University of Rochester
PA-13: Assessing Employee Satisfaction

In April 2019, we executed an Employee Engagement Survey, done through Press Ganey as the 3rd party vendor. There are limitations to the audience for this survey. It is only executed to staff, not faculty, students or residents. All of the medical center receives it, so specifically Strong Memorial Hospital, Medical Faculty Group, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, and Health Sciences. In addition to that, some areas of Central Administration on the University side take it, including Facilities, HR, Dining Services, Purchasing and the Bursar’s Office. Our next survey is slated to be done in October 2021, so far for all of the same groups.

The University utilizes many different forums for eliciting employee feedback, which allows us to understand what programs, initiatives and other next steps to address employee satisfaction and our goals. A large piece of that is the Press Ganey Employee Engagement Survey, which is executed every 18 months to 2 years, as well as follow up pulse surveys to local areas, a Wellness/Burnout Index survey given to nursing practice and other clinical practice areas, and measuring other indicators such as voluntary turnover.

When employee engagement results are received, they are disseminated from senior leadership to mid-level managers to staff. Leaders then present the data to staff, and use those discussions to get input and feedback on what action plans should be created. If a unit/team scores as a Tier 3 or has a low leadership score, we provide both senior leadership and HR support to understand the issues. Once action plans have been in place for about 5-6 months, HR executes local pulse surveys, which are 10-15 question check ins with staff to make sure action plans are progressing in the best way and understand if anything needs to be changed.