The University of Oregon will conduct a climate survey of all faculty, staff and graduate employees in April to measure and positively affect workplace culture at the university.
The IDEAL Climate Survey of Employees will gather insights and information through a confidential survey administered by Gallup, a nationally recognized workplace survey firm.
“Understanding our campus climate will help inform our efforts to foster equity and inclusion for our employees,” said UO President Michael H. Schill. “This is important for the experience of our faculty, staff and graduate employees, but it will also enhance the university’s ability to provide quality education, research, and service to communities throughout our state, region and world.”
The idea to administer a survey came out of diversity action planning at the university as part of the IDEAL framework, built on the pillars of inclusion, diversity, evaluation, achievement and leadership.
“Employees and members of campus diversity committees asked us to conduct a climate survey in order to develop a common understanding of the range of experiences that employees are having on campus,” said Yvette Alex-Assensoh, vice president for equity and inclusion. “Most importantly, the climate survey findings will help to inform the change that is needed, including enhancing what is working well and intervening in unacceptable conditions.”
The survey will begin April 11 and run for three weeks. Gallup will send a unique survey link to the UO email address of all faculty, staff and graduate employees. The survey will take approximately 25 minutes to complete, and it will be available in English and Spanish.
Supervisors will allow employees to complete the survey as part of their workday, and the survey will be accessible on smart phones, laptops, desktops and tablets.
Planning for a survey began in 2017. The university had originally hoped to conduct the survey in 2020 but was delayed by the operational disruption caused by the pandemic.
The survey is anonymous and confidential. When the campuswide results are published, survey responses will be reported in the aggregate. When survey responses are shared at the school, college and departmental level, the reporting will be done in a way that safeguards confidentiality and anonymity.
University leaders are committed to using the results to plan and take action on reinforcing what is working, address what isn’t working, and make other necessary changes to improve workplace culture.
Additional information about the survey is available on the webpage for the IDEAL Climate Survey of Employees, including a list of frequently asked questions.