STAFF CLIMATE SURVEY
Every two years, the Georgia State University Staff Council and the Office of Institutional Research administer a university-wide Staff Climate Survey.
This important, confidential survey is designed to collect feedback and provide information about staff perceptions regarding the nature of their work, policies and practices, and the general climate at Georgia State University.
Your thoughts & feedback help the Staff Council, University administration, and other key decision-making groups across campus to identify improvements, and develop and maintain programs that support our staff. Together, we can create a work environment that fosters growth, satisfaction, and success for all staff members!
BENEFITS OF THE STAFF CLIMATE SURVEY
The survey provides a range of benefits to the institution and its employees, including the following:
- Identify areas where staff feel the operational effectiveness of the University could be enhanced.
- Indicate attitudes toward existing programs for staff and identify the need for new programs. (Of particular note, the survey solicits specific information about training and development programs).
- Provide reliable data to guide the actions of the Staff Council, the Administrative Council, the University Senate, and other representative bodies.
- Survey perceptions of managerial effectiveness and of the quality of the supervisor/employee relationship.
- Identify issues that inhibit staff retention and ways to improve it.
- Assess the effectiveness of internal communication efforts.
SURVEY REPORTS AND MAJOR FINDINGS
View: 2023 Staff Climate Report
This report presents the results of the 2023 Staff Climate Survey.
The 2023 survey was administered in collaboration with the University Staff Council and Office of Institutional Research. The results presented in this report were based on the responses from 1,028 full-time university staff who had at least six months of service at GSU by June 1st, 2023. The response rate was 33.9%
- The report begins with an overview of survey development and methodology.
- Section I presents the survey respondent demographic characteristics.
- Section II presents the results of the Staff Climate Scale, along with other factors of staff climate, specifically mentoring, professional development, and supervisor self-evaluation.
- Section III explores factors related to staff retention, with a discussion of benefits.
- Section IV addresses differences in the perception of staff work climate by demographics.
- Section V summarizes the cross-year comparisons of staff’s professional development and staff retention.
- Section VI presents a regression analysis to determine which indicators predict staff’s reported decision to consider leaving.
- Section VII presents a thematic analysis of the primary feedback item from the survey.
- Section VIII discusses future survey implementation.
Major Findings
The results of this survey highlight a contradiction that well describes the climate for staff at GSU:
- Across all 24 items in the Staff Climate Scale, staff reports the climate at GSU to be
overwhelmingly positive. Not a single scale item had a mean score of less than 4, or
“Neutral”. - Almost two-thirds of staff report having considered leaving their current position in
the past year – higher than any other year the Staff Climate Survey was conducted.
Of the 24 items in the Staff Climate Scale, 22 had mean scores higher than 5, indicating that staff, on average, at least “somewhat agree” with the positive statements about their climate. The 2 items with lower mean scores – “My department deals with poor performance by staff” and “I have the opportunity to grow professionally at Georgia State University” – were still above neutral, with mean scores of 4.43 and 4.91, respectively. In general, the Staff Climate Scale and its 6 factors had high levels of reliability, and composite measures of 4 factors were significantly associated with lower odds of having considered leaving in the past year (see Section VI). On the new Benefits Scale developed for the 2023 Staff Climate Survey, staff also indicated an overall positive attitude towards the benefits package provided by GSU, with all mean scores being higher than 5. Staff also reported high rates of mentorship (both being mentored and mentoring others) and professional development, as well as extremely high satisfaction with the hybrid or remote work opportunities afforded by their departments.
Despite these positives, the majority of staff respondents to the 2023 Staff Climate Survey reported having considered leaving their position in the last year. Of those who considered leaving, many took concrete steps towards this goal – 46.8% applied for a job outside of GSU, with 39.0% having an interview for a position, and 24.0% reporting receiving a job offer. Of those who considered leaving, one clear reason emerged – 76.8% cited compensation as one of their top 3 reasons to consider leaving. Other commonly cited reasons include career advancement (32.7%), poor management (28.2%), and excessive workload (26.3%).
Additionally, although the time spent in their current position or at GSU generally was not significantly correlated with the likelihood of considering leaving, having mentored another staff member was strongly associated with a higher likelihood of considering leaving. In the models presented later, staff who had mentored others were 70.66% to
71.84% more likely to consider leaving than those who had not mentored others. This would seem to indicate that those staff with the most knowledge to share with others – and the motivation to do so – are also more likely to consider sharing this knowledge somewhere else. Finally, the composite scale for Department Management & Culture (DMC) was significantly correlated with a higher likelihood of considering leaving. Although the specific implications of this are complex and discussed in more detail in Section VI, one clear implication can be seen – strong and supportive cultures within individual departments are not necessarily protective against the loss of skilled, motivated staff.
