We want to see how well we’re welcoming new members into the Service at their first unit. We want to make sure that the Core Values and Service culture lessons we’re teaching in our accession courses align with what people actually experience in the field.
The Coast Guard’s new First Unit Arrival Survey will evaluate how new members experience our Service culture after graduating from Training Center Cape May, Coast Guard Academy, and Officer Candidate School, as well as newly hired civilians and Direct Commissioned Officers new to the Coast Guard.
Starting this fall, all new accessions will be e-mailed a short survey – it’ll take about 10 minutes to answer the 10-15 questions, and all responses are anonymous.
The results go straight to the Coast Guard’s Workforce Systems & Capabilities Division, so we can get an overall picture of how we’re doing as a service. They’ll also be shared with District Commanders so they can review the results and take any steps needed to improve members’ experience.
All responses are anonymous unless a member opts to write in identifying information in the open-ended questions. The data will be compiled and used to identify gaps in onboarding training and processes.
This survey gives members a chance to share their perspective and help us make sure that every member starts with a positive experience when they first enter the service.
Current Coast Guard employees can be proactive by reviewing their unit’s onboarding procedures to identify any room for improvement. At each stage of the onboarding process, ask if there is anything you can do to better support your incoming member.
Survey Details
The First Unit Arrival Survey first asks some demographic questions:
- Accession source
- Affiliation status (military, civilian, active, reserve, prior service)
- Geographic District
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Unit Type
And then the Survey gets to the heart of it by asking new members to use three words to describe their unit’s culture. The survey asks about the new member’s onboarding experience, including:
- interactions with their sponsor,
- any questions that went unanswered before reporting,
- actions the new unit took to welcome them,
- ways the new unit could improve the onboarding process for others.
The survey goes on to ask members to describe how their new unit demonstrates each of Our Core Values and write in a suggestion that would improve their experience. New members can identify any bad behavior (i.e. bullying, hazing) they’ve observed and write in any additional comments – positive or negative – about their onboarding experience or atmosphere at their unit.
We need your help to foster feelings of value, empowerment, trust, and connectedness within our Service.
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