Rutgers: Building a happy workplace with Eletive

Recently, we had the opportunity to speak with Geert Jan, HR manager at Rutgers, about the impact of Eletive on their workplace culture. Geert Jan highlighted the challenges Rutgers faced before adopting Eletive and how the platform has helped them foster a more positive work environment.

Keep reading to learn more about how Rutgers, with the help of Eletive, made the shift towards a feedback-driven culture. 

About Rutgers 

Rutgers, an NGO promoting and advocating for sexual and reproductive rights, has been a driving force for positive change for half a century.

Founded in 1971, the organisation is headquartered in the Netherlands and has a team of 130 employees . Rutgers support an array of programs and collaborations with partners in Africa and Asia, all working towards a shared vision of a world where everyone is free to explore and embrace their sexuality.  

From bi-yearly employee surveys to modern pulse surveys 

Upon joining Rutgers as their HR manager, Geert Jan quickly realised that gauging employee satisfaction was not as straightforward as he had hoped. The organisation had previously relied on traditional annual surveys, which provided limited insight into the pulse of the workforce. Recognising the need for a more dynamic and proactive approach, Geert Jan sought out a modern solution that could deliver real-time feedback and engagement metrics. 

Geert Jan Braber

HR Manager, Rutgers

My focus, working in HR, is to build a happy place to work at. We know that happy employees achieve their goals and perform their work at a higher quality, but how do we know if they’re happy? That’s why I started looking for an agile and modern tool for measuring employee engagement. 

A data-driven approach to the employee experience 

With Eletive, Rutgers has successfully established a feedback-driven culture that has transformed the HR approach. According to Geert Jan, the platform's intuitive design empowers employees and managers to take ownership of their experiences.  

By putting the power of feedback in the hands of those who know the company best, Eletive has enabled Rutgers to create a more engaged, motivated, and fulfilled workforce. 

“Eletive is easy to use, has simple ways to change settings, and we can add our own questionnaire. It’s easy to get real-time insight as a manager, and as an employee, I can track my own progress. I find that this focus on the individuals and their self-leadership makes Eletive stand out in the market.”  

This shift has created a more open and transparent culture of communication, where employees can provide feedback that leads to tangible action. By leveraging this real-time data, Rutgers can quickly identify areas for improvement and make adjustments to better support their employees. 

“Today, we can access survey results instantly and at the click of a button. Eletive makes it really easy for employees to give feedback. The platform presents the reports in a way that also makes it easy to discuss the results with the management team." 

An agile approach to the employee experience

Today, Rutgers is leveraging the power of pulse surveys to gain valuable insights into how employees perceive their work environment. These real-time insights serve as the foundation for taking meaningful action and continuously working towards building an even better workplace.  

The pulse surveys allow Rutgers to quickly identify areas of improvement and take the necessary steps to foster a positive and productive culture. An approach that is in line with Rutgers' commitment to staying ahead of the curve when it comes to creating a workplace that empowers and motivates its employees. 

“For example, we discovered that workload is the main area of improvement at Rutgers. We immediately discussed and understood how to approach the workload situation and we could quickly make amends. It becomes very easy to have a conversation in the organisation about how we can influence the vitality of our staff. We have a great participation rate.” 

Pulse surveys help preventing burnout

Working in an NGO like Rutgers presents a unique set of challenges when it comes to employee engagement. As Geert Jan points out, passion and commitment to the cause are often high, but it's crucial to balance that passion to ensure the health and wellbeing of employees.  

With the risk of stress-related illnesses, it's essential to prioritise a healthy work-life balance while maintaining the level of dedication to the organisation's mission. By prioritising the wellbeing of employees, organisations can create a culture that fosters sustained passion and commitment while promoting overall health and happiness. 

“We’re an NGO and we have 130 passionate professionals. We rate very high on Participation and meaningfulness – these are our strongest drivers.  One of our challenges, which is not uncommon in NGOs, is to make sure we don’t work too intensively. Eletive helps us prevent that.” 

According to Geert Jan, the benefits of Eletive were evident from the very first survey. He found that the platform's ability to visualise and present data in a user-friendly way makes it easy for organisations to turn insights into actionable steps. This data-driven approach has enabled Rutgers to make swift improvements to their workplace culture, leading to higher employee satisfaction. 

“I would never go back to any other way of doing employee surveys. All you need is this one platform. It’s way more effective and more cost-efficient than big yearly surveys. Things like job satisfaction and stress levels evolve and change over time, and pulse surveys allow us to see that and to be proactive in our approach”