PHOENIX, AZ — The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) achieved “exceptional organization” status in the annual employee engagement survey administered across Arizona state government. AHCCCS earned an employee engagement score of 12.4, meaning 12.4 engaged employees to 1 disengaged employee, with 100 percent participation from the agency’s approximately 1000 employees.
“This is an important annual metric,” said AHCCCS director Tom Betlach. “With it, we celebrate our employees’ passion, dedication and commitment. We also make course corrections where needed and set division and agency goals for continuous improvements in workplace flexibility, communication, training, and development.”
Exceptional organizations achieve engagement scores of 9 or higher; the average being 1.80, according to Gallup. The employee engagement survey defines engaged employees as those who are involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their workplace. More than job satisfaction, the survey asks employees to assess how connected they are to the agency mission, whether they are supported by management, and whether they feel valued. These attributes tend to indicate employees who are more productive, more efficient, absent and sick less often and less prone to accidents.
AHCCCS has seen its employee engagement score rise steadily year over year, up from 4.7 in 2012. In that time, the agency has instituted several flexible workplace initiatives designed to retain talent, increase business efficiencies, and meet the needs of its diverse workforce. For example, more than 23% of employees work remotely from virtual office settings; another 30% telecommute at least one day per week. The Infants at Work program allows new parents to bring children up to 6 months old to the office. These and other initiatives fit well within the AHCCCS corporate culture and its mission to serve as a leader in Medicaid managed healthcare.
