University of Maryland, College Park
PA-13: Assessing Employee Satisfaction

In Spring 2016, the University of Maryland launched the Thriving Workplace Initiative in an effort to make the University of Maryland the best place to work. The initiative aims to create a thriving work environment and a culture of engagement and inclusion among all UMD employees. Improving the employer-employee relationship and redefining what it means to be an effective leader, manager or supervisor at the university are critical parts of the initiative. To start this initiative, UMD conducted an engagement and inclusion survey, administered by Gallup. This survey included 25 questions that measure employee’s responses to the question on a scale of 1 to 5. In order to ensure that all employees have an opportunity to take the survey, it was provided over a span of 3 weeks, both online and in person in specific locations. The survey was made available in 8 languages. The survey was repeated in 2017 and 2019.

Gallup and UMD shared the results of this survey with all staff and faculty via the President’s website (President Loh), and through in-person consultations from the University of Maryland's Center for Leadership & Organizational Change (CLOC). CLOC helped units understand their data and take action. This included facilitated conversations on the state of the group, action planning sessions or individual coaching and training. In 2017 and 2019, the survey was administered again to measure progress. To support the Thriving Workplace Initiative, CLOC also developed the Thrive Thursday, Sharpen My Saw, and CliftonStrengths Assessment programs. These programs are provided to supervisors and employees to increase engagement. Most are still active with more information in the links to follow:
-- Thrive Thursday: https://cloc.umd.edu/learn-us/thrive-thursday
-- Sharpen My Saw: https://cloc.umd.edu/learn-us/sharpen-my-saw
-- CliftonStrengths Assessment: https://cloc.umd.edu/learn-us/cliftonstrengths