University of Massachusetts Amherst
PAE-12: Employee Satisfaction Evaluation

In January 2014 the UMass Amherst Human Resources Department partnered with Buck Consultants, an external firm specializing in HR management, to conduct a review of employee satisfaction with HR services and programs across the campus. UMass also conducted a Workplace Bullying Survey of all UMass employees in 2012 in order to assess the nature and extent of their overall work experiences and their familiarity with workplace bullying. This is the first stage of a campaign aimed at spreading awareness about workplace bullying and ultimately to increase safety, respect, and overall employee satisfaction. The campus followed up that survey by requiring a mandatory 90 minute training for all staff to take place in spring 2014 on the subject of workplace bullying and environmental awareness. UMass Amherst also partnered with a third-party program run through the Chronicle of Higher Education to evaluate employee satisfaction. The "Great Colleges To Work For Program" is an annual survey designed to recognize institutions that have been successful in creating great workplaces and to further research and understanding of the factors, dynamics and influences that have the most impact on organizational culture at institutions of higher education. UMass Amherst is listed among the Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work For 2011” in the area of tenure clarity and process. The CHE says “The university tries to ‘demystify the tenure process’ for faculty, one administrator says. It notes that all junior faculty in their third year have pre-tenure reviews with the provost’s office and can attend workshops to learn more about the process.(Chronicle of Higher Education, 7/25/11) At the core of the program is a two-part assessment process: a faculty/employee survey (The ModernThink Higher Education Insight Survey©) and an institutional audit capturing information detailing various institution demographics, polices, practices and infrastructure (The ModernThink Institution Questionnaire©). The survey is anonymous, and is sent to a sample of administrators, faculty and staff. Our Office of Institutional research receive high level summaries of the survey results.