UHD Staff Work Climate Survey Fall 2014 Summary & Highlights

Welcome! PS Consulting Philippa Strelitz, PhD President Austin, Texas

Survey Goals Engage 3 rd party to manage concerns re: confidentiality Gain perspective on staff & faculty views of work climate Identify perceptions of areas of satisfaction & challenge Help clarify areas of opportunity Leverage insight: – Strategic planning – Communication – Intervention

Staff Survey Development Process Met with President Flores & other members of Senior Administration Met with Staff Advising Group x 2 Met with Diversity Leadership Group Data ownership - UHD Administration

Survey Limitations Data analysis limited by collection of demographic data re: – Race/ethnicity – Age/generation – Gender – Departmental affiliation – Etc.

University Work Climate Effectiveness Value Proposition Communication Connection Collaboration Innovation Performance

Opening to Safety Builds trust Opening to Relationship Co-Construct Shared Purpose & Plans Opening to Risk Act Together Opening to Collective Creativity Sustains the Work Towards Courageous Collaboration

Survey Overview The staff survey included questions regarding: – UHD Vision, Mission and Goals – Professional Relationships – Engagement – Growth and Development – The Annual Evaluation Process – Communication – Workload and Balance – Collaboration – Onboarding – Staff Services and Facilities – TRAM – Diversity at UHD

Survey Participation Surveys distributed: 596 Surveys submitted: 391 Response rate: 66% Raffle winners: – Lynn Baker – Joshua Wood – Kevin Dorsey

Survey Highlights

Receiving Feedback Honest feedback Courage & Humility Strengths Challenges Conflicting Perceptions Perception & Reality

UHD Vision, Mission & Goals

Comment Themes Confidence & pride in UHD Desire for UHD to better distinguish itself among other area institutions of higher education Desire for more transparency, efficiency in Strategic Planning Desire for more clarity re: action plans to operationalize Missions, Vision & Strategic Plan Desire for more recognition re: the role of staff in realizing UHD Mission, Vision & Goals

Confidence & Pride in UHD I graduated from UHD and so I have seen the university from different vantage points. Since, I have started to work here I have seen it grow exponentially in its character, student body and many more things. I am, more than ever, a proud Gator staff member and alumna.

Desire for Transparency, Efficiency in Strategic Planning I know that not everyone respects the strategic plan (including the vision, mission, and goals) nor takes it seriously. I would like to see the facts surrounding our progress more openly and pragmatically presented, with no hype.

Professional Relationships

Comment Themes Reflection on the prevalence of turnover due to work climate issues – concern re: achievement of UHD Mission, Vision & Goals if not adequately addressed Conflicting perspectives re: effectiveness, fairness commitment to healthy work climate of various supervisors – Concerns re: fairness, favoritism, bias, communication Desire for more positive recognition – sense that most feedback is largely negative Recognition for positive contributions of the Provost

Perspective on Work Climate Effectiveness is LOCAL In my department, you can speak openly without fear of reprisal. It's not the same for other department.

Concerns re: Feedback Working in a blame-focused environment is not only stifling, it creates a culture of fear making optimal performance difficult.

Desire for Effective Leadership Supervisors need continuing training regarding neutrality, fairness, open- mindedness, individual appreciation.

Engagement at UHD

Comment Themes Sense that workload makes participation in committees, Staff Council prohibitive Sense that Staff Council is undervalued by Senior Administration Sense that hourly staff discouraged from participation in University Events Sense that faculty not invested in building faculty-staff collaboration Sense that staff engagement is not recognized formally

Barriers to Engagement It's really difficult to help participate in university events especially since some of our position tasks prevent us from doing so. There are so many deadlines to meet but not enough staffing support.

Desire for Strong Staff Council Faculty Senate has a lot of power and Staff Council has none.

Enhance Engagement Through Formal Recognition It is difficult to expect engagement from staff when there is no recognition of their contributions to the University.

Growth & Development

Comment Themes Concern re: lack of training for staff in new positions; strong expressions of desire for additional skill building Concerns re: lack of internal promotions Sense that professional development is underfunded for staff; even if supervisors are supportive - may not be possible bc of budget Concern re: lack of opportunities for upward mobility

Desire for Staff Training Training for staff members is needed more than ever. Some of us are put into positions with no training and are expected to shine, when we feel like we are being set-up to fail.

Barriers to Training Though training is available, the skeleton staffing does not provide the opportunity for staff to take the time away from their jobs to participate in training.

