County wellness survey finds 42% response rate; engagement committee to hold staff sessions

The Tompkins County engagement committee told the Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Committee on April 27 that a countywide workforce wellness survey sent to 794 employees yielded 333 responses, a 42% response rate.

Samantha Allmendinger, speaking for the engagement committee, said staff have been analyzing the data and will present findings in about seven in-person sessions open to all county employees; legislators were invited to attend. The sessions are intended to explain survey results and outline next steps so the information is used to inform programs rather than sit on a shelf.

The engagement group is also reviewing training and onboarding improvements. Samantha said the committee plans to modernize an existing fitness/weight-management reimbursement program to include mental-health and wellness activities without requesting additional budget dollars.

Members discussed Employee Assistance Program outreach after a recent EAP webinar. Samantha said benefits staff have asked EAP to run a six-week campaign explaining services; committee members stressed confidentiality concerns raised in the survey and said repeated outreach could help increase utilization.

Committee members suggested survey additions for the upcoming climate survey, including questions about caregiving costs (childcare), where employees live (in-county vs. outside-county), commute lengths and transportation modes — data that could inform workforce-housing or childcare support discussions.

"We got 333 responses, and that was a 42% response rate," Samantha said, framing that as a solid start while noting the committee hopes to reach more staff through targeted in-person sessions. The committee plans to share the formal report internally and follow up with concrete implementation steps drawn from the findings.