstanding the above, your company’s data will be added to ModernThink’s national database of statistics and best practices to further ModernThink’s research of employee/employer relationships and workplace dynamics.  Some company-specific information (such as best practices) may be published or otherwise used by COSHRM and ModernThink to cite workplace excellence.  Any such information used in a public forum will be favorable in nature and will only reflect positively on your company.

    Individual Data

    Several measures are in place to protect individual survey responses and any personal data that is collected.

    • Self-identifying demographic questions at the end of the survey are strictly voluntary.  If a survey-taker chooses to provide that information for any reason, ModernThink and COSHRM accept that act as explicit consent to use the information in the ways described in this Statement of Confidentiality or as described at the point where they so choose to disclose.
    • Employers are never given access to individual survey records.
    • Survey results within any demographic group are not reported back unless there are at least five completed surveys received in that particular demographic group.
    • At the end of the survey, employees are given an opportunity to respond to open-ended questions in their own words.  They are advised at that time that their employer will receive a verbatim transcript of all comments.  They are further advised that if they wish to remain anonymous, they should refrain from writing their name and/or any other identifying characteristics in their comments.

    If you have any questions about this Statement of Confidentiality, please call Liz Flood at ModernThink.  Liz can be reached at 1-888-684-4658 ext. 103 or at lflood@modernthink.com.

    What reports do we receive for participating in the program and when will we receive them?

    The Participation Report Package will include spreadsheets detailing and summarizing your employees' responses to the sixty-five (65) survey statements. It will also include detailed instructions on how to interpret the results. Companies will also receive the responses from the two open-ended questions on the survey.  These comments will be transcribed exactly as submitted by employees. State benchmarking is also included so companies can compare themselves to the "Best Companies to Work for in Colorado". If you participated last year you will also receive your benchmark information from last year for comparison purposes. These reports will be mailed to each company shortly after the companies are notified whether or not they will be recognized.

    To see samples of the various reports see the Participation Reports Page.

    What other reports and services are available?

    Other feedback reports will be available at an additional cost, including the opportunity to schedule an onsite consultation with a ModernThink workplace expert to review your institution’s results. More information as well as samples can be found on Additional Reports and Services.

    Who can I contact with additional questions about the program and survey process?

    Please contact Liz Flood at lflood@modernthink.com or 888-684-4658 ext. 103 or Harry Shenton at hshenton@modernthink.com or 888-684-4658 ext. 104 with any questions.