View: 2021 Staff Climate Report
The 2021 survey was administered in collaboration with the University Staff Council and Office of Institutional Research. The results presented in this report were based on the responses from 769 full-time university staff who had at least six months of service at GSU by June 2nd, 2021. The response rate was 25%. The instrument reliability alpha was .95 (excellent).
The report begins with an overview of survey development and methodology:
- Section I presents the survey respondent demographic characteristics.
- Section II presents descriptive data that displayed the general patterns associated with the staff’s perception on the work climate at GSU: mentoring activities and professional development opportunities.
- Section III explores the relationships between staff retention and their perception of the work climate.
- Section IV addresses differences in perception on staff work climate by demographics.
- Section V summarizes the cross-year comparisons on staff’s professional development and staff retention.
- Section VI presents the respondents’ general comments.
- Section VII analyzes staff respondents’ job change status from June 2019 to June 2021.
- Section VIII discusses future survey implementation.
Major Findings
The results of this survey continued with the five principal factors identified in the 2019 survey findings based on the 21 work climate questions items:
- Functional aspects of the job
- Communication within the department
- Supervisor professionalism
- Department management and culture
- University work environment
Staff respondents rated the average highest score in the following items:
- “Staff demonstrating the expected quality” of work for their position
- “[Their] understanding of job expectations”
- “Supervisor(s) treating me with respect and fairness”
- “Department meeting needs of GSU”,
- “[Department] open to inclusiveness and diversity”.
In contrast, Staff respondents rated the average highest score in the following items:
- “[My department] dealing with poor performance by staff”
- “[A] lack of opportunity to grow professionally at GSU”
- “[My] supervisor has discussed my career goals with me”
Some concerning findings:
- Overall, of the five perception factors, staff respondents rated the highest average score on functional aspects of the job and the lowest average score on supervisors’ professionalism.
- Though lower than the 2019 Climate Survey, staff retention continued to be a critical issue in the 2021 climate survey, but the reasons for the low staff retention were different in this 2021 survey.
- Around 52.7% of survey respondents reported that they had seriously considered leaving their jobs in the past year, which was 4.4 percentage points lower than the results found in the last survey administration.
- Excluding the staff with retirement as their reason for leaving, there were still 48.9% of the total participants who responded to the survey considered leaving due to other reasons.
- Self-reported data indicated that compensation, career advancement, and work [being] underappreciated were the top three reasons for considering leaving.
- The predictive analysis found “[lack of] work-life balance”, “opportunities to grow professionally”, “utilizing their skills & abilities”, and “supervisor provides ongoing feedback” statistically significantly negatively predicted staff retention. In other words, the lower the scores rated in these items, the more likely staff employees consider leaving.
- Of all the significant predictors in the predictive model, “[lack of] work-life balance” was the factor that weighed the most. This was different from the previous survey which indicated that department management and culture were the factors that weighed the most.
Some positive findings:
- Staff respondents who reported that they would stay expressed those benefits (e.g., paid leave, insurance, TAP, and retirement), supportive supervisor(s), and enjoying their job/challenges were the top three reasons that kept them staying at GSU.
- Approximately 38.5 % of the survey respondents indicated they had someone who mentored them in the professional workplace through informal/formal practices.
- About 50.7% reported they are engaging in mentoring activities.
- Only 27.7% of the staff employees reported having mentor(s) and are engaging the mentoring activities.
- Around 78.4% of the survey participants indicated that they were able to engage in professional development opportunities.
- The top three professional development opportunities consisted of web-based training, professional conferences/seminars or workshops, and professional training. Web-based training, Lynda.com, and training offered by the Talent Management Office were indicated as the top three most helpful resources for professional development.
Staff members with professional development opportunities generally had a more positive perception of the work climate than staff without professional development opportunities. However, not all staff have easily accessible professional development opportunities, including heavy workload/no time, limited budget, not [being] aware of opportunities, etc.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, what most concerned staff employees was returning to the office without an adequate reason or safety policies regarding vaccinations and the use of face masks. They also hoped university to develop flexible telework options during and after the pandemic.
View: 2019 Staff Climate Report
The 2019 survey was administered in collaboration with the University Staff Council and Office of Institutional Research, with assistance from Human Resources – Organizational Development and Consulting Services. The results presented in this report were based on the responses from 1,159 full-time university staff who had at least six months of service at GSU by June 10th, 2019. The response rate was 35%. The instrument reliability alpha was .95 (excellent).
The report begins with an overview of survey development and methodology:
- Section I presents the survey respondent demographic characteristics.
