Join in. Be heard. Help shape UAB's future.
Share your thoughts on work and life at UAB and identify strengths and opportunities for improvement in an online campus engagement survey Jan. 29- Feb.12.
The survey, which will be distributed to all full-and part-time faculty and staff in UAB’s Workgroup A, is a follow-up to the 2017 survey. The latter provided valuable benchmarking data that has been used to improve communication from and with senior leadership, develop managerial training and career-development programs and promote consistency in performance management processes.
“Understanding employees’ perspectives on their work experiences is critical to celebrating our strengths and identifying actionable areas for improvement as we did in 2017,” said Chief Human Resource Officer Alesia Jones. “The 2019 survey results will help quantify our progress and identify tools, resources and programs needed to promote and sustain individual and institutional growth.”
The overall response rate in 2017 — 44 percent — is particularly good considering the survey was conducted in April amid year-end prep and finals, Jones said. Based on feedback that followed, this survey is being conducted in January to avoid that conflict and enable results to be returned and presented before the semester ends, she said.
How does this work?
Once again UAB will partner with ModernThink, a consulting firm with particular expertise in improving workplace quality, to ensure anonymity and encourage candid responses from employees.
Modern Think will email employees an individualized link to the UAB Campus Engagement Survey on its secure website Jan. 29, and work time may be used to complete the survey. Most people will be able to complete the survey in about 20 minutes. You will be able to stop and restart the survey, if needed. A list of frequently asked questions is on the campus engagement site along with a review of changes prompted by the 2017 survey.
What happened after the 2017 survey?Your feedback led to changes in three areas: communication, leadership and performance management.Read more about it. |
Employees who participated in the previous survey will find the 2019 survey unchanged, Jones said. “We have even used the same questions so we will be comparing apples to apples when we collect and evaluate metrics for the goals we established for the institution,” she said.
To address confusion some survey-takers experienced in 2017, the survey does clarify definitions of personnel employees are being asked to evaluate:
• Senior leadership refers to the leader in charge of the broad unit in which you serve, specifically the vice president, dean or chief officer. Find yours.• Immediate superisor refers to the person to whom you report directly, specifically the one who conducts your annual performance review.
Don't have access to computers at work?
Employees who don't have regular access to a computer as a part of their workday may use the computer lab in Medical Towers Room 418, which will be open 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. Monday-Friday, during the survey window Jan. 29-Feb. 12. Parking tickets in the Medical Towers building will be validated.
What happens with the data?
ModernThink is expected to provide the aggregated results to UAB in March. President Ray Watts, senior leadership and the survey steering committee are committed to gathering feedback, identifying priority areas of action, sharing the findings with you before the spring ends and developing follow-up plans to address them.
If you have questions that are not answered in the FAQs, email engage@uab.edu for information and assistance.
