Annual Risk Assessment: Employee Survey Report
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Aggregate Results for Annual Risk Assessment and Audit Planning
Executive Summary
The City Auditor’s Office invited City employees to share anonymous feedback about operational strengths, improvement opportunities, and general risk signals that may inform the annual risk assessment and audit planning process. This report presents aggregate results only. It does not evaluate individual employees, work groups, or departments.
Key Aggregate Indicators
The following table summarizes selected agreement results. Percentages combine “strongly agree” and “agree” responses and are presented as broad aggregate indicators.
Selected aggregate measure | Agreement |
|---|---|
Employees who agreed services are delivered effectively in their work area | 69% |
Employees who agreed they receive timely, clear information from their direct supervisor | 73% |
Employees who agreed they receive needed training and guidance from their direct supervisor | 71% |
Employees who agreed City resources are used responsibly and efficiently in their work area | 62% |
Employees who agreed adequate controls and oversight are in place to prevent errors and misuse | 65% |
Employees who agreed they feel physically safe in their work environment | 76% |
About the Survey
The survey was designed to gather staff input on operational effectiveness, resource use, internal communication, controls, training, continuity, safety, and improvement opportunities. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. Employees were asked not to include names or personally identifying information in open-ended responses.
The final dataset included 938 responses. Results in this report are presented at the aggregate level. Department-level results, individual comments, and detailed examples are not included.
Respondent Profile
Responses included employees from a range of roles and experience levels. The largest respondent group was frontline or individual contributor staff, followed by supervisors and administrative or support staff. Respondents also included managers, directors, employees in other roles, and employees who preferred not to identify their role.
Respondents represented a mix of newer and longer-tenured employees. About one-third reported 16 or more years with the City, while others reported shorter tenures ranging from one year or less to 11 to 15 years.
Profile Area | General Result |
Responses Received | 938 |
Role/Level | Broad participation across frontline, supervisory, administrative/support, management, director, and other roles |
Years with the City | Participation included both newer employees and long-tenured employees |
Department Results | Not reported in this public-release-safe aggregate draft |
Overall Operational Effectiveness
Most respondents expressed positive views of service delivery in their work areas. Sixty-nine percent strongly agreed or agreed that City services are delivered effectively in their work area. Thirteen percent disagreed or strongly disagreed, while the remaining responses were neutral, not sure, or not applicable.
These results suggest that many employees see core services as functioning effectively, while also leaving room for continued improvement in consistency, coordination, and support systems.
Priority Areas for Operational Improvement
Employees identified several broad areas where operations could continue to improve. The most frequently selected area was staffing, workload, or capacity. Other common areas included communication or coordination across departments, technology or systems, process efficiency or workflow, and training or onboarding.
Broad Improvement Area | General Pattern |
Staffing, workload, or capacity | Most frequently selected |
Communication or coordination across departments | Frequently selected |
Technology or systems | Frequently selected |
Process efficiency or workflow | Also identified |
Training or onboarding | Also identified |
Policies, procedures, or guidance | Identified by a smaller share of respondents |
Customer service or responsiveness | Identified by a smaller share of respondents |
Communication, Supervision, and Guidance
Most respondents reported receiving needed information and guidance from their direct supervisors. Seventy-three percent strongly agreed or agreed that they receive timely, clear information from their supervisor. Seventy-one percent strongly agreed or agreed that they receive the training and guidance needed to perform their responsibilities effectively.
Training needs were broad. The most common selections were job-specific processes, supervisor or management training, data systems or reporting tools, compliance or ethics requirements, and purchasing, contracting, or finance procedures.
Resource Use and Operational Stewardship
Most respondents expressed positive views of resource stewardship. Sixty-two percent strongly agreed or agreed that City resources are used responsibly and efficiently in their work area. Twenty percent disagreed or strongly disagreed, while other responses were neutral, not sure, or not applicable.
Open-ended feedback was reviewed only for broad themes. General themes included workload and capacity, workflow consistency, technology and tools, communication, and equipment or facility needs.
Internal Controls and Oversight
Most respondents expressed positive views of controls and oversight. Sixty-five percent strongly agreed or agreed that adequate controls and oversight are in place to prevent errors and misuse. Eleven percent disagreed or strongly disagreed, while other responses were neutral, not sure, or not applicable.
Fraud, Waste, Misuse, and Risk Awareness
The survey included questions about whether employees had observed situations that could create risk of fraud, waste, or misuse of City resources. These responses are presented as broad risk-awareness indicators only and should not be interpreted as verified findings or allegations.
