Q.  What is the time table for the action planning process?
A.  The selection process for the work group members should take place early in the fall quarter.  The work groups will need at least three months to develop recommendations.  It is anticipated that these recommendations will be forwarded to the Chancellor by the middle of the winter quarter.

Q.  How many individuals will be selected to serve on the work groups?  Focus groups?
A.  The work groups will be comprised of 8 – 10 staff members.  The focus groups may have as many as 25 – 30 members.

Q.  Now that the selection process for the work groups has changed, what will happen to the nominations originally submitted by the organization units?
A.  The nominations originally submitted consisted of non-represented staff so they will be forwarded to Staff Assembly. 

Q.  What if I was nominated for a work group and not selected?
A.  Staff nominated but not selected for participation on a work group will be invited to serve on a focus group which will support one of the three work groups.

Q. Why are Vice Chancellors chairing the work groups? 
A.  For the action planning process to be successful, management must be held accountable for the outcomes.  Involving Vice Chancellors in the work groups is a means of increasing this accountability.

Q.  Will the work groups be the sole mechanism for resolving campus issues revealed in the survey results?
A.  No.  Several issues are being addressed administratively through the campus strategic planning process.  Areas such as pay and workload are examples.  In addition, a review of our reclassification process is underway.   

Q. Why is UCR conducting these surveys?
A. The University is interested in how it can improve the workforce environment to better retain valuable faculty and staff. In 2005, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Ellen Wartella asked that a survey be conducted of all faculty, staff, and students so that the current “climate” of the campus could be measured. For faculty and staff, the survey will be designed to obtain information about how they view issues such as their work, their work environment, and their job satisfaction. It is the goal of the survey program to obtain a better understanding of what UCR faculty and staff really think, to identify areas where UCR can improve, and to develop action plans to implement those improvements. Surveying will be conducted on a regular basis in order to chart the progress of goals developed from survey results. Over time, additional surveys will be added to the program for new hires and separating faculty and staff.

Q. Why should I complete this survey?
A. This program provides an opportunity for you to express your opinions about various aspects of your work and work environment. The surveys were carefully developed to maintain anonymity so you can feel free to provide open feedback without fear of reprisal. Your comments can help give direction to the development of future improvements at UCR.

Q. How do I know I can’t be identified?
A. The original survey forms are only seen by employees of Wonderlic Consulting, the outside vendor contracted to administer the surveys, who will compile the data and provide reports. Responses will be returned directly to Wonderlic. At no time will anyone at UCR receive responses with any information to correlate to the respondent unless the respondent self-identifies on the survey. Only data compiled from the surveys will be provided to UCR. In addition, Wonderlic will not create any reports that reflect the input of less than five employees to maintain employee anonymity.

Q. What will happen to the survey results?
A. Wonderlic has compiled the data and created reports, which are posted on this website.

Q. Has UCR ever conducted an employee opinion survey before?
A. Yes. In 2001, the UCR Chancellor’s Committee on Campus Morale drafted a survey that was disseminated to all career staff. To the extent possible, data from the 2001 survey will be used for comparative purposes to identify trends in responses.