It's hard to fathom that it's already June, and we're wrapping up another school year. As my first year at Heartland AEA comes to a close, I want to thank all of you for making it a special year for me both personally and professionally. I came to Heartland AEA believing it would be a great place to work, full of challenges and rewards, and I haven't been disappointed. As you know, our core values are Caring, Proactive and Collaborative, and I see people in every area of the Agency living those values daily.
Every academic year has its challenges, and this year was no different. What has impressed me about Heartland AEA, though, is that regardless of the circumstances or the time of year, you seem to make a serious commitment to caring, not just for those we serve, but for your co-workers as well. Often it's by serving our colleagues that we show our caring, and it's that kind of caring that makes organizations good places to work. So let me say thank you for what you do, not only for those we serve, but for your colleagues as well. The end of the year is a good time for all of us to reflect and to show our gratitude. Before you take a well-deserved break this summer, take some time to appreciate and thank a co-worker.
Reason to Celebrate: Denison Survey Results
I also want to celebrate our most recent round of Denison Organizational Culture Survey data, which we just received a few days ago. Below you will see a graphic that shows this year's results alongside the results of our previous three full surveys. The increase of color in the current circumplex shows that Heartland AEA is now in the top quartile of companies in all 12 sub-categories. Six years ago, our agency wasn't in the top quartile in any category or sub-category. What growth over a short period of time! Further reason for celebration is that more staff than ever responded to the full survey (given every other year). Over 500 of you responded to this year's survey, and as you can see below, our scores were the highest they've ever been.
I want to emphasize that this growth is a reflection on you, our staff, and on our collective commitment to caring and collaboration. The heavy lifting involved in improving culture started long before my arrival, and it's been done by everyone, not just a select few. We know we still have much room to grow, and we plan to dig into the data more extensively this summer by disaggregating the quantitative data by region and department as well as by analyzing all the qualitative narrative comments shared by you. For now though, let's celebrate how far we've come! Culture work is a work that never ends, and we will always be working on ways to improve our systems. Your continued participation and feedback will be vital as we keep moving forward.
We certainly have hills to climb and new needs to meet going forward. One of the great things about working in a service agency is that the increase in demand for the types of services we can provide will only grow. Our society needs us, and though that responsibility can lie heavy on our shoulders at times, isn't is a tremendous gift to know that the work we do is so important to so many? I say this all the time and mean it now more than ever -- no one else is doing or can do the many things we do every day for Iowa's children, families and educators. So, as many of you head off to recharge this summer, remind yourself that you do important work.
Thank you again for a great first year as your chief administrator. Have a great summer!
- Jon
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