HSE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS INDICATOR USER MANUAL

HSE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS

INDICATOR TOOL

USER MANUAL

Background

HSE’s Management Standards Indicator Tool is a 35-item questionnaire relating to the six
primary stressors identified in the Management Standards for Work Related Stress. The
items are based on the best available evidence linking work design to health outcomes. It
has been designed to support the process described in the Management Standards by
providing a broad indication to organisations of how well their workforce rate their
performance in managing the risks associated with work related stress.

This User Manual provides guidance for using the HSE Management Standards Indicator
Tool in a survey to gather the opinion of the workforce. The HSE Management Standards
Indicator Tool can be used as a standalone measuring device, or alternatively, the items can
be included in another question set, such as a pre-existing staff survey. It is recommended
that the HSE Management Standards Analysis Tool be used to score the responses,
regardless of whether it is used as a standalone measuring device or incorporated into a
wider staff survey. The results from the HSE Management Standards Indicator Tool should
be confirmed by discussing the findings with employees, and also by considering other data
that is available within the organisation, such as sickness absence rates, employee turnover
etc.

Areas covered in this User Manual include the following:

• Getting a good response rate

• Analysing the results

• Ensuring the HSE Management Standards Indicator Tool is sensitive at follow-up

surveys

• Indicative sampling

Additional resources are included in the Appendices including:

• An example covering letter for a staff survey

• A checklist for using the HSE Management Standards Indicator Tool.

Getting a good response rate

Obtaining a high response rate is important to ensure your results are representative of the
working conditions in your organisation. As a crude rule of thumb, for a survey of this
nature, a response rate of over 50% could be considered adequate; over 60% desirable, over
70% good and more than 80% very good. With a response rate of less than 50%, the data
cannot be considered representative, and should be treated with extreme caution

Another important factor in determining the reliability of your results is that the overall
response rate is balanced across different types of worker and location. For instance, it is
known that generally, much higher response rates are generally found in surveys of office­based staff than surveys of manual workers. In line with this, some additional effort may be
required to encourage non-office based staff to participate in the survey.

Whether all workers in your organisation are going to be invited to participate in the
survey, or whether you are selecting a representative sample of workers, you will need to be
sure that you have an up to date list of workers in your organisation who are selected for the
survey. The list may be the payroll list, staff records, site security records or similar source.
It is important that the list of workers you use is up to date and accurate to ensure all those
in your sample receive their questionnaires.

There are several things you can do to encourage a good response rate in your sample
before you start your survey. Not least is that employees should feel the questionnaire is
important, that their views matter and that they will be acted on. Good ways to encourage
this:

• Publicise the survey within your organisation, including endorsements from senior

management and employee representatives before it is distributed.

• Explain to all staff:

• The purpose of the survey;

• How actions will be taken to address survey findings;

• How and when staff will be receiving a questionnaire; and

• How and when staff will get feedback on results.

• Ensure anonymity of responses. This will encourage employees to give frank and

accurate responses. A formal statement of anonymity at the beginning of the survey is
the best way to do this.

• Use up-to-date and accurate records to distribute questionnaires to ensure they do not go

to the wrong locations.

• Give people enough time to complete and return questionnaires.

• Ensure managers consider that the process is important and encourage their staff to take

time to complete questionnaires.

• Allow staff surveys to be completed in work time. We know that this provides much

better response rates.

• Have one or two reminders before the completion date.

• Indicate on the material accompanying the questionnaire when and how the results will

be communicated to all staff – and honour this commitment.

• Provide appropriate instructions on completion and a contact for support for completion

if required.