| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 64.13 |
| Liaison | Michael Kensler |
| Submission Date | Feb. 4, 2022 |
Auburn University
PA-13: Assessing Employee Satisfaction
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Bill
Shannon Director, Human Resource Development Human Resources |
Has the institution conducted a survey or other evaluation that allows for anonymous feedback to measure employee satisfaction and engagement during the previous three years?:
Percentage of employees assessed, directly or by representative sample:
A brief description of the institution’s methodology for evaluating employee satisfaction and engagement:
In 2020 Auburn conducted two employee satisfaction surveys, one for faculty and one for non-faculty employees.
For faculty: Auburn uses the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, most recently in 2020. 1,304 faculty were invited to participate and 517 (40%) completed the survey, 42% of tenured faculty, 43% of pre-tenure faculty, and 32% of non-tenure-track faculty.
COACHE surveys faculty about their experiences and views as regards several important areas of their work lives: Research, teaching, service; Resources in support of faculty work; Benefits, compensation, and work/life; Interdisciplinary work and collaboration; Mentoring; Tenure and promotion practices; Leadership and governance Departmental collegiality, quality, engagement; Appreciation and recognition.
For non-faculty employees:
Auburn Department of Human Resources contracted with the consulting firm Mercer to conduct an "employee experience" survey to establish a baseline of employee preferences and satisfaction level. Of Auburn's 3,299 non-faculty employees, 59% responded quite evenly across unit, age, and income categories. Mercer conducted a cluster analysis, a statistical method of grouping people based on shared similarities customized to Auburn's workforce.
The survey revealed areas of attraction and satisfaction among employees, and areas that revealed gaps between employee expectations and institutional performance. Focus: Benefits including compensation, Employee Engagement/Work Environment, Financial Wellness, Communications. Multiple data cuts including length of service, age, comparing initial attractiveness to Auburn vs. current perspective, “Personas” created by Mercer based on age, length of service, zip code, gender, marital status, etc., were used to determine with more granularity responses from "persona" groups, which showed little variability among groups.
A brief description of the mechanism(s) by which the institution addresses issues raised by the evaluation:
Results were shared with members of the President’s cabinet. Ten separate divisions across campus received customized reports that shared results comparing them to the university’s overall scores. Each of the divisions were enabled to create response plans. An example would be Athletics where scores were incorporated into the department’s strategic plan under the heading of “Culture.” Another division, Facilities, used their results to inform training and development opportunities for their employees. Another example would be Human Resources initiative to address salary issues and create a "living wage" baseline for all Auburn Employees.
Website URL where information about the employee satisfaction and engagement evaluation is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.