At WCU and within the UNC System, our staff and faculty have a voice! We, as Staff Senate, want to make sure you know how your voice is being heard!
Richard Boyer, a Senior Consultant at ModernThink, presented an analysis and highlights from the 2020 UNC Employee Engagement Survey. He reviewed the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Check out HR’s Employee Engagement Survey page to see the video.
So, in a nutshell, what did Rich say? Here are some of the highs and lows from the survey results.
- Best statement: “I understand how my job contributes to this institution’s mission.”
- 92% of WCU employees gave a positive answer to this statement! We are so glad most of you agree with this statement! If you don’t know just how your job contributes to this institution’s mission, please reach out to us. We can chat with you!
- Lowest scoring statement: “I am paid fairly for my work.”
- An underwhelming 28% of WCU employees gave a positive answer to this statement. Unfortunately, compensation is a hot-button topic for all of our employees at WCU and in the UNC System. According to Rich Boyer, the conversation is now more data-informed than ever before. The UNC System is raising this concern with more data in a new way in hopes that we can make a difference. Both the UNC System and Western Carolina University have made meaningful increases in compensation a priority for the current legislative session of the NC General Assembly. Your Staff Senate support this prioritization wholeheartedly.
- Become better informed by attending the Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting in March, where Dr. Sean Mulholland, WCU Professor of Economics, will present information regarding the compensation levels. BOT Chair Kenny has expressed his interest in the cost of living and salary rates in our area and is committed to learning more about the issues and bringing them to the state-level leadership to make changes. Conversations and feedback are the keys to pushing this issue up the chain and to the legislators.
- BOTTOM LINE: The administration at WCU is working hard to fight for the faculty and staff at WCU concerning this issue.
How do we compare to other UNC schools? Compared to other UNC System schools, we were about middle of the board with participation rate. The upside of this is that we had a 7% increase in employee participation! The more people that participate, the more we get our voices heard! We were the 2nd highest scoring school in the system with a 66% positive response rate! That’s great because it means you know WCU is a great place to work! Whether government or private sector, every employer has room to improve, but overall, you felt WCU is doing something right!
The Staff Senate is glad you’re at WCU! You make this campus great! With your input and participation, we can better understand employees’ needs and communicate that to the higher levels of leadership to make change happen!
We had 975 employees respond to the survey, and leadership is hearing ALL 975 of our voices! Our issues won’t be corrected overnight. There is a process to all things, but we want you to know you can and will make a difference in your experience at WCU and within the UNC System.
Your Staff Senators encourage you to take a moment to listen to the recorded presentation and the comments made by WCU leadership. You can find that video along with other 2020 Employee Engagement Survey data on WCU’s UNC System Engagement Survey website.
Please visit WCU’s Board of Trustees webpage to learn more about your Board of Trustees and their meeting information. The next open meeting is scheduled for March 5, 2021, at 9:30 am. You can find the streaming link on WCU’s YouTube page or within the Inside WCU newsletter.
Recent Comments