University of California, Irvine
PA-12: Assessing Employee Satisfaction

The University of California, Irvine, conducted two surveys in 2017 to measure employee satisfaction and engagement. Survey 1 – Gallup Employee Engagement Survey From August 7 through September 1 the university conducted an enterprise-wide employee engagement survey administered by third party vendor Gallup. A total of 9,876 represented and non-represented staff members received the confidential survey intended to measure engagement based on twelve standardized questions and six additional questions added at the request of the university. An impressive 8,045 staff members completed the survey for a final completion rate of 84% (adjusted to account for all terminations during the survey period.) Survey Information: http://hr.uci.edu/partnership/survey/ Post-Survey Planning and Resources: http://hr.uci.edu/partnership/survey/post-survey/ Post-Survey Training: http://hr.uci.edu/partnership/survey/training/ Survey 2 – CUCSA UC Irvine staff participated in the University of California (UC) Staff Engagement Survey 2017 sponsored by the UC Council of UC Staff Assembly (CUCSA). CUCSA contracted Towers Watson to administer their Employee Engagement Survey. Non-represented UC career staff with at least one year of service were invited to take the survey. The survey was administered from May 15 through June 9, 2017. A random stratified sample of 1,514 UCI non-represented career appointment staff were invited to participate. The survey was administered online with an email invitation sent by CUCSA. A total of 737 UCI participants completed the survey, representing a 48.7% completion rate. The survey results provided information for the following survey objectives: • Understand the current state of engagement of the UC workforce system wide and how it differs by key organizational segments and demographics • Determine what drives engagement at UC and UCI specifically • Identify strengths to build on and opportunities to address; create a shortlist of actions to address issues and improve employee engagement across the system • Involve and communicate with leaders and employees throughout the process The survey targeted participant’s opinions on engagement, career development, communication, image/brand, organizational change, performance management, supervision, and working relationships. Results from the CUCSA survey were combined with results from the employee engagement survey administered by Gallup, and reported together in leadership and employee engagement survey results training sessions and town hall meetings. The CUCSA survey is administered every two years. In addition to the Gallup and CUSA surveys that target staff, UCI faculty are surveyed through the Academic Senate that on a range of topics that include organizational and engagement issues. UCI also participates in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Great Colleges to Work for Survey that addresses workplace satisfaction for faculty. Finally, UCI faculty are surveyed through the COACHE Exit & Retention survey to gather additional data to better understand and improve the experience of faculty.

Results of the Employee Engagement Survey were made available to all leaders with four or more respondents. For leaders with fewer than four respondents, results were rolled up to the next level to protect employee anonymity. In-person and online training was provided to all leaders so that they could better understand, analyze and apply their results. Six town hall meetings were held at campus and medical center locations for employees, and attended by over 500. Generalized survey results were shared with employees, and attendees were then given the chance to brainstorm solutions in two categories where scores could be improved, and brainstorm positive next steps in two categories where scores were high. Survey results and town hall feedback are currently being compiled and rolled into an ongoing campaign to raise employee satisfaction and engagement overall prior to the next survey, which is planned for summer of 2019. The CUSA Survey results are being used to inform campus leadership and human resources about providing critical job tools and resources to effectively accomplish work, identifying improved strategies and resources for staff career development, and further developing training and resources for managing performance.

A UC summary of the 2017 results is not yet available online. 2015 results can be reviewed here: http://www.ucop.edu/human-resources/_files/employee-relations-documents/2015%20Employee%20Engagement%20Survey%20Overall%20Results.pdf An article on the 2017 survey can be found here: http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/2017/09/staff-engagement-survey-results-show-improvement,-increased-engagement.html