| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 86.83 |
| Liaison | Mark Lichtenstein |
| Submission Date | Feb. 28, 2023 |
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
PA-13: Assessing Employee Satisfaction
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Rebecca
Hoda Kearse Executive People Officer 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 Spring 2021, ESF implemented the Great Colleges to Work For survey from Modern Think. This survey was administered to faculty, exempt and non-exempt staff, and administrators. The survey was sent to 347 individuals with 87 total respondents (25.1% response rate). The survey assessed the following dimensions:
- Collaboration
- Communication
- Confidence in Senior Leadership
- Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging,
- Faculty and Staff Wellbeing
- Job Satisfaction & Support
- Mission & Pride
- Performance Management
- Professional Development
- Supervisor/Department Chair Effectiveness
- Faculty Experience
See the attached document for survey results.
See the link below to learn more about the Great Colleges to Work For Survey.
A brief description of the mechanism(s) by which the institution addresses issues raised by the evaluation:
The ESF president convenes routine meetings of an Executive Cabinet (EC). This group consists of all the top administrative leaders of the college, including the provost, chief operating officer (executive operating officer), all VPs, executive assistant to the president, chief diversity officer, dean of students, executive director for communications and marketings, executive director for strategic initiatives, and chief legal counsel. The EC received a complete briefing of the Great Colleges to Work For survey, and the president directed each leader to develop initiatives and otherwise focus on the findings of the survey. Some examples of follow-up actions include:
- Training on collaboration, emotional intelligence, empathy, communication, and conflict management skills has occurred for key units.
- An entirely revamped suite of communication tools has been deployed to better inform the college community. This includes regular and detailed communications through email, multiple versions of "e-news," social media stories, website updates, and direct consultations with key groups such as the Academic Chairs Council, Academic Governance, student groups, and others.
- The president has engaged the EC in an extensive self-assessment process. In addition to addressing several other objectives, this effort is in part meant to build confidence in senior leadership. Coupled with this is a major effort to increase communication and transparency from the administration, and more active leadership engagement and participation in events around the College.
- Efforts to promote diversity, inclusion, equity, belonging, and wellbeing are the College's top priorities. The College is in the final stages of hiring a new chief diversity officer and reconstituting the Office of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity. The College president has required that a broad suite of strategies be deployed to increase the diversity of employees and students, create more equitable employment and student experience situations, and address the wellbeing and mental health of all ESF community members. This all is intended to improve job satisfaction and individual morale.
- The College has embarked on a major strategic planning effort which is expected to be completed by the end of the spring 2023 semester. This effort includes hundreds of employees and students, and includes a revise of the ESF mission.
- Performance management has been emphasized by College leadership through an aggressive push to achieve greater compliance with the development of annual, personal performance programs (clarity of job duties, and goals and objectives) and an associated and comprehensive annual performance evaluation. This includes a focus on supervisor and department chair effectiveness, and associated targeted training of those individuals.
- The offering and pursuit of professional development opportunities in highly encouraged.
- A new provost was hired in 2021. Among other things, his focus has been on the "faculty experience." For instance, he has led the development and hiring of targeted faculty clusters, and he and the president have been deliberate about addressing salary inequities.
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.