Posts Tagged: survey

CUCSA survey on UC policies and procedures impacting administrative workload due Nov. 7

Staff Assembly Council is calling all ANR staff to participate in a questionnaire created and supported by the Council of UC Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) and Staff Engagement Workgroup to understand the impact of new policies and procedures on your daily work. This initiative seeks to gather insights on the additional tasks and workload that recent changes may have introduced to staff locally and systemwide. 

Here is the questionnaire: How Laws are Increasing the Administrative Load for UC Staff.

This approach stems from CUCSA's discussion with Government Relations, where we recognized the growing need for examples of government mandates that have added to the administrative workload. The objective is to encourage greater consideration while creating new policies, ensuring that they do not contribute to the expectation that employees can continue to take on more tasks without relief.

Your anonymous responses are of utmost importance. They will help identify areas where administrative strain has increased, contributing to ongoing discussions about how new policies affect our work. Your privacy and comfort in sharing your feedback are our top priorities.

Please take a few minutes to complete the questionnaire by Thursday, November 7, 2024. Your input is vital as CUCSA assesses the broader impact of these changes. 

If you have questions, please contact ANR's CUCSA representatives: Christine Davidson at cdavidson@ucanr.edu or Shirley Salado at scsalado@ucanr.edu. 

2021 ANR@Work Survey results show improvement

The results of the 2021 ANR@Work Survey are in and we're seeing more satisfaction in our work environment, reported Tina Jordan, academic human resources manager. At the Oct. 21 ANR town hall, Jordan presented the following highlights from the survey, which was conducted March 16 – April 9, 2021.

Scores for 2020 strengths increased in 2021:

1. I feel valued by my department
2. All people are welcomed
3. My department supports work-life balance
4. My department practices principles of community
5. I have the opportunity to participate in making decisions that affect my work

2021 strengths: 

1. UC ANR promotes a work environment where all people are welcomed
2. My department supports work-life balance
3. UC ANR promotes employee wellness
4. I understand how I contribute to the University's mission
5. Staff members value my contributions

The 2020 primary areas of opportunity remain the top five for 2021:

1. I feel valued as a member of the UC ANR Community
2. I feel I have a voice to provide my ideas and suggestions on how to improve UC ANR
3. Senior leaders have adequately communicated long-range goals and strategic direction
4. There are sufficient opportunities for contact with senior leadership
5. I am satisfied with my opportunities for career advancement

UC ANR employees offered ideas for improvement. To better foster a sense of belonging and feeling valued among employees and volunteers, they suggested focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); improving hiring and onboarding processes; improving communication and relationships; increasing opportunities for promotion; prioritizing employee and volunteer recognition; making pay more equitable; and facilitating opportunities for employees to get to know one another.

Angela Song, UC San Diego senior director of organizational assessment and strategy, who assisted UC ANR with summarizing the results, lauded ANR's increases in scores across several dimensions and divisions. Song pointed to improved satisfaction in eight categories: senior leaders communicate goals, have a voice, ethical conduct, participate in decisions, promotes employee wellness, feel valued, satisfied with diversity programs and committed to diversity. The only statistically significant decrease was in responses related to total compensation.  

What is UC ANR doing with the 2021 survey results?

To use the survey results to further improve our work environment, Human Resources has shared the unit level summary reports with directors to discuss with employees in their units. HR is also working with Staff Assembly Council to cross reference ANR@Work Survey results with those of the systemwide survey conducted by the Council of University of California Staff Assemblies (CUCSA). Conversations addressing these subjects between leadership and the ANR community will continue through town halls and other Zoom sessions. The DEI Advisory Council is analyzing the survey results by employee demographic categories. The Strategic Planning Committee will continue to align survey results with UC ANR's organizational goals.

The survey was sent to 980 academics, staff and county-paid employees and 560 (57%) completed the survey (as compared to 708 respondents in 2020 for a 73% response rate).

For details about the survey and the results, visit https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Diversity/ANR@Work_Survey_741/2021_ANR@Work_Survey.

