State Employee Engagement Survey

Employee Engagement Survey Executive Summary

The annual Washington State Employee Engagement Survey (EES) provides a reliable source of feedback from executive branch employees in the areas of general engagement, communication, diversity, resources to carry-out the work, growth/ development, inclusion/ belonging, manager effectiveness, recognition, work-life balance, change management, and pro-equity anti-racism. All responses to this survey are voluntary and anonymous. The survey was conducted in October 2024 and was administered to all executive branch agencies and two higher education institutions. Participation in the survey decreased from 68% in 2023 to 62% in 2024: 47,174 employees.

This year’s survey consisted of the 42 questions:

• 27 of the questions were Likert type questions asking respondents to rate their agreement to the question statement on a five-point scale from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”.
• Three of the questions used set lists of options to collect information regarding employees’ intent to stay, equipment needs, and what would increase their engagement at work.
• The remaining 12 questions concerned employee demographics.

What we Found

Key Drivers of Engagement

Employees who are most engaged at work are those who felt as if they belonged at their agency or institution. Employees who felt valued and supported during organizational change were also some of the most engaged employees.

Our Successes

• 86% of respondents felt their immediate supervisor treated them with respect.
• 79% of respondents felt their immediate supervisor created an environment of openness and trust.
• 78% of respondents agreed that their immediate supervisor is a good leader.

Areas for Improvement

• 51% of respondents indicated they had opportunities for advancement.
• 47% of respondents indicated senior leadership at their agency did a good job of communicating the reasons behind important changes that are made.
• 47% of respondents felt supported during organizational change at their agency.

Demographic Data

We collected demographic data for nearly all state agencies in the 2024 State Employee Engagement survey. While demographic data is voluntary for respondents, it helps us understand the experience of all employees. We also work to build trust in sharing this voluntary information to improve employee experience and foster a work environment where all employees feel heard and included. This data is important for agencies and the enterprise to ensure we gain insight about our diverse workforce. Some key data points include

• 14% of all survey respondents self-identified as having a disability. This is 8.6% higher than the 5.4% currently reported in the Human Resource Management System (HRMS).
• 10% of respondents identified as a Veteran. This is 4.5% more than what is currently reported in HRMS as the total percentage of veterans in the workforce.
• 1.3% of respondents identified as non-binary or gender X. This percentage is twice the current rate (0.6%) reported in HRMS.

Next Steps

These survey results contain valuable information allowing us to better understand statewide and agency engagement levels. We strongly encourage agencies to act on these results specifically related to creating an environment of belonging where employees feel valued, supporting employees through organizational change, and continuing to demonstrate inclusion in all agency activities. We also encourage agencies to supplement this information with agency-specific action like additional limited scope surveys and focus groups targeting areas for growth or improvement. This can help agencies assess steps as they begin to act based on their 2024 Employee Engagement Survey results.

See our 2024 survey dashboard

2025 Employee Engagement Survey Response Rate Tracker

The dashboard below shows EES 2025 response rates. The agency headcounts used are as of September 15th, 2025. Final response rates will be calculated using October 1, 2025 headcounts.

We want to hear from you!

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How is the employee survey data used?

Agencies/Institutions

Agencies/Institutions act on their employee survey data to:

• Improve workforce management practices
• Improve workplace culture
• Celebrate what’s being done well
• Help retain and engage a productive workforce

Enterprise

The Executive Cabinet reviews results to identify at the statewide level:

• Successful workforce management practices
• Opportunities to improve statewide policies and processes

Statewide results are also available to all agencies for benchmarking.

Additional Data for Decision Making

Survey data is combined with other workforce measures and used by Legislators and state leaders to help inform decision making:

• The statewide HR Management Report includes survey data as a measure of performance for several areas of workforce management

Related Links

• Results Washington
• Statewide HR Management Reports
• State Workforce Data
• Employee Engagement Survey
• Employee Q&A about the survey

Data Protection for the Surveys we Administer

The Office of Financial Management – State Human Resources (OFM-SHR) administers the Statewide Engagement Survey and Statewide Exit Survey for a majority of the workforce. All survey responses from employees in these surveys are sent directly to OFM.

To protect the anonymity of the employee and create a safe environment for honest feedback, we have implemented multiple safeguards. Below is information on how the data is collected and specifics on the steps we have taken to protect engagement and exit survey data.

Voluntary

The engagement and exit surveys are completely voluntary. Employees can choose to take the survey or not, skip questions, or based on the type of question, select “Prefer not to say”.  Data collected within the exit survey is not use for official complaint purposes.

