College of Lake County
PA-13: Assessing Employee Satisfaction

The college administered an in-house Employee Climate survey for the first time in spring 2016 as part of its efforts toward continuous quality improvement. Similar employee surveys were administered in the past, namely the national Personal Assessment of the College Environment (PACE) survey in 2012 and the in-house Employee Diversity survey in fall 2013. After reviewing several national employee climate surveys (e.g. PACE, Great Colleges to Work For), the college decided to develop its own custom survey that would address its specific needs. This survey was developed with several goals in mind including: to provide insight into employee perceptions of the work environment at CLC; to assess progress in the areas of policy awareness and experiences of discrimination/harassment since the 2013 Employee Diversity survey; and to gather information related to the college's strategic initiatives of Diversity, Sustainability, and Wellness. Information from this survey will be used across the college to: address issues impacting employee satisfaction, develop training to increase awareness of several key policies and procedures, and provide baseline measures by which the college can assess its performance over time.
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Planning and Research (IEPR) collaborated with the college’s Human Resources Office, the Diversity and Wellness Commissions, and the Sustainability Center to generate survey questions for the Employee Climate survey. In an effort to assess change over time, several items were included that were similar to those asked on the 2012 PACE and 2013 Diversity surveys. The survey consisted of 70 general items relevant to all employees and an additional 6 items specifically oriented toward those who experienced or witnessed discrimination/harassment at the college. In general, the survey took approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.
All active faculty and staff members (excluding student workers and temporary employees) with valid email addresses were invited to complete the Employee Climate survey this spring. Human Resources provided a list of current employees (including adjunct faculty who taught within the past year). Overall, 1,594 employees were invited to complete the survey.
The online survey was emailed to all 1,594 employees’ CLC email accounts on January 28, 2016. Weekly reminders were sent in order to encourage as much employee participation in the survey as possible. The survey was closed on February 29th. Overall, 851 employees responded to the survey (a response rate of 53%). Nearly 70% of staff and FT faculty members and roughly 37% of adjunct faculty members responded to the survey. Final survey results were weighted for analysis to ensure that the results are as representative of the actual employee population as possible.
The count and percentage of responses are presented in the tables that follow; the results are broken down based on general employee groups (FT Staff, FT Faculty, PT Staff, and PT Faculty). Verbatim open ended-items are also included. Since weights were applied, data may not add up across columns or rows due to rounding.

Results of the employee climate survey having to do with sustainability initiatives were communicated to faculty and staff during orientation week. The fact that 67% of employees reported that environmental efforts at the college make them more conscious of sustainable practices and 75% of employees reported that sustainability initiatives make them proud to work here reinforced the value of sustainability for the college as a work place.