Engagement is defined as employees' pride, energy and optimism that fuels discretionary effort. Highly engaged employees are typically aligned with the organization's goals and plan for, and anticipate, change.
To continuously improve and enhance your Cardinal at Work experience, an engagement survey is periodically conducted to gather staff feedback. The survey is implemented by University Human Resources in partnership with designated school and VP area Survey Liaisons.
An overarching goal of the staff survey is to identify opportunities to strengthen the employee experience by evaluating the following key areas:
- Agility
- Alignment
- Collaboration
- Continuous Improvement
- Development
- Efficiency
- Inclusion & Diversity
- Openness
- Performance management
- Respect & Trust
How Survey Results Are Used
While several schools and units conduct their own surveys to gather employee input, the university-wide results are used to:
- Measure overall staff* engagement in a consistent way
- Surface workforce priorities and inform strategic planning
- Help identify specific actions to strengthen the employee experience in the coming years
- Help identify employment-related programs, services and plans needed for Stanford's valued workforce
*Eligible staff groups include: exempt, non-exempt, bargaining unit, non-academic, coaches, academic librarians and academic research staff
To ensure confidentiality, the survey is administered by an independent research organization. In addition, a steering committee made up of representatives from 13 schools and VP areas, along with a faculty advisor provide leadership and guidance throughout each phase of the project.
