From Passive Surveying to Active Employee Engagement: Bridging The Talent Gap at the Detroit Regional Chamber

Research and practice have long shown that education benefits create advantages not only for workers but also for the organizations that employ them. Perhaps most obviously, they offer a "real time" way to upskill and reskill workers in areas critical for healthy talent pipelines as skill "shelf lives" decrease across all sectors. Empirical findings have established links between education benefits and recruitment, retention, satisfaction, and even productivity. As a result, more and more companies are recognizing education benefits not as expenses but as strategic investments with quantifiable returns.

The Detroit Regional Chamber, a CAEL institutional member, wants to help employers maximize those investments. In August 2024, the Chamber commissioned CAEL's Bridging The Talent Gap (BTTG) Employee Survey on behalf of Henry Ford Health. The health system delivers a wide range of primary, preventative, and specialty care services and includes one of the country's top academic medical centers. Tuition reimbursement is among the suite of team member benefits it offers.

The BTTG Employee Survey is a strategic tool designed to empower employers by leveraging the potential that arises when entry-level and frontline workers receive support for their education and career advancement. The survey delivers insight into employees' perspectives on learning and education goals, their awareness and impression of their employer's education benefit programs, and perceived barriers to utilizing those benefits. The survey is fully online and mobile-friendly. Employees can complete it in about 15 minutes.

Arranging BTTG surveys is part of the support the Chamber provides through its Detroit Regional Health Care Talent Collaborative. The collaborative brings health systems, K-12 and higher education, and community-based organizations together to solve workforce challenges in the region's health care sector. 

The Chamber first arranged for a BTTG survey for Henry Ford Health in 2022. Going into the initial survey, CAEL experts knew that a lack of awareness of education benefits is a chronic and widespread challenge affecting participation rates. On average, CAEL has found that less than 50% of workers surveyed from multiple companies over the previous five years are knowledgeable about their company’s education benefits and how to take advantage of those benefits. This trend is also reflected in an assortment of broader attempts around the country to assess the efficacy of employer benefits. Therefore, it was not a shock when the BTTG survey showed that the top barrier to accessing education benefits was a lack of knowledge about the benefit program.

In 2024, the survey audience expanded to encompass a more diverse pool of team members, helping participation surge more than 700%. This enabled the capture of deeper insights into why more team members were not using education benefits and ways to support those interested in furthering their education. 

More importantly, Henry Ford Health was able to leverage a more strategic and proactive approach in the second survey deployment. This was possible because rather than "surveying for the sake of surveying," the BTTG method complements static questions, which allow longitudinal analysis, with customizable queries about available resources. Survey organizers were able to tailor questions to trends gleaned in the previous survey, current team member perspectives, and emerging workforce needs. For example, the survey included questions designed to gauge team member interest in specific categories of training in high-need areas.

CAEL aggregated survey responses and, based on findings, presented action step recommendations to the Chamber and Henry Ford Health (HFH). A highlight of immediate impact the survey delivered is the enrollment of 30 HFH team members in a medical coding cohort based on their interest in advancing their careers in that direction. 

Another 328 team members used the survey to express interest in a referral to Michigan Reconnect. The program, which is also a CAEL institutional member, covers community college tuition for learners 25 years or older who have not completed a degree. More than 150,000 people have returned to college thanks to its support. 

Additionally, 493 team members, who requested additional assistance through their responses to the BTTG survey, are being served by the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Detroit Reconnect education navigator. This navigator provides institution-neutral support for adults seeking to reengage with education and utilizes the TGN@CAEL framework for providing this service. The high demand for navigational support services led the Chamber and the health care collaborative to seek funding to underwrite a navigator position specifically for Henry Ford Health. Plans are also underway to provide this service at other health care systems in the region.

Overall, more than half of survey respondents expressed an interest in receiving follow-up on education resources. This isn't surprising considering the survey confirmed team members are overwhelmingly in favor of furthering their education.

Survey recommendations were tailored to the unique responses of Henry Ford Health team members, but many are universally beneficial best practices. Examples include:

• Regularly remind team members about available educational benefits, such as tuition reimbursement or access to online courses. This could be through newsletters, team meetings, or dedicated communication channels.
• Ensure that the process for accessing benefits is simple and transparent. Provide clear instructions on eligibility, reimbursement processes, and deadlines.
• Provide options for online courses, evening classes, and in-person workshops to accommodate different learning preferences and schedules.
• Tailor educational opportunities to align with team members’ career aspirations within the company. When team members see a direct connection between learning and their job growth, they are more likely to engage.
• Acknowledge team members who take advantage of educational benefits, either through formal awards, shoutouts in meetings, or showcasing their accomplishments in company communications.
• Expand the scope of educational benefits beyond just degree programs to include certifications, workshops, and conferences.
• Foster a culture where team members share their learning experiences with each other. Set up knowledge-sharing platforms or lunch-and-learns to make learning a part of daily interactions.
• Monitor and assess the usage of educational benefits and evaluate their impact on employee development and retention.

For information about how to arrange a BTTG Employee Survey through the Detroit Regional Chamber, contact Christi Taylor. To establish a new BTTG Employee Survey partnership or for information about additional CAEL services, contact Doug Heckman.