“We chose to conduct SeeDS at Seattle Humane based on glowing recommendations we received from other animal shelters’ leaders. We were very impressed with how easy it was to work with the SeeDS team. They were extremely helpful in arranging for the survey, administering it, and helping us work through the results. The survey provided us with great, in-depth input regarding the employee experience at Seattle Humane, and created clarity we haven’t had before regarding our own areas for improvement as well as how we compare to other shelters. We are grateful to have such an industry-specific, highly professional tool available to us, and we plan to use it again to examine our progress year by year.”
Efrat Hurvitz, CHRO, Seattle Humane
“This was our first time conducting SeeDS and we could not be happier. SeeDS allowed us to better understand various aspects of our organization from many employee perspectives. We were able to identify invaluable insight regarding the strengths and opportunities for growth for the over 200 employees who work at our organization. This has helped us set up a game plan for moving forward based on the insights and evidence-based recommendations SeeDS provided to make meaningful change at DDFL. Employees need a voice, and SeeDS is a great outlet for them to do so founded in the animal welfare industry. The SeeDS process could not have been easier either. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Dr. Rogelberg and the SeeDS team!”
Rebecca Holmes, VP of People and Strategic Initiatives, Denver Dumb Friends League
“We did an initial SeeDS survey in 2020, having selected UNCC because of their history, scientific rigor, and ability to measure against an industry standard. We elected to conduct a follow-up survey 6 months after our initial one. The initial survey showed real insight into what our employees needed from the board, management, and their peers. Based on recommendations from the UNCC team, we created working groups to immediately address the findings. We saw huge improvement in employee satisfaction after our second survey and it proved to all that we were on the right track to improve our shelter and employee environment, and that we were listening to each other and acting to make improvements. Our shelter is a better place to work and our staff is more open to providing feedback on a regular basis as now they see how much we appreciate and utilize their input. We intend to have a continuous improvement process after each SeeDS survey, and consider the UNCC team to be valuable partners in making our shelter the best it can be.”
Nicole Schafer, Executive Director & Ann Hayashi, Board of Directors, Kauai Humane Society
“[SeeDS] allowed us to better understand our most valuable asset, our employees. Whether it is understanding what is going well or areas of improvement, [SeeDS] provides crucial information in a safe way. The survey offers opportunities for our employees to be heard which stimulates communication to keep our shelter healthy and effective. The [SeeDS] team provides excellent support throughout the entire process, from encouraging participation to sharing the results. We received meaningful suggestions for improvement in a professional and caring manner that helped us to process the results and implement changes.”
Jan McHugh-Smith, President & CEO, Pike’s Peak Region Humane Society
“The Sacramento SPCA has worked with the University of North Carolina’s [Shelter Employee Engagement & Development Survey] for the past six years and find the system to be helpful by providing significant data to make improvements in our operations, making a more humane organizational environment for our staff. Staff appreciate the opportunity to have a qualified third party listen to their ideas, too. The survey is safe, efficient, relevant, and worthwhile. I would recommend all municipal and nonprofit agencies take advantage of this great opportunity. To do so, I believe, is a sound business decision.”
Rick Johnson, CEO, Sacramento SPCA
“Our organization is a repeat “client” and has participated several times in the [Shelter Employee Engagement & Development Survey]. For us, it was a great way to obtain valuable information from our staff in a way they felt comfortable participating anonymously. The [SeeDS] team was great to work with and helped us utilize the survey in the best way to obtain feedback in a useful and meaningful way. We were able to use the results of the feedback as both a tool for our management staff and Board to know how we are doing and for our staff to create teams to address some of the areas we needed to improve on. This also made everyone feel like their input was taken seriously and part of the process to make changes within the operation. My only regret is that I didn’t do it when I first arrived at HSC so I had a starting point and then could later see how the staff engagement and morale had been affected. We will definitely use the tool again periodically to take the temperature of employee satisfaction.”
