2024 UNC System Employee Engagement Survey

The UNC System Employee Engagement Survey is a biennial initiative conducted in partnership with ModernThink LLC, an independent consulting firm. This survey aims to gather valuable feedback from our faculty and staff to enhance our work environment and promote diversity. The insights from this survey guide aid in improving at both the system and institutional levels. Your participation is crucial in helping us create a better UNC System. Information on the program and systemwide results can be found at the UNC System Employee Engagement Survey site. 

Employee Engagement Topics 

The 2024 Employee Engagement Survey will include belief statements relating to seven workplace topics: 

• Collaboration  
• Faculty and Staff Well-Being  
• Professional Development  
• Communication Job Satisfaction and Support  
• Work Environment  
• Confidence in Senior Leadership Mission and Pride  

• Performance Management 

The UNC System Office requires that each institution within the System formulate and execute a strategic action plan to tackle significant areas identified by the biennial survey as needing improvement. 

The N.C. A&T Employee Engagement Taskforce or Committee will use our mission, core values, and Preeminence 2030 Division Implementation Plans along with the Employee Engagement Results to create an action plan for 2024 – 2026. 

What is this? 

• The UNC System Employee Engagement Survey is sponsored by the UNC System. It is a regularly scheduled survey on workplace satisfaction that took place in 2018, 2020, and 2022 as part of the UNC System Strategic Plan. 
• The 2024 survey will be a shortened version of the full survey administered in 2018 and 2020, but slightly longer than the “pulse” survey conducted in 2022. 
• The survey, which will be administered to all permanent faculty and staff, will provide insights into faculty and staff engagement trends at the various institutions and across the System.  
• The survey is being administered through an outside vendor, ModernThink. ModernThink is the only entity that can access or view raw survey data and individual responses. System Office and the constituent institutions do not have access to any raw data. 

 Why are we doing this? 

• The University wants to measure workplace engagement. Studies have shown that the more engaged an employee is at their workplace, the more satisfied the employee is and the more productive the work unit is. 
• This is one of the ways the System can obtain useful system-wide quantitative information about how faculty and staff feel about their workplace. The engagement survey collects data from both faculty and staff and will help the University identify areas of strength at each institution and areas that need improvement.  
• Some UNC institutions have done similar surveys in the past, but this is the only survey to be conducted system wide. It provides a common dataset for the entire UNC System. 

Who is participating in this? Do I have to participate? 

• The survey is being sent to all permanent full-time (75% time or more) faculty and staff employed as of January 2022. The survey is available online. 
• Participation is voluntary. You should not feel pressured to participate, but since this is a great chance for faculty and staff voices to be heard, we encourage your participation. 
• We are aiming for at least 50% participation system-wide but would like to see the number much higher than that. In 2018 when the survey was initially administered, we met the 50% mark; in 2020, we reached 52% participation. In 2022, participation was 44% as the System and the campuses continued to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.  
• It is important that the University hears from as many faculty and staff as we can to get the most complete feedback.  

When is this happening and how long will it take? 

• The survey will launch on March 25 and run through April 8.  
• The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. 
• You will receive an email invitation directly from ModernThink that has a unique login and password for you. Login information cannot be shared with others. 
• Faculty and staff can take the survey either on work time or off work time using a laptop or mobile device. (Note: If you decide to complete the survey outside your regular work schedule, then you will not be paid for that time.) 

What’s on the survey? 

• Work Environment Questions: The 2024 survey will include 42 questions.  
• Open-Ended Questions: There are two open-ended questions for write-in responses. 
• Demographics Questions: These are for reporting purposes, such as race, gender, years of service, salary range, etc.  

What happened as a result of previous surveys and what should we expect to happen in the future? 

• System-wide topline data are shared with the UNC Board of Governors and posted publicly on the UNC System website. 
• Data points were used as a comparator for human resource metrics such as turnover data to see if trends could be determined. 
• The results support efforts to pursue key longer-term policy and programmatic changes, such as the introduction of paid parental leave and enhancements to University benefit programs where possible. 
• Institutions also use these data to support changes and improvements at the campus and school/division level, such as improved communications, additional collaboration opportunities, or new recognition programs. 
• In most cases, progress from this program will be incremental and not occur all at once or may not be visible to all employees as it happens. This means it may take time to address certain issues or take time for faculty and staff to see the positive effects of any actions taken. 
• Some faculty and staff concerns (e.g., better salaries/raises, better benefits, etc.) may be outside the control of your direct supervisor or the University. 
• Some suggestions from faculty and staff for certain changes may be cost prohibitive or may require legislative action by the NC General Assembly.  
• However, having data that identify these concerns and suggestions puts the University in a better position to prioritize ways to address them and to bring these issues to those who have the authority to make any necessary changes. 

What about confidentiality? 

Only the administrator of the survey (ModernThink) will have direct access to individual responses, and the data are stored on ModernThink’s servers, not the University’s. The University will receive a variety of summary reports. 

• The UNC System will supply certain initial information to ModernThink for survey distribution and reporting purposes, including each employee’s email address, organizational unit, employee type (EHRA/SHRA) and job category.  
• Reporting will be available only if there are at least five responses in a defined demographic group. For example, for a report including results specifically from African American female faculty, we would receive a report only if at least five respondents completed the survey that fit the full demographic profile (i.e., African American, female and faculty). 
• Note: The full narrative comments you submit on the two open-ended questions will be shared with management. Consider how you phrase your responses, so your remarks are not too identifiable. 
• ModernThink provides a helpline (888.684.4658) for participants to call if they have questions about confidentiality, and you can review a confidentiality statement online. 

Where can I get more information? 

• ModernThink provides a helpline (888.684.4658) for participants to call if they have questions about confidentiality or about how to complete the survey. 

Additional information on the program is available at https://myapps.northcarolina.edu/hr/employee-relations/engageunc/