By RJ Wolcott, WSU News & Media Relations
Plans to address feedback provided in last year’s Employee Engagement Survey are now available for a majority of units and departments across the Washington State University system.
These impact plans, available on the Human Resource Services’ website, detail areas of focus as well as timelines for initiatives. Common topic areas addressed in these impact plans include internal communications strategy; diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging; professional development; and wellness.
It’s vital that department take action on survey feedback to ensure more widespread engagement in future efforts to solicit employee feedback, Laura Hamilton, a manager with HRS’ Learning and Organizational Development team, said.
“If areas are not following through with plans and not having conversations about feedback, research shows that the next time we survey folks they’ll be much less likely to provide transparent information,” Hamilton said. “If departments do take action, we’ll have folks who haven’t previously engaged getting involved in providing feedback.”
The goal is to move the Employee Engagement Survey response rate from 41% to 60–70% in the years to come, underlining the importance of setting goals and tracking progress.
Many departments have already completed priority actions in response to feedback.
“A lot of action and activity is already happening, and moving forward it’ll be vital that they continue to share information on progress and ongoing initiatives with their colleagues,” Hamilton said.
A limited number of units requested and were granted extensions to the deadline to produce their impact report due to leadership changes or conflicts with other high-priority work. As those reports are submitted, HRS’ website will be updated to include them.
The onboard process for new employees was a major topic of discussion among survey respondents. As a result, HRS built a brand new onboarding tool within Percipio and made additional resources on coaching and mentorship programs available for emerging managers and supervisors. New campus leadership development opportunities on the Vancouver, Tri-Cities, and Spokane campuses were also launched based on feedback provided by employees.
Going forward, HRS still will meet with managers and supervisors to check in on the progress of impact reports and ensure updates are regularly provided.