Most respondents did not agree that they had observed such situations. Twenty percent strongly agreed or agreed, while 54% disagreed or strongly disagreed. Nineteen percent were neutral, and the remaining responses were not sure or not applicable.
Detailed descriptions from open-ended responses are not included in this report. Broad themes from these responses may be used internally as one input for annual risk assessment planning.
Single Points of Failure and Institutional Knowledge
Responses on single points of failure were mixed. Thirty-four percent strongly agreed or agreed that important processes rely too heavily on one person’s knowledge. Thirty-eight percent disagreed or strongly disagreed, and 24% were neutral.
When employees identified areas where this risk may be greatest, the most common broad area was operations or maintenance, followed by purchasing or contracting, service requests or customer casework, and IT system access or permissions. These results point to the value of documentation, cross-training, and continuity planning across work areas.
Workplace Safety
Most respondents reported feeling physically safe in their work environment. Seventy-six percent strongly agreed or agreed with this statement. Nine percent disagreed or strongly disagreed, while other responses were neutral, not sure, or not applicable.
Safety concerns were summarized only at a broad level. The most common categories selected were public interaction concerns, fieldwork hazards, facility or building hazards, equipment or vehicle safety, and ergonomics or repetitive strain.
High-Performing Programs, Processes, or Service Areas
Employees were invited to identify high-performing programs, processes, or service areas that could serve as examples for others. Responses were reviewed for general themes rather than specific examples.
Common positive themes included responsive service, strong teamwork, effective coordination, reliable internal processes, helpful technology or tools, clear guidance, and a commitment to serving residents and coworkers well.
Programs, Processes, or Service Areas for Improvement
Employees were also invited to identify programs, processes, or service areas that could improve. Responses were summarized at a general level and are not quoted directly.
Common themes aligned with the closed-ended results: staffing and workload, technology and systems, workflow efficiency, coordination across work areas, training and onboarding, policies and procedures, facilities or equipment, and public-facing service processes.
Cross-Cutting Operational Themes
Across the survey, several broad themes appeared repeatedly. These themes are intended to support risk assessment and audit planning, not to draw conclusions about any individual department or employee.
Theme | General Meaning |
Staffing, workload, and capacity | Employees often connected improvement needs to capacity and workload. |
Technology and systems | Respondents identified tools, systems, and reporting as areas that affect daily work. |
Process efficiency and workflow | Employees identified opportunities to simplify, clarify, or streamline work. |
Training, onboarding, and guidance | Respondents noted the importance of job-specific guidance, supervisory support, and ongoing training. |
Communication and coordination | Employees identified coordination across work areas as important to effective service delivery. |
Controls, oversight, and continuity | Responses pointed to the importance of oversight, documentation, cross-training, and backup capacity. |
Safety and work environment | Most employees reported feeling safe, while broad safety categories remain useful for planning and support. |
Implications for the Annual Risk Assessment
The employee survey is one source of information used by the City Auditor’s Office during the annual risk assessment. The results help identify broad operational themes that may warrant additional review, discussion, or monitoring.
Survey results will be considered alongside other risk assessment sources, including community survey results, department head interviews, City leadership priorities, prior audit work, financial and operational information, legal risk information, news coverage, and public input.
Because the report is based on staff perceptions, the findings should be viewed as risk signals and operational feedback. Additional audit work would be needed to verify specific causes, impacts, or control conditions.
Methodology and Limitations
The survey included closed-ended questions, multi-select questions, and open-ended questions. Quantitative results were summarized using aggregate frequencies and percentages. Agreement percentages combine “strongly agree” and “agree” responses.
Open-ended responses were reviewed for broad themes. Direct quotes, detailed examples, department-specific references, and potentially identifying information are not included in this report.
The survey results reflect the experiences and perceptions of employees who responded. Results should not be interpreted as statistically representative of all employees unless supported by a final response methodology. Findings are not audit conclusions.
Appendix A: Aggregate Summary Tables
The following tables provide concise aggregate summaries for selected survey items.
Survey Item | Agree/ Strongly Agree | Neutral | Disagree/ Strongly Disagree |
|---|---|---|---|
Services are delivered effectively | 69% | 15% | 13% |
Receive timely, clear information from supervisor | 73% | 12% | 14% |
Resources are used responsibly and efficiently | 62% | 15% | 20% |
Adequate controls and oversight are in place | 65% | 18% | 11% |
Receive needed training and guidance | 71% | 15% | 12% |
Important processes rely too heavily on one person’s knowledge | 34% | 24% | 38% |
Feel physically safe in work environment | 76% | 13% | 9% |
Note: Percentages may not total 100% because “not sure,” “not applicable,” skipped responses, and rounding are not always shown.