The Annual Evaluation Process

Comment Themes Concern with the quality of annual evaluation feedback & effectiveness of supervisors (esp. new ones) in performing this important job responsibility Concern that fairness in the performance evaluation process is undermined by lack of effective onboarding/training for new staff Concern that some staff aren't being evaluated by supervisors with direct knowledge of their performance

Opportunity for Enhanced Onboarding When I first started my position it felt like I was thrown into a jungle. The training was mediocre.

Workload & Balance

Comment Themes Significant perception of understaffing Concerns with workload: – Lack of equitable distribution – Inconsistency with workload from day to day is unsettling – Perception of presence of “performance punishment” Sense that experience of overload is exacerbated by “just in time” mentality Sense that employee flexibility & work life balance is undermined by effectiveness of TRAM

Staffing & Workload The work load is HUGE which I love. The number of staff members at my department are LOW which I don't love.

Just-in-time Planning is Suboptimal There is a culture of last- minute, lack of planning mentality that is becoming the norm as opposed to an occasional occurrence.

TRAM & Work Culture The way TRAM has been implemented in our department has left many staff strongly at odds with UHD. It has removed all flexibility from schedules and has created a rigid and unfriendly atmosphere.

Onboarding at UHD

Comment Themes Perception of lack of effective training upon hiring Perception of lack of opportunities for professional development – Concern exacerbated by perception that supervisors have access to professional development – but don’t offer same opportunities to staff Sense that culture discourages promotion from within Sense that some faculty not effective supervisors – and do not receive any leadership training for their roles

Better Onboarding Please! There are no formal training procedures. I've been in four different departments and not one had a formal training process in place. You learn by trial and error. I don't understand the "transition form peer to supervisor" reference since staff is not actively encouraged to develop professionally.

Diversity at UHD

Comment Themes Perception that UHD staff have been effective in achieving diversity Perception that UHD provides meaningful and rewarding opportunities for diverse staff Sense that there is a need for more clearly articulated strategy re: diversity at UHD – To leverage existing diversity from a marketing perspective – To ensure that all populations, including whites, are understood to be critical components of diversity at UHD Desire for a more diversity at Senior Administration level – particularly among African Americans

Thank You UHD! It is a wonderful journey for me here at UHD. My experience here has created an endless path for my future and for the future of my family. It has been of great benefit for me and for my community. If you want to be the at your best then you must learn from the best. Thank you for your experience here.

Enhancing Diversity & Quality Hiring Can go Hand in Hand In my area every effort is made to hire and promote based on merit. As it happens, we are able to do this while simultaneously hiring and promoting a diverse group of people. There are talented people in all ethnic groups and we have found that if we just let the process play out based 'most qualified' we end up with diversity.

Final Survey Comments Strong desire for transparent communication of survey results Concern re: maintenance of confidentiality in surveys; potential for reprisal Concerns with understaffing Concerns with work climate and effective leadership in SOME areas Desire for staff contributions to be better recognized Expressions of appreciation for opportunity to work at UHD

Staffing is an Ongoing Problem Lack of staffing at UHD leads to problems …a lack of cross training within departments. Lack of succession planning and cross training across all areas of UHD make it hard to recover from the retirement/voluntary termination of long term university employees.

UHD Forever Although, no organization is perfect. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here at UHD. I have excelled in my career as well as developed new skills. I plan on continuing my employment with UHD up until retirement.

Some Considerations for Moving Forward Work to better articulate core concepts embedded in Mission & Vision statement Work to communicate staff & faculty roles in realizing Mission, Vision & UHD goals Develop strategy for enhancing staff/faculty communication & collaboration Consider strategically addressing need for more consistent and effective leadership at supervisory level – Esp. re: managing interpersonal team dynamics, mentoring, workload distribution, giving performance feedback Develop strategy to address onboarding at supervisor and staff levels Develop strategy for leveraging diversity at UHD and assessing retention of underrepresented staff in leadership roles

Next Steps? Recommendations: Additional review of survey data by President’s Office, UHD Cabinet Guidelines for review of implications of survey findings at Division, Department Levels Development of Action Plans Commitment to reassess

Survey Report Out Reflections Do the survey findings align with your projections? Are there any surprises? What do the findings suggest regarding necessary clarifications, responses, interventions?

Questions??

Final Take Aways??

PS Consulting Philippa Strelitz, PhD President Austin, Texas