Employees of the Knoxville campus have improved their overall views about UT’s compensation and benefits, the competency of supervisors, and confidence in senior leadership.
These are just some of the broad improvements in the 2014 Employee Engagement Survey results for the Knoxville campus. Survey partner ModernThink presented the results (pdf) in a campus open forum last week.
Richard Boyer of ModernThink noted that the campus improved its participation rate over the 2011 survey. Sixty-two percent of eligible campus employees—nearly 3,000—completed the survey. The survey’s sixty core statements and ten UT-specific statements gauge positive and negative responses.
After the survey was completed last fall, ModernThink analyzed the data and grouped results into fifteen dimensions. The campus improved in all fifteen of the broad dimensions compared to the 2011 survey results. Among the largest improvements were those in response to statements about compensation, benefits, work/life balance, and supervisor competencies.
Boyer noted the campus strengths: Eighty-eight percent of UT Knoxville employees understand how their job contributes to the campus mission, and 81 percent reported that they are given the responsibility and freedom to do their job.
More employees also reported having a good relationship with their supervisor (81 percent) compared to three years ago (75 percent). Seventy-two percent of respondents agreed that UT Knoxville is a “great place to work,” and 78 percent agreed that their department is a good place to work.
ModernThink recommended more focus on improving communication and collaboration, staffing and resources, diversity and inclusion, shared governance, and system support. Boyer noted that while the positive responses increased in most of the questions that measure these dimensions, they are relatively low overall and there is plenty of room for improvement.
For instance, 62 percent of employees agree that the campus is a good place for individuals from underrepresented populations (diversity and inclusion). Forty-eight percent of employees agreed that changes that affect them are discussed prior to being implemented (communication).
Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek has appointed a Work Culture Improvement Team, which includes faculty and staff from across the campus, to make recommendations for improving the defined areas of weakness. Cheek implemented all of the recommendations made on the basis of the 2011 results.
View and download ModernThink’s presentation here (pdf).