You may have heard that the University of Oregon has partnered with Gallup to conduct an employee engagement survey that opens next week. As a long-time UO employee, I want to share a bit about what employee engagement means to me, and why I hope you’ll participate in the survey, and then in the conversations that will follow this spring.
What is (employee) engagement?
First, employee engagement is defined most simply as a person’s emotional commitment to their job and their institution. It’s a research-based concept that shows up in everyday, practical ways across the wide range of roles we have at UO. It might look like:
- Two researchers developing a new line of inquiry by bouncing ideas off each other over the course of several months.
- An academic advisor celebrating the graduation of a student they’ve worked with for four years.
- An office coordinator who loves spreadsheets and data, getting to use those skills most days at work.
- An instructor trying a new pedagogical technique that resonates with students and peers, for which the instructor receives notice and praise.
- An operations manager understanding team roles and processes that are clearly laid out and therefore being able to execute that workflow efficiently.
In other words, engagement isn’t a new thing we have to add to our workloads. It’s something many of us already experience at least some of the time. Identifying where we feel disengaged gives us a starting point for small, practical improvements within our teams. When engagement increases, so does the quality of our work and often our sense of connection and satisfaction on the job. (Who doesn’t want to feel more positive and connected at work?)
Terminology, buzzwords and initiatives
Let’s address an elephant in the room: “Employee engagement” sounds to some of us like a corporate buzzword, and we may worry about investing in a project that isn’t going to lead anywhere. I get it. Since 1998, I have been a student worker, a graduate employee, a classified staff member and an officer of administration. I’ve seen well-meaning initiatives fail to launch. I admit to having a public university employee’s casual skepticism about new initiatives from time to time, especially when they include surveys.
However, I am enthusiastic about this survey and the engagement model we’re using, and here’s why:
- Employee engagement isn’t just a buzzword. Building on research that began over fifty years ago, Gallup has validated its model of employee engagement over several decades and three million respondents. In particular, their Q12+ survey instrument has been used at over forty R1 institutions to help teams understand what they’re doing well to inspire good work, and where they can do better.
- The terminology isn’t the point. Whether you consider yourself an employee, an academic, a manager, a teacher, or something else entirely, the employee engagement model can apply to you. If “engagement” sounds like a buzzword to you, I encourage you to think of it as shorthand for a host of more relatable factors that predict enthusiastic, quality work and connection. (Again, don’t we all want to feel excited about our work and a little more connected?)
- As Fred Rogers taught us, what’s mentionable is manageable. By responding to the survey, we initiate the conversation. By continuing the conversation amongst ourselves in post-survey follow up, we can celebrate areas of strength and tackle areas of improvement head-on. The process builds trust, if we don’t let cynicism or long-term resentments get in the way.
- Finally, some of the people I respect the most at our university are giving this project a lot of time, attention and heart. Their commitment to the work has shifted my perspective from skepticism to optimism. I hope that you will join us.
The University of Oregon certainly faces challenges unique to our time and place. I don’t need to spell those out for you. In my opinion, those challenges are precisely why we need to think about engagement (or whatever you want to call it!) and have the conversations that will lead to positive change and resilience.
The Gallup-UO employee engagement survey launches on Feb. 23. You will receive an email from Gallup with your own unique survey link. If you don’t see your survey email, check your spam/junk folder or your “Other” inbox.
—Anna Duncan, BA ’02, MPA ’08, is the HR Communications Coordinator. Before that role, she worked in the College of Arts and Sciences dean’s office for twelve years.