Demographic Data

By collecting employee characteristic information and sentiments about their work environment, agencies and institutions can better align strategies to make the workplace better for all. Demographic questions could help answer:

• Do employees in certain geographic areas feel organizational communication is better or worse?
• Do employees who are veterans feel their skills and abilities are being utilized properly?
• Do employees with a disability feel they have the access to tools and resources to do the job?
• Do employees of a certain race/ethnicity feel valued and a part of the team?

These types of questions can help us better understand where our gaps are and challenge our assumptions.

Current demographic questions include:

• Which agency do you work for?
• What is your job class? (exit survey only)
• How many days on average do you currently telework per week?
• How long have you worked for your current agency?
• How long have you worked for the state? (exit survey only)
• Are you a supervisor?
• In which county do you currently work a majority of the time?
• What is your age?
• What is your gender identity?
• Are you a U.S. Veteran?
• Do you identify as having a disability?
• Do you identify as LGBTQ+?
• What race and/or ethnicity do you consider yourself? (select all that apply)

It is important to remember that demographic questions are optional. Employees may skip questions or select, “Prefer not to say” as a response.

Survey Data Exemption from Public Records Requests

When OFM receives a public records request for survey data, we do not release all data. RCW 42.56.250 (11) makes the data types listed below non-disclosable under any circumstance:

• Gender identity
• LGBTQ+ status
• Disability status
• Race and/or ethnicity

The complete raw data from the engagement and exit survey is only available to OFM-SHR staff, who clean and conduct analysis. A participating agency or institution may request county, job class, telework levels, supervisor status, time with state, or time with the agency on a case-by-case basis.

Reporting

Agency & Higher Education Institution Reporting:

Participating agencies and institutions will receive access to an online live Qualtrics dashboard. They may also receive individual level data without demographic data. Upon request, Power BI dashboards may be created using the requestors data. All dashboards must meet the 10-employee response threshold. If an agency or institution has less than 10 employees, only summarized results will be provided at most.

Public Reporting:

OFM will only publish summarized agency or institution level data if more than 10 employees respond to the survey. To see a question’s score, at least 10 employees will have had to have answered the question.

Survey Platform

OFM contracts with a third-party provider, Qualtrics, to administer our survey products. OFM negotiated data sharing protections compliant with the Office of the Chief Information Officer that are unique to the state’s use for the survey transaction. For more information about Qualtrics privacy protection, please let us know, and we will provide you a copy of the agreement.

In order to prevent and protect against fraud and malicious activity, as well as ensuring the security of the platform, Qualtrics may collect IP addresses from survey respondents. To be clear: OFM-SHR does not have access to any Qualtrics collected IP addresses and we do not collect or share IP addresses.

OFM-SHR recommends taking the engagement or exit survey while in the office or while using VPN. This will ensure that the IP address is associated with the state and not your personal network.

Disability questions on the Employee Engagement Survey

This information is provided by the Disability Inclusion Network, a state employee business resource group.

The Employee Engagement Survey includes a question asking if I have a disability. How should I answer?

Could I have a disability?

If you have a condition that affects how you interact with and/or perceive your environment, or you have a history of such condition, you could be considered to have a disability. Some examples are:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Autoimmune Disorders (Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, HIV/AIDS)
• Blindness or low vision
• Cancer
• Cardiovascular/ Heart Disease
• Celiac Disease
• Deaf or Hard of Hearing
• Diabetes
• Gastrointestinal Disorders (Crohn’s Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
• Intellectual Disability
• Missing Limbs or Partially Missing Limbs
• Nervous System Conditions (Migraines, Parkinson’s disease, Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis)
• Psychiatric Conditions (Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Personality Disorder, PTSD)

What are the benefits of reporting a disability?

• Reporting helps move towards a culture where employees feel comfortable sharing.
• Reporting helps communicate your agency’s focus on inclusion.
• Reporting promotes more access to accommodations. With the right accommodations, an employee with a disability can perform their job at an optimal level.
• Reporting can allow for the creation of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) within your agency to focus on helping and empowering those with disabilities excel in their jobs.
• Reporting helps agencies better recruit, retain, and offering training and promotional opportunities for those with disabilities.
• Reporting helps agencies create mentoring and coaching opportunities for those with disabilities.

Why should you report a disability on the 2025 Employee Engagement Survey?

• This data helps provide a deeper understanding of the different groups within the workforce.
• Reporting a disability on the engagement survey is not the same as disclosing a disability.
• Providing any of this information is voluntary, and information will be kept confidential to the extent legally possible. The following information collected in this survey is protected from public disclosure at the individual level: age, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity (RCW 49.60.040(26)), and status as a person with a disability. Get more information on how OFM will use the data and protect it.

Questions?

Contact the Disability Inclusion Network at din@ofm.wa.gov.

Employee Q&A About the Employee Survey