ANR@Work survey closes April 9

The ANR@Work Survey – which will be open through April 9 – gives all academics and staff an opportunity to provide feedback about their experience working at UC ANR. 

The UC ANR community is founded on principles strengthened by common goals, shared interests, camaraderie and a passion for improving the quality of life in all communities. We all have the right to work in an environment that promotes fairness, trust, respect, and physical and emotional safety and security. Your anonymous survey responses will contribute to our efforts to create the best possible work environment for all of us.

On March 16, each academic and staff member should have received an email from Glenda Humiston <satsurvey@ucanr.edu> containing a unique link to the survey. The emailed invitation is the only way to access the survey and cannot be replaced. 

To thank you for your time and to encourage participation, everyone who completes the survey will have the option to participate in a drawing for a $75 gift card. We will award 40 gift cards through random drawings during the survey period. 

The survey is being administered again by UC San Diego; they have been administering a similar survey for more than 20 years on their campus. Results from the 2020 ANR@Work Survey established a baseline for us to measure progress and opportunities for improvement. Examples of activities that were involved by 2020 survey results include increased leadership participation in monthly town hall meetings and more opportunities for ANR employees to provide input into the ANR Strategic Plan. 

You can find 2020 results at https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Diversity/ANR@Work_Survey_741.

If you have questions about the survey, please contact Human Resources at satsurvey@ucanr.edu.

Majority of ANR employees feel “satisfied,” according to ANR@Work Survey

UC ANR employees made their voices heard through the 2020 ANR@Work survey. The survey received a 73% response rate with over 74% of respondents stating that they are a “satisfied” or an “extremely satisfied” UC ANR employee.

The inaugural ANR@Work survey was distributed to academics, staff and county-paid employees between March 17 and April 3, 2020. The goal of the anonymous survey was to obtain feedback about the work environment at UC ANR.

“Your responses tell us the top strengths of UC ANR include feeling valued by your department, feeling welcomed in your workplace, and feeling your department supports your work-life balance,” said John Fox, executive director of Human Resources.

Two of the top-scoring issues (4.4 out of 5 on the scale) show that respondents feel their supervisors treat them with respect and that their supervisors are supportive of their personal issues.

We hear you.

“Overall, while scores were not low, employees shared opportunities for improvement, which included wanting to have more of a voice on how to improve UC ANR, and wanting to hear more from senior leaders about long-range goals and strategic direction,” Fox said. “Another opportunity to improve was in the area of feeling more valued by the organization.”

Fox will review the overall ANR@Work survey results during the Town Hall Zoom meeting on Thursday, Aug. 20, at 1:30 p.m.

“We plan to repeat the survey annually for at least five years,” Fox said. “The 2020 survey results establish a baseline for continually assessing UC ANR's work environment.”

See more about ANR@Work Survey results at https://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/Diversity/ANR@Work_Survey_741. Questions or comments about the survey? Contact satsurvey@ucanr.edu.

Recording of ANR town hall posted

During the ANR town hall Thursday, Nov. 21, VP Glenda Humiston shared encouraging news, including new sources of funding, response to the UC regents tours and the new report “California's Working Landscape: A Key Contributor to the State's Economic Vitality,” which shows working landscape accounts for 6.4% of the state's economy. She also answered questions from town hall participants about the budget and other issues.

John Fox, Human Resources executive director, and Nikolai Schweitzer, Staff Assembly chair, announced ANR's results of the recent UC Staff Engagement Survey of non-represented staff. Of the 222 ANR employees responding, Schweitzer said most thought we made progress in wellness, performance management and supervision. Satisfaction declined for image/brand, career development and sustainable engagement. He said Staff Assembly plans to discuss opportunities for improvement in those areas, then meet with ANR senior leadership to suggest solutions.

The results and executive summary of the survey are posted at http://staffassembly.ucanr.edu/Council_of_University_of_California_Staff_Assemblies/2019_Staff_Engagement_Survey.

Fox announced that in the spring ANR will conduct a survey to gather similar information from all ANR employees, including academics.

To view the town hall recording, visit https://youtu.be/5IAjzIylhw0.

 

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