Florida International University
PA-12: Assessing Employee Satisfaction

Since 2009, our university has participated each year in The Chronicle of Higher Education Great Colleges to Work for Program, which consists of a two-part assessment process: 1) an anonymous faculty/employee survey administered through ModenThink, LLC to 600 randomly selected faculty and staff across our university, and 2) an institutional audit capturing information detailing various institution demographics, polices, practices and infrastructure. The program recognizes small groups of colleges for specific best practices and policies, such as tenure clarity, collaborative governance, work/life balance and compensation and benefits. As a participating institution, FIU receives a summary of our survey results, which identifies areas of strengths and allows us to focus on areas of development towards creating a great work environment. In 2017, FIU was recognized as one of the best colleges in the nation to work for with honors in the Diversity category by The Chronicle of Higher Education. FIU is the only university in the country this year to achieve honor roll designation with recognition in all 12 categories of The Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual report on the academic workplace. FIU will continue to use results to enhance our employees’ job satisfaction and experience. For more information about this program and our recognition, please click on the following links: http://chroniclegreatcolleges.com/index.php https://news.fiu.edu/2017/07/fiu-one-of-the-greatest-colleges-to-work-for/113412 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FULRp5gYMDs&feature=channel_video_title

Upon analysis of each year’s results, a year over year comparison is further analyzed to identify trends or common themes that require attention. In addition to presenting our findings to the executive leadership team, survey result presentations are made throughout the university to create awareness of results, and also, welcome feedback to improve areas of focus.  By participating in the program over the years, we were able to identify trends in the workplace.  FIU values the feedback of our faculty and staff with any program or initiative we engage in and this program has allowed us to identify trends in the workplace.    Reviewing survey results is a time of deep reflection and introspection. Our goal to participate in this program has always been intentional and we were committed to addressing our faculty and staff’s needs as a result of the survey results.  After years of participation, we had enough data to establish trends in the workplace environment.  While some initiatives were already underway, we knew change would take time in order to create a dynamic workplace environment.   Higher education is in the midst of a profound transformation. Every facet of education is under scrutiny and impacting change within and throughout every university. Our university’s strategic plan, FIUBeyondPossible2020, includes a forward-facing approach, which is committed to continually assessing our environment and making adjustments, strengthening our foundation, as well  as upholding our mission and sacred obligation to our students, faculty, staff and community.” With that in mind, we realigned ourselves across the university to achieve our institutional goals.   Our current stance and recent designation is evidence of the effectiveness of our efforts which resulted in the achievement of honor roll designation with recognition in all 12 categories of The Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual report on the academic workplace.  Given this designation, we’ve again made a significant leap in our survey results since we began this journey in 2009. 

representative sample: Out of 600 randomly selected faculty/staff members invited to participate in the survey, the following percentages represent the random sample: Faculty – 30%, Administration 22%, Exempt Professional 37%, Non-Exempt 11%