Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 73.40
Liaison Dayna Cook
Submission Date Nov. 6, 2023

STARS v2.2

Northern Arizona University
PA-13: Assessing Employee Satisfaction

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Dayna McKay
Data Analyst
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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?:
Yes

Percentage of employees assessed, directly or by representative sample:
100

A brief description of the institution’s methodology for evaluating employee satisfaction and engagement:
NAU conducts anonymous surveys to measure employee satisfaction and engagement, including job satisfaction, learning and advancement opportunities, work culture and work/life balance using the following methods:

1. True Blue Summer Schedule Survey – August 2022
Sample size: All employees
Respondents: 981
Description of purpose: “Following the inaugural year of True Blue Summer Fridays, we would like to collect feedback and input from the university community about your experience with and perspective on the program”
True Blue Friday 4 day work week: https://nau.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/131/Launching-TrueBlue-Summer-Fridays.pdf
How it was distributed: Qualtrics survey through NAU listserv email
Results: Some feedback pointed out the difficulty with longer workdays for those managing childcare or other obligations and as a result we have shortened the workday for this coming summer.

2. Flexible Workplace Survey – October 2021
Sample size: 2092
Respondents: 1428
Description of purpose: share reasons for and concerns about remote work
How it was distributed: Qualtrics survey through NAU listserv email
Results: As a result of the flexible workplace survey we have expanded our flexible workplace opportunities and are leading with a hybrid first approach.

3. Staff Advisory Council Bi-Annual Survey – Summer 2022
Sample size: 1952
Respondents: 640
Description of purpose:
i. Understand how staff feel about a variety of issues​
ii. Provide clear direction on what Staff Advisory Council should be:​ Advising on​, Educating about​, Advocating for​
iii. Help distinguish widespread concerns from isolated concerns​
How it was distributed: Qualtrics survey through NAU listserv email
Major takeaways to develop follow-up:
i. Professional Development committee​
ii. Community​
iii. Sustainable stewardship​
iv. Academic excellence ​
v. Career development/OTJ training/resources​
vi. Relationship building with Service Team staff​

4. HERI Faculty Survey – Fall 2022
Sample size: 1134
Respondents: 635
Description of purpose: The HERI survey is administered every three years, the survey provides important information about the nature of the professoriate, including faculty satisfaction, goals, and experiences. Institutional results are an important means of charting its progress and providing a way to identify areas in need of improvement.
This survey collects information about the experiences of faculty across the nation, and the findings are reported in a publication by HERI and in the media such as the Chronicle of Higher Education. Results from this survey will be used at NAU and by higher education researchers to understand and improve the faculty experience. More on HERI can be found here: https://heri.ucla.edu/heri-faculty-survey/
How it was distributed: Online survey sent to all faculty
Initiatives that resulted from responses: We have the NAU data already, but we must wait until the national survey data comes back to learn how we compare to other places. Only then will we identify an actions or activities as a response.

A brief description of the mechanism(s) by which the institution addresses issues raised by the evaluation:
Results from this survey are used at NAU and by higher education researchers to understand and improve the faculty experience. Results from the HERI Faculty Survey have been used in strategic planning, faculty recruitment and retention, faculty development activities, assessment and accreditation, and discussions relating pedagogy to student learning experiences.

More on HERI can be found here: https://heri.ucla.edu/heri-faculty-survey/

Optional Fields

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:
Information Provided by Kate Hill

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.