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Majority of UCSF Employees Reviewed and Discussed Engagement Survey Results

UCSF has been working to turn the results of last year’s employee engagement survey into meaningful changes for staff.

Stock image of co-workers discussing a web survey

The University recently conducted a follow-up survey to gauge whether managers shared the April 2011 survey results and how well they’ve responded to the findings.

A total of 2,398 people, or 16 percent of UCSF employees who were initially surveyed, participated in the follow-up survey in April 2012.

Of those who responded, 75 percent indicated that managers shared the results with their teams. Of that, more than 64 percent of respondents said their managers developed an action plan to address the findings, and about 50 percent said they’ve seen progress from that plan.

Among the highlights of the 2011 engagement survey:

  • 27 percent of respondents said they feel engaged in their work, 53 percent are not engaged and 20 percent are actively disengaged, meaning that they may be counterproductive at work.
  • Researchers, nurses and teachers are the groups who reported highest engagement in their work.
  • One a scale of one to five, UCSF received an overall engagement score of 3.60, which is lower then Gallup’s other health care clients.
  • When asked what UCSF could do to make this an even better place to work, the top five answers were: address pay/salary issues (23 percent); improve management (15 percent); focus on improving morale and work environment (14 percent) and treat employees fairly (11 percent).

Sharing Survey Results

The engagement survey showed a need for improvement, and the University saw an opportunity to start by making sure employees saw the results and discussed them.

While UCSF sought to involve 100 percent of its employees, it’s encouraging that many reviewed the findings and a majority saw goals set for making UCSF a workplace of choice, said David Odato, associate vce chancellor of Human Resources.

The work doesn’t stop there. UCSF is urging its employees to continue the dialogue and help the University come up with innovative ways to improve the work environment and get engaged in the work. 

Already the “Living Well at UCSF” initiative, which offers resources to promote mental and physical health, helped UCSF earn a 2011 gold-level award from the American Heart Association for being a fit-friendly employer.

Its “Great Manager” initiative provides managers with necessary tools for success and offers training sessions to help them use the engagement survey results to identify the needs of their teams. The initiative also has inspired a series of profiles of top-performing managers, based on results from the survey, to share best practices. Read the latest profile. 

UC Climate Survey to Come

A separate climate survey set to roll out this fall will evaluate the campus environment across all 10 University of California campuses and include the perspective of faculty and students.

Called the Inclusion Survey at UCSF, this is first systemwide survey of its kind, will poll faculty, students, trainees and staff on their personal experiences, work life and demographic information as part of its effort to foster an environment that's inclusive and tolerant. University leaders saw a need for this assessment following a series of racial, religious and cultural incidents on some UC campuses over the past couple years.

The Inclusion Survey will be conducted at UCSF starting the first week of November. More details about this UC-wide survey will be coming soon.