'Great Colleges' Cascaded Plan Workgroup

To: University of Idaho Faculty and Staff
From: John Wiencek, Provost and Executive Vice President
Yolanda Bisbee, Chief Diversity Officer
Date: March 28, 2018
Subject: Making U of I a “Great College to Work For”

The annual survey “Great Colleges to Work For,” which measures our workplace environment, is out and we encourage everyone to take time to complete this important assessment.

Since last year’s assessment, much work has been done to address some areas where we as a university have an opportunity to improve. The Campus Culture and Climate subcommittee of the President’s Council on Diversity and Inclusion first analyzed the survey results and provided additional narrative and a summary of the issues of concern. Thanks to Rula Awwad-Rafferty and Ro Afatchao for this in-depth review. With the start of this academic year, a task force has been working to move this good work forward toward a plan of action to address these concerns. Thanks to task force members Dale Pietrzak, Patrick Hrdlicka, Patricia Baker, Ro Afatchao, Rula Awwad-Rafferty and Yolanda Bisbee, chair of the committee. The draft plan, written as a cascaded plan supporting our university strategic plan, is attached at the bottom of this email for your review. Please send your suggestions for improvements to this draft plan via email to provost@uidaho.edu by April 4, 2018. Also, note this plan is not intended to address all issues and matters, just those of most immediate need for the next three years.

We are already moving forward on obvious strategies to improve our workplace, such as market-based compensation, improved internal communication and stronger shared governance. After careful review of all feedback, the committee will provide a summary of the major themes which will be shared with the university community. The committee will also propose any revisions to the plan. Those revisions will be presented to IPEC and, ultimately, to President Staben as the action plan to address opportunities for improvement that are identified from the “Great Colleges to Work For” survey results.

I am thankful to all of you for your hard work and dedication to this great university, to our students and to each other. We all feel worn down at times by the hard work, but there is great joy in seeing the impact on lives that comes from that hard work. Thank you!

Best wishes,

John and Yolanda

To: University of Idaho Faculty and Staff
From: John Wiencek, Provost and Executive Vice President
Date: Nov. 7, 2017
Subject: Great Colleges to Work For Cascaded Plan Workgroup Formed

As you may remember, when we first participated in the Chronicle’s basic Great Colleges to Work For survey in spring 2016, a random stratified subset of employees were surveyed.  After receiving the results, the Culture, Climate and Continuous Improvement Subcommittee of the President’s Council on Diversity and Inclusion led facilitated discussions to better understand the findings.

The initial survey was administered as a pilot to determine whether it could be a useful tool for measuring workplace satisfaction and areas for improvement in support of Strategic Plan Goal 4: Cultivate.

After review of the data, it was clear that the survey tool was providing valuable feedback. As a result, we commissioned a full-scale survey in spring 2017 that invited feedback from all University of Idaho faculty and staff, not just a limited sample.

On September 19, President Staben shared with you the results of our spring 2017 Great College to Work For survey. Now that we have the semester on its way, it is time to review work done to date, and to articulate an actionable plan to start addressing trends identified in the survey. To that end, Yolanda Bisbee, executive director of Equity and Diversity, has agreed to lead a workgroup that will develop a cascaded plan that defines key actions that we as a university can — and will — take to improve workplace satisfaction for our faculty and staff across the state.

For a full list of the workgroup membership, and to review survey data and reports, as well as track the progress of this workgroup, please visit its website: www.uidaho.edu/provost/councils/great-colleges-workgroup.

To: University of Idaho Faculty and Staff
From: Chuck Staben, President
Date: Sept. 19, 2017
Subject: UI Sees Slight Improvement in Great Colleges Survey

For the second consecutive year, the University of Idaho last spring participated in the Chronicle Great Colleges to Work For Survey. Overall, we saw a 1 percent increase in overall job satisfaction.

This is a small step, but an important one as we move forward on our strategic plan goals of cultivating a valued and diverse community and improving employee morale.

Employees may access the full results of the survey on the Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation website. An overview of results by job category and comparing year-over-year results is linked at the bottom of this email.

Other areas of increase over 2016 include a 1 percent increase in satisfaction with compensation, benefits and work/life balance; a 2 percent increase in satisfaction with our facilities; and a 6 percent increase in satisfaction regarding UI’s shared governance. We also saw improved scores for UI pride (2 percent), opinions of senior leadership (5 percent), and faculty, administration and staff relations (2 percent).

There are still many areas that require our attention. A workgroup will be formed soon to develop a cascaded plan addressing the 2016 and 2017 surveys and follow-up discussion.

I hope that with transparent leadership, shared governance, and our commitment to improving our employees' workplaces and salaries, next year we will again see improvement in this survey.

This is a long-term effort, and I remain committed to improving the morale of all of our faculty and staff.

Thank you for your dedication to the University of Idaho.