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Posts Tagged: 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.
Delivering hope in the midst of loss
Between the Camp Fire in Butte County and the Woolsey Fire in Southern California in November, most ANR members have been affected in some way by the devastating wildfires. Several have experienced major personal losses that they are still dealing with.
While the Camp Fire was still raging on Nov. 14, Emily Symmes, director of UCCE in Butte County, wrote:
“As you can imagine, due to the destruction of nearly the entire town of Paradise and other ridge communities, all of our employees have numerous friends, family, and loved ones who have lost their homes and all of their belongings, as evacuations were so sudden and urgent that most left with only what they could grab in minutes. As such, all have been affected to varying degrees. We have two direct staff members, Alexandra Falk (nutrition education specialist) and John Klepps (Honey Bee Tech Transfer Team) who lived in Paradise. Both have received confirmation that their homes were among those destroyed. They and their families and pets are now safe and have found temporary housing. Many in our extended network of 4-H and Master Gardener program participants and volunteers resided in Paradise have also been heavily impacted, losing everything.”
Among the Master Gardener volunteers in Paradise who lost their houses is Bob DiPietro and his wife, parents of Damon DiPetro of ANR's IT team. Damon's sister and her family also lost their house.
Colleagues have asked how to help.
Emergency resources for UC employees
In response to queries, the Staff Assembly has posted information on their website about the impact of the Camp Fire on our ANR employees and their families at http://staffassembly.ucanr.edu/Resources_/Emergency_Resources_/. Earlier in the year, they posted similar information for those impacted by the Mendocino fires and have committed to maintain Emergency Services information on their website whenever any UC ANR employees are impacted.
Emergency support is also available to UC employees from the university's benefit plans https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/2018/11/emergency-support-from-ucs-benefit-plans.html.
UC ANR assists Camp Fire survivors
In the midst of their own losses, UCCE staff in Butte County and neighboring counties have been reaching out to assist community members. For example, Ryan Cleland, 4-H representative, has been working with the 4-H community since Nov. 8, the day the Camp Fire erupted, to coordinate assistance and volunteerism. He is providing vetted and frequently updated information on where evacuated and displaced people can find help and how other community members can volunteer, donate and contribute.
The UCCE nutrition education team has been assisting with meal preparation at shelters, and also with volunteering at indoor youth activities available through the shelters and the local area recreation district.
Other UCCE staff and advisors have been volunteering where needed – helping gather and deliver supplies, volunteering at human shelters and animal shelters, helping out at the numerous meal centers that have popped up.
UC Master Gardener volunteers have been reaching out to fellow Master Gardeners who have lost their homes or remain evacuated to offer housing and other support.
Tracy Schohr, UCCE livestock and natural resource advisor in Plumas and Sierra counties, has been helping care for large animals in the evacuation zone.
The forestry, fire and natural resource advisors have ongoing fire safety research and education programs, coordinating with fire safe councils, and working with other agencies to assist in recovery and become better prepared for natural disasters.
UC ANR raises $121,000 on Giving Tuesday
Thanks to everyone who participated, UC ANR's #GivingTuesday campaign was a resounding success.
“We surpassed our stretch goal of $100,000,” Emily Delk, director of Annual Giving and Donor Stewardship, announced jubilantly before 5 p.m. on Giving Tuesday, as she rang a bell and the Development Services team and other ANR staff members cheered.
As of 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 27, #GivingTuesday 2018 donors had contributed $121,000 to UC ANR, including approximately $81,000 for the California 4-H Youth Development Program.
“Our team is still tallying numbers,” Delk said, “However, we are confident to report that we raised over $121,000 for the UC ANR network. This is a phenomenal response of generosity from 342 donors.”
With generous contributions from the President's Advisory Commission, staff and donors, the first $10,000 of donations to UC ANR were doubled. The 4-H Foundation had $25,000 in matching funds.
“A huge congratulations is in order for the Development Services team, all of the Statewide Program Leaders, county directors, the many, many donors and everyone else involved in making the day a success!” wrote Wendy Powers, associate vice president, in her ANR Adventures blog.
In addition to raising money, the #GivingTuesday social media campaign helps raise the visibility of ANR programs and awareness that programs such as the 4-H Youth Development Program are part of the University of California.
“Giving days are driven by social media and the rise of crowd funding is a powerful way to invite new donors to support our work,” Delk said.
The UC Master Gardener Program team made a video of the “unselfies” posted on social media by their supporters: https://youtu.be/PI-rKJikTD0.
Via video, VP Glenda Humiston thanked donors for supporting UC ANR: https://youtu.be/x3Z1LFhx5pc
The staff engagement in the campaign was bigger and better than ever before thanks in part to fun incentives. As a token of appreciation, members of Development Services delivered balloons to donors in the ANR building in Davis.
As an added incentive, UC IPM Director Jim Farrar committed to eating a pest if at least 20 people made a donation of $10 or more to UC IPM. On Wednesday, Nov. 28, all UC IPM donors were invited to participate in the special pest-eating event in the UC ANR building, where Farrar talked about and consumed corn smut, a roasted grasshopper and a live meal worm.
“Giving Tuesday gives us an opportunity to talk about our research and outreach to enhance food systems and create thriving communities, as well as all the other positive things everyone in ANR is doing to make life better for Californians,” Humiston said.
“We appreciate everyone's cooperation in this fundraising effort as we work to build a healthy culture of philanthropy,” Delk said.
