A first step in creating a better work climate is assessment. A primary assessment goal is to determine existing strengths as well as opportunities for improvement. A secondary goal is to determine strategies for improving the climate.

The best approach is to utilize a variety of measurement strategies. A list of such strategies follows:

• Surveys assess employees' perceptions of the work climate. Surveys can be particularly helpful in quantifying the strengths and opportunities within each work climate dimension.
• Observation whereby people watch members of the culture interact and then rate the work climate. The observers could document and describe any manifestations of a sense of community, shared vision or positive outlook that they see over a period of time.
• Policy and Program Review whereby organizational procedures, documents and historical information are examined. For example, such a review might look at mission statements, human resource policies and internal communications. This analysis would determine the extent to which cultural influences support a shared vision, sense of community and positive outlook. Typically, lists of strengths and opportunities for improvement would be identified to show how the climate is influenced by rewards, confrontation, modeling, training, orientation, communication systems, rituals, resource allocation, recruitment/selection and relationship development.
• Interviews whereby people are asked about their experience of the social climate. Such interviews can flesh out some of the informal realities behind the policy and program review. For example, it could be determined through interviews that most relationship development occurs in gripe sessions that run counter to a positive outlook. 
 

• Experiments whereby members of the culture are asked to perform specific tasks. For example, people could be asked to care for someone in need. Another experiment could have members of the culture explain the vision, mission and purpose of the group to see how similar these explanations are.