Shelly Moore, CEO, Humane Society of Charlotte
“[SeeDS] helped us identify our greatest areas of need from a staff satisfaction perspective. We expected some of the feedback we received in areas to improve – but we also gained real insight into areas we would not have recognized as needing growth without [SeeDS]. We also learned what made some of our staff happiest at our organization – things that made them feel most proud. It’s been two year since our first survey, and we are looking forward to repeating it this year to measure how far we’ve come, and identify next steps. I really can’t speak highly enough of this tool, developed specifically for animal shelters. It was great to have a tool that we weren’t trying to “fit” into our unique profession. The process could not have been easier – Dr. Rogelberg and his team were great to work with and helped keep us on track with deadlines, etc. Well worth the cost.”
Stephanie Shain, COO, Humane Society of Washington DC
“We’ve used [SeeDS] consistently for several years now and the results have led to very important changes at our shelter. It gives our employees a safe place to express their voice which is incredibly valuable in organizations such as ours. With the help of the UNC-Charlotte staff, our leadership team has been able to efficiently and effectively analyze results and identify several keys areas to focus on, instead of trying to solve every problem. We were able to create communication plans, involve employees in problem solving and ultimately, make our shelter a better place to work because of [SeeDS] and the UNC-Charlotte team! Thank you!”
Nicole Cossette, Director of Human Resources, Oregon Humane Society
“The [SeeDS] survey provided invaluable feedback to our management team about the issues in our shelter. First, it provided a means for our staff to provide an unfettered opinion of management, other departments and most importantly how life and working in a shelter affects us all. The results have been carefully reviewed, with the help of Steve and his team, and we have successfully implemented two important committees from across the shelter to work together on addressing the issues identified. We have a weekly communications team with members from all departments and a monthly task force team that is working on the cross-departmental issues identified for us by [SeeDS]. The staff have committed to these tasks as they are issues that they themselves identified and they now feel they are a big part of the global solution. Without the [SeeDS] survey we may have never dealt with these issues. It’s a worthwhile effort that every shelter should undertake.”
Bill McDonald, CEO, Winnipeg Humane Society
“The [Shelter Employee Engagement & Development Survey] was a great resource for our shelter. As a result of the survey we have formed an employee advisory committee made up of nonmanagers from each of our departments. The committee’s mission is to unify the employees of the Animal Welfare League of Arlington and to improve the efficiency of the shelter as a whole by representing individual departments within the larger organization. We plan to accomplish this by: Cultivating open, honest and productive communication within and between departments; meeting as often as necessary to address issues, discuss solutions and provide guidance to help solve day to day challenges that need attention; providing tools and activities that foster teamwork.”
Susan Sherman, Animal Welfare League of Arlington
Other Clients
- Animal Humane Association of New Mexico
- John Ancrum SPCA
- Minneapolis Animal Humane Society
- Richmond SPCA
- City of Sacramento Animal Care Services
- San Diego SPCA
- SPCA Texas
- Calcasieu Parish Animal Services and Adoption Center
- Capital Area Humane Society (twice)
- Hinsdale Humane Society
- Spartanburg Humane Society
- Oregon Humane Society
- Charlotte Humane Society (twice)
- Greater Birmingham Humane Society
- Jefferson Parish Animal Shelter
- Marin Humane Society
- Midwest ABS, Inc.
- San Luis Obispo Animal Services
- Valencia Animal Control
- Denver Animal Care and Control
- San Francisco SPCA (twice)
- Edmonton Humane Society
- Bay Area Humane Society
- Sacramento SPCA (3 times)
- Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society
- Larimer Humane Society (4 times)
- Gaston County Animal Control
- Animal Welfare League of Alexandria
- Coastal Humane Society
- Dallas Animal Services
- Humane Society of Pikes Peak Region (3 locations)
- Wisconsin Humane Society
- Kitsap Humane Society
- Connecticut Humane Society
- Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League
- Houston SPCA
- San Jose Animal Care and Services
- Woods Humane Society
- Pennsylvania SPCA
- Prince Georges County
- Animal Allies Humane Society
- Alachua County Humane Society
