Why is our institution conducting a survey of its faculty and staff?

With a long-term goal of becoming a great place to work in the country, our institution is committed to creating and maintaining an environment that attracts and retains world-class faculty and staff. Gathering faculty and staff perspectives on their work experiences helps administration understand what currently works and what needs to be improved. Improvement occurs when we openly solicit candid and confidential feedback from all critical stakeholders and act upon this feedback. Disciplined follow-up on the survey findings will help us continue to drive our institution to future success.

Why is now the right time for this survey?

Now more than ever, we need to understand what factors are important to our faculty and staff. This institution is committed to our PEOPLE and our COMMUNITY and needs to hear from our faculty and staff on our direction and our work environment.

The survey will also provide a starting point (or baseline) for future input from faculty and staff on institution priorities and needs. The feedback opportunities provided by the survey will be in the form of a continuous process, not a singular event. This survey will help inform our strategic planning process.

Why did our institution select ModernThink to administer the survey?

ModernThink LLC is a nationally recognized organization specializing in surveys of this kind for higher education.  The higher education benchmark data ModernThink will provide will give our institution valuable insight into how we compare to other schools across the nation.

How was the survey process designed?

A survey team headed by Contact info and ModernThink will work in consultation with this institution to craft the survey. In the coming weeks and months, ModernThink will work with the committee to customize the survey, administer the survey, ensure confidentiality, and aid in the dissemination of the results.

What areas will the survey focus on?

The survey statements solicit feedback on a broad range of topics focused around the following themes:

In addition to the 60 core survey statements, the survey committee will include additional statements that focus on institution-specific initiatives.

How much time will it take to complete the survey? How long is the survey and what is the format?

The online survey should take approximately 18 - 22 minutes to complete. If you are unable to complete the survey after you begin, you will have the option to save your responses and access them later.

The survey consists of statements that employees/faculty respond to using a five-point agreement scale (Strongly Agree, Agree, Sometimes Agree/Sometimes Disagree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree). Additionally, there is a Not Applicable response option. The survey instrument also includes item benefits satisfaction component and open-ended questions.

There are several demographic questions at the end of the survey (Gender Identity, Age, etc.). Respondents are encouraged to provide responses, however you have the option of skipping any of the demographic questions if you have concerns regarding the anonymity of your responses. (See also “Are my survey responses confidential?” below.)

Why is my participation important?

First, as a faculty or staff member of our institution, your voice matters. Second, higher response rates give a more accurate picture of the institution and its individual departments. This is a significant opportunity for you to share your ideas, opinions, and solutions by participating in both the survey and the action planning that will follow.

Is my participation in this survey optional?

Yes, participation is completely voluntary.

Who is eligible to participate in the survey?

All faculty and staff members of our institution are invited and encouraged to participate in the survey.

How do I take the survey?

All faculty and staff members will be invited via email to take the survey hosted on ModernThink’s secure website. The survey is available for two weeks and is extended depending on the response rate.

You will be asked to enter a username and password, which will be provided in an e-mail invitation sent to you directly by ModernThink.

You may take the survey at any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from work or from home. Internet access is required. Employees taking the survey can use the same workstation, as long as each person properly logs into, and out of, the survey.

Are my survey responses confidential?

The purpose of the survey is to get honest feedback. This institution is using an external partner (ModernThink) to administer the survey. It is web-based and automated with a secure internet connection.

Each employee will receive an email invitation from ModernThink to participate in the survey. Once you click on the survey link, you will go directly to ModernThink’s website.  Your institution has no access to this website.  Your responses will be submitted directly to ModernThink’s database, and all processing will be done by ModernThink.  You will not be asked your name on the survey. The email will include unique password information for each user. This information is stored on the ModernThink server. This information is for access only and will not be linked to your individual survey responses. 

At no point will your manager or any other institution employee see your individual survey results; they are combined and only reported back to your institution in the aggregate/grouped format.  No one in the institution will know if or how you personally responded.

Can’t my email address be used to track my responses?

No.  The survey will be completed on ModernThink’s private server.  The email address is only used to access the survey and to ensure that only one survey is completed per employee. Emails are purged from ModernThink’ s system once the survey project has been completed. 

Why are demographics asked on the survey?

The demographic information (i.e. Gender, Age, Job Role, School, etc.) will help ModernThink better understand the patterns and themes in the survey data.  As the confidentiality of your responses is critical, ModernThink will not report your individual demographic data.  Group demographic data will only be reported when there are 5 or more respondents in a particular group.  Although the demographics are an optional component of the survey, you are strongly encouraged to provide this information.

Once I start the survey, can I access it again?

Your answers will be stored each time you select the SAVE & CONTINUE button at the bottom of a survey page. If you get interrupted you can come back to the survey.  You will need to log on to the ModernThink survey site to re-access the survey.  To protect your confidentiality, you will not be able to access the survey after you click the SUBMIT button on the last page of the survey.

What if I have problems accessing the survey site?

For technical questions or problems with the survey site please contact ModernThink at (888) 684-4658 or surveys@modernthink.com, M-F 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. EST. After hours, leave a message and your call will be returned as promptly as possible.

How many employees does our institution need to respond to the survey to get the data we need?

While a 100% response rate is not necessary, we like to see as high a response rate as possible. Average response rates for ModernThink surveys typically range between 40% and 65%. During the two weeks the survey is available we will be sharing our response rate with the community at large. We hope that each of you will use this information and opportunity to encourage your colleagues to participate.

Once all the results are received, what's next?

The President and survey committee are committed to gathering feedback, identifying and prioritizing areas of action, sharing the findings with you, and developing follow-up plans to address your concerns.

How often will this type of survey occur?

While the formal timeline for the next survey is not yet established, our institution will be repeating this process every two years. This year’s results will provide us with important baseline data so that we chart our progress moving forward.

Who can I contact with additional questions about the employee survey?

If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions regarding the survey and/or the survey process, please do not hesitate to contact Contact Info or ModernThink Senior Project Manager Liz Flood at (888) 684-4658 or lflood@modernthink.com.