Is the Command Climate Survey (EO) really anonymous?

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 13:40:29 -0400

The email that came out in my company asking us to complete this survey said that anonymity would be protected by aggregation by race, sex, and rank. The problem is, the only time I see a black, male Chief Warrant Officer in my company is when I'm looking in the mirror. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

Response by SGT Javier Silva made Jun 20 at 2019 1:46 PM

SGT Javier Silva — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 13:46:10 -0400

Yes, it is. The unit is not given each individual survey to review. It is sent to big Army, and then broken down as a summary, no specifics as far as this black, male warrant said this. No one knows who wrote what, unless you write in specifics. I've seen those reports, they are only the needed information to adjust the unit's climate. CW3 Private RallyPoint Member

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jun 20 at 2019 2:13 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 14:13:48 -0400

In general it is although you can have a pretty good idea given anomalies in the demographics. An example would be E-7s by UIC. A small UIC may only have one E-7. That's why the survey preparer works to edit out the "tells". It's the comments section which are more of a giveaway when you know how people write, their styles, etc. I've been a member of MIL executive steering groups sorting through all the results. Comments around the table often included "I see Joe Schmoe got his annual bitch in." All that said, it isn't worth it to sort out potential individuals when you're looking for indicators and trends. My MSSM degree leaves me very skeptical of climate surveys because so many of the questions are leading and improperly formed. We tend to overvalue the results. Also frontloading the survey with a particular topic is a giveaway that HQ thinks this is a problem but in reality plays out differently at varied locations. HQ then tends to downplay what may be important in the field. I recall our HQ had a significant race problem. So the climate survey was 1/2 race and 1/2 everything else. Also the system stops too soon. If you have good indicators that are worth chasing, follow up on getting to the root causes vs. declaring a fix which will be invariably wrong. I've never seen proper follow through in my day.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 24 at 2019 1:24 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 13:24:38 -0400

They are when it comes to small population demographics in a unit, 5 or less.

If you go to the following site and open the "Sample DEOCS Report," it will show you how the sub-groups are combined and separated. For instance, WO1 - CW5 are later grouped with the Junior Officers category containing 01 - 03. However, in my company, that would only be one other person besides the commander, so that data would be omitted.

https://www.deocs.net/public/index.cfm

Excerpt:

"The following figure displays the Organizational Effectiveness (OE) Factor favorability ratings by
demographic subgroup. No data are displayed in cases where fewer than five people in a subgroup completed
the survey; this helps maintain respondent anonymity. Refer to Section V, DEOCS Summary of Survey Item
Responses to view the respective item level response frequencies for each factor."

(DEOCS) DEOMI Organizational Climate Survey

DEOMI - Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jun 24 at 2019 2:57 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 14:57:31 -0400

From my perspective of being a commander, yes and it’s a great tool.

Response by WO1 Maya Hart made Mar 28 at 2023 6:53 AM

WO1 Maya Hart — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 06:53:04 -0400

To stop the damaging effects of climate catastrophe and encourage adaptation to climate change, education is essential. But, its use of it is not being discussed much. You can look at https://qcostarica.com/education-is-key-to-addressing-climate-change/ to learn more about how education is important for addressing climate change. Also, it would strengthen support for a growing call to action from top advocacy groups to incorporate climate change into the curriculum with a focus on civic engagement. In other words, this teaching strategy will support the development of the youth of the world's mindsets and knowledge to be the leaders of climate-smart countries now and in the future.

Education is Key to Addressing Climate Change

Education is crucial to combat the degrading actions of the climate crisis and get people to adapt to climate change. Yet, not much attention is being paid to its usefulness. A 2019 study published…