Development of a suitable survey instrument to identify causes behind high turnover rates within the 0301 series in the Communications-Electronics Command

Abstract

Our joint applied project produced a survey instrument to measure the perception of managers and provisioner subject-matter expert (SME) trainers in receiving cause-and-effect evidence for high turnover rates in the 0301 job series. We sought advice from branch managers and trainers about the validity of the survey instrument questions. This analysis determined which questions were suitable to display the correlation between turnover rates and generational differences. We created a survey instrument and sent it to 30 branch managers and provisioner SME trainers who had employees under functional series 0301 within their branches or directorates to gain feedback. They played an advisory role in reviewing the effectiveness of the survey. We analyzed the survey results for anomalies or inconsistencies and looked for questions that did not show clear negative or positive attitudes. This analysis helped decide which questions to keep, change, or remove for the final survey product. We did not use the results to assess the perceived correlation between turnover rates and generational differences; we used them to help refine the survey instrument. We recommend that Communications-Electronics Command--Integrated Logistics Service Center (CE-ILSC) share and implement the finalized Provisioner retention survey instrument with CP-17 series 0301 employees left in the command using an Internet survey site to ensure employee anonymity.