Workforce Survey

Workforce Survey

Overview of the Zero Suicide Workforce Survey

One component of a Zero Suicide framework is a competent, confident, and well-trained workforce, regardless of role or responsibility. The Zero Suicide Workforce Survey is one tool your organization can use to assess staff self-perception of their knowledge and comfort interacting with patients who may be at risk for suicide, including comfort and skill providing specific elements of care such as screening, treatment, and support during care transitions.

This survey can serve multiple functions:

  • Provide for leadership a snapshot of how prepared staff actually feel about providing suicide care and will also likely reinforce that change is needed and welcome
  • Provide an opportunity to let staff know that their input throughout the launch and implementation of your system-wide suicide care initiative will be welcome and desired
  • Assist your implementation team in designing and prioritizing training needs

Using the Survey Results

Survey results should inform leadership about how prepared staff feel to provide suicide care, assist in the development of training plans in your organization, and help establish a baseline for your implementation approach.

The following quote from the Zero Suicide Breakthrough Series: Outcomes and Recommendations report illustrates what you can learn by administering the Workforce Survey:

The workforce survey came as a surprise to many providers in terms of how unsure their staff were in handling people with symptoms of suicide short of hospitalization. The data created an opportunity for increased buy-in among staff for additional training.1

See the Guidelines for Administering the Workforce Survey resource for additional information about analyzing and sharing results.

Findings from Other Organizations

The general findings from more than 35,000 responses to an earlier version of the Zero Suicide Workforce Survey across nine states showed that a large number of staff at all levels do not have specific training in suicide care. Most organizations are likely to see similar results since clinicians get so little suicide-specific training in graduate school.

  • Between 35% and 45% don’t feel they have the skills
  • Between 40% and 50% don’t feel they have the training
  • Between 30% and 40% don’t feel they have the support2

Suggestions for Using Results

Zero Suicide Implementation Teams can use survey results to motivate staff commitment to the Zero Suicide goal and to guide the selection of training workshops to build staff skills in areas the survey shows to be weakest. 

For example, one organization that administered the survey at the launch of their Zero Suicide initiative and repeated administration of the Work Force Survey a year later found dramatic changes in staff responses: 

  • Number of all staff responding that they had the training, skills, and support increased by more than half, from just 36% on the first survey to 86% on the second
  • Number responding that they did not have the training, skills, and support decreased from 27% to 2%

Administering the Workforce Survey

The Zero Suicide Workforce Survey takes an average of 10–15 minutes to complete, and the responses are anonymous. It contains branching logic to match certain categories of survey questions with relevant staff based on their role in the organization.

Organizations can either request access to the online version of the Workforce Survey or use the PDF document with the survey questions to create their own online survey or administer the survey on paper.

We recommend the survey be re-administered at least once every three years, either among a specific group of staff members or the entire staff, to re-assess knowledge, comfort, and skills.

"St. Luke's Behavioral Health outpatient clinic provided the Workforce Survey to their staff members on paper and allotted time during a staff meeting for its completion. Leadership had already communicated with staff about initiating the Zero Suicide initiative, explaining their intent to gauge staff members' thoughts and perceptions about the suicide care they provided to patients. After achieving an impressive response rate of 90%, they convened focus groups with staff to share the survey results and delve deeper into understanding staff needs. Through this transparent process, they exemplified a Just Culture, increased trust between staff and the organization, and were able to develop plans to enhance staff support and training."

Accessing the Workforce Survey

To request access to the online Workforce Survey please click the following link: Workforce Survey Request Form.

The Zero Suicide Workforce Survey Resources page contains the additional resources listed below:

  • PDF document with the survey questions
  • Guidelines for Administering the Workforce Survey 
  • Sample letter to staff about the survey
  • Sample survey results report
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