Work Climate Assessment

A work climate assessment is an information-gathering process that allows the employer to take an informed decision regarding any situation considered worrisome. The consultant meets individually with the employees of a targeted working group and questions them about their experiences in their work environment. The consultant then summarizes the collected information for the employer, as anonymously as possible, emphasizing on the number of employees who verbalized certain issues and the risk factors related to these issues. Recommendations to improve the work climate and/or to address a specific problematic can also be presented.

Advantages of a work climate assessment by an external consultant

The Assessment  

  • allows to intervene as soon as a worrisome situation is brought to the employer’s attention;

  • allows for a fair evaluation of the work climate, considering the number of participants;

  • avoid having to have one employee bear the weight of a formal investigation;

  • avoid having to ask the participants to prove their allegations: they share and respond based on their personal experience instead of having to prove their allegations for them to be taken into account in the process;

  • allows the employer to know the number of employees who verbalized certain issues;

  • allows the employees to share anonymously;

  • offers support to the employer’s decisions;

  • helps the organization choose the most appropriate resolution option in a given case;

  • saves the staff time and energy.

The Consultant  

  •  is independent and impartial, which favors a climate of confidence for the participants and protects the organization in the event of judicial proceedings.

A few examples of situations where a work climate assessment would be appropriate

  • allegation or complaint of harassment in the workplace involving numerous potential victims;

  • informal complaints or denunciations of generalized issues in the work environment;

  • successive leaves of absence in a given working group;

  • complaints or denunciations of a problematic situation by an employee who refuses to participate to a formal investigation process.