Thank you to the 7,200 faculty and staff who shared feedback about our workplace and work culture in November 2014 through the statewide employee engagement survey.
Results are in and summaries of findings specific to each campus and institute were shared through open forums held in March. Hopefully, you were able to attend.
Among statewide findings, 81 percent of respondents are proud to work at UT, and 78 percent feel their department is a good place to work.
Results indicate that as a statewide system, UT is making progress in some key areas identified as needing improvement in the 2011 survey. While there’s still work to be done, results indicate efforts to address pay, increase supervisor training and standardize performance reviews could be making an impact.
Here are some specific examples from statewide feedback:
| Question | 2014 (Strongly Agree/Agree) |
2011 (Strongly Agree/Agree) |
| Overall, my department is a good place to work. | 78% | 77% |
| This institution’s benefits meet my needs. | 75% | 68% |
| My supervisor/department chair is consistent and fair. | 68% | 63% |
| We have opportunities to contribute to important decisions in my department. | 59% | 53% |
| I understand how merit increases are determined. | 52% | 47% |
| Issues of low performance are addressed in my department. | 51% | 46% |
| Changes that affect me are discussed prior to being implemented. | 48% | 44% |
| I am paid fairly for my work. | 42% | 35% |
Results also serve as a reminder that areas such as staffing and collaboration still need attention, for instance:
| Question | 2014 (Strongly Agree/Agree) |
2011 (Strongly Agree/Agree) |
| My department has adequate faculty/staff to achieve our goals. | 42% | 40% |
| There’s a sense that we’re all on the same team at this institution. | 45% | 43% |
Work to study feedback from the 2014 survey is about to begin, and campuses and institutes have formed teams to make recommendations for specific outcomes based on the new data. A list of team leads is available at yourvoice.tennessee.edu. All employees are encouraged to submit ideas for recommendations that would make an impact.
Nearly 40 new initiatives have been attributed to feedback shared through the 2011 survey. A complete listing is available on the above-referenced survey website.
Another group that will use feedback from the survey is UT’s statewide Compensation Advisory Board, which is responsible for recommending the recent increase in the minimum starting pay rate to $9.50 an hour and compensation training that all supervisors were required to attend. If you have ideas that should be considered by CAB, send feedback to cab@tennessee.edu.
Thank you again for participating in the survey and look for more information to be shared soon. If you were unable to attend a forum, contact your human resources office to ask about materials and recordings.
Tags: Employee, Survey, Time Management
