Employee Satisfaction

Each year, we ask our work force to participate in the Global Pulse and Engagement (Pulse) survey to gain insight into employees’ overall satisfaction with the company, their jobs, diversity and other aspects of their workplace experience. We encourage our employees to provide candid feedback, and we benchmark results and participation externally. Results of the survey are incorporated into our business planning review processes. Improving Pulse scores is an annual performance objective for many of our senior managers.

In 2013, 70 percent of our salaried employees across the globe participated in the survey, which included a total of 55 multiple-choice questions across 12 dimensions of workplace life, including training and development, diversity, and workplace safety practices. The results of the 2013 survey were highly favorable, with 11 of the dimensions improved over 2012 and one unchanged.

The Employee Satisfaction Index (ESI) section of the survey, which asks employees questions such as whether they feel valued at work or whether they believe they are rewarded for their job performance, increased 4 percentage points from 2012. Considered the bellwether of employee satisfaction, Ford’s ESI score is 8 percentage points above the company’s benchmark, which is comprised of a group of Fortune 500 companies.

Within the ESI, the highest score – 14 percentage points above the external benchmark – was for the question that asked employees whether they feel satisfied with the information they receive from management on what’s going on with the company. Three of the four questions that improved most in 2013 were from the ESI category.

The 2013 survey also showed overall success in that 47 of the 55 questions showed improvement in 2013 and eight questions remained flat.

In 2013, we conducted a global survey of our hourly employees for the second time. The objective was to increase participation levels and collect feedback from our hourly work force and to compare data to the baseline metrics collected in the prior year. The survey measured the effectiveness of the One Ford strategy and its impact on employee satisfaction, and guided continuous improvement efforts in our manufacturing operations. Plant locations in 13 countries participated, generating feedback from more than 43,000 employees. The survey included a minimum of 20 questions that were consistent with questions asked in the salaried Pulse survey. Regions could add more questions as needed. The most favorable responses were around company mindset, quality work practices and training. ESI results in 2013 were down 7 points, although base participation almost doubled from 2012. Improvement efforts will continue to focus on the effective implementation of our overall Ford Production System, which encompasses safety, quality, delivery, cost, people, maintenance and environment. Read more in the Health and Safety section of this report.

As part of our efforts to increase satisfaction, we are constantly improving our strategies for fostering open dialogue with employees. Read more in the Employee Engagement section.

In addition, each year following the survey, we send managers and supervisors throughout Ford a report that shows how their specific teams and/or plants responded to the questions on the survey. The goal is for the managers and supervisors to then meet with their work groups, discuss the results, and develop action plans for improvement.

For more information on the Pulse survey, see the Data section of this report.