- Section II presents descriptive data that displayed the general patterns associated with the staff’s perception on the work climate at GSU: mentoring activities and professional development opportunities.
- Section III explores the relationships between staff retention and their perception of the work climate.
- Section IV addresses differences in perception on staff work climate by demographics.
- Section V summarizes the crossyear comparisons on staff’s professional development and staff retention.
- Section VI presents the respondents’ general comments.
- Section VII discusses future survey implementation.
Major Findings
The results of this survey identified five principal factors based on 21 climate question items:
- Functional aspects of the job
- Communication within the department
- Supervisor professionalism
- Department management and culture
- University work environment
Of the five factors, staff respondents indicated that they had experienced the most positive perception on functional aspects of the job (e.g., understanding job expectations, having access to resources, and good utilization of skills and abilities). They also had the highest score in [their] demonstrating the expected quality of work for their position. On the other hand, staff respondents reported the lowest average score on the item of “[my department] dealing with poor performance by staff”, followed by “[a] lack of opportunity to grow professionally at GSU” and “open communication is encouraged [in my department]”. In terms of the principal factors, staff members reported the lowest score on their supervisors’ professionalism, especially when reviewing the scale item of “[my supervisor] discussing my career goals with me”. Staff retention remained as a critical issue in the 2019 survey.
- Around 57.1% of survey respondents reported that they had seriously considered leaving their job in the past year, which was Executive Summary 2 higher than the results found in the past three survey administrations. Excluding the staff with retirement as their reason for leaving, there were still 52.6% of the total participants who responded to the survey considered leaving due to other reasons. Self-reported data indicated that compensation, career advancement, and poor management were the top three reasons for considering leaving. On the contrary, good work environment/culture, good utilization of skills, and good teamwork were the top three reasons for those staff who indicated that they would stay.
- Predictive data results found department management and culture, supervisor professionalism, university work environment, and functional aspects of the job significantly predicted staff retention. Of all the significant predictors in the overall predictive model, department management and culture was the factor that weighed most.
- A new set of questions for supervisory staff was added to the 2019 survey. Results indicated that the majority of the supervisory staff generally had a very positive self-evaluation of their supervisory performance.
- In terms of retention, predictive analysis discovered supervisory staff favored different reasons from non-supervisory staff for considering leaving. Supervisory staff were more likely to consider leaving when they reported having a more positive self-evaluation of their supervisory performance and a more negative perception of department management and culture and functional aspects of the job. However, non-supervisory staff were more likely to consider leaving when they experienced a more negative perception of the functional aspects of the job, university work environment, and communication within the department. At least 72.1% of the survey respondents indicated they had someone who mentored them in the professional workplace through informal/formal forms.
- The top three mentoring activities included informal conversations, supervisor support or guidance, and personal advice. Almost 80% of the survey takers indicated they had taken advantage of professional development opportunities. The top three professional development opportunities consisted of professional conferences/seminars or workshops, web-based training, and professional training.
- Staff members with professional development opportunities generally had a more positive perception of the work climate than those without professional development opportunities.
- Admittedly, some staff experienced barriers preventing their professional development, including heavy workload/no time, scheduling conflict(s), limited budget, etc.
View: 2017 Staff Climate Report
The 2017 staff survey was administered in collaboration with the university’s Staff Council and the Office of Institutional Research. The results presented in this report were based on responses from 942 university staff who completed the survey during its administration period in June and July of 2017. The response rate was 29.2%. The majority of respondents (77%) had a bachelor or higher degree. The instrument reliability alpha was .949 (excellent).
The report begins with an overview of survey development and methodology:
- Section I presents the respondent characteristics.
- Section II presents descriptive data that reveals the general response patterns associated with questions on job satisfaction, mentoring status, and training or professional development opportunities.
- Section III addresses issues about employee retention.
- Section IV explores the relationship between employee satisfaction and demographics.
- Section V compares the 2017, 2015, and 2013 staff survey findings.
- Section VI summarizes staff’s concerns in the 2017 survey
- Section VII discusses recommendations regarding the survey findings.
- Comprehensive data tables are located in the appendices.
Major Findings
The results of this survey identified five principal factors based on 21 climate question items:
- Functional aspects of the job
- Communication within the department
- Supervisor professionalism
- Department management and culture
- University work environment
Overall, respondents indicated moderately high overall satisfaction with their current job environment.
- On average, they rated the highest score on the item of “having developed close relationships with their colleagues”. Consistent with 2013 and 2015 survey findings, “inability to deal effectively with poor performance by staff” remained the lowest scoring item.
- When compared to the 2013 and 2015 surveys, the 2017 survey results indicated a significant decline in the university staff climate in the areas of functional aspects of the job, development and support, and work environment within department/unit.
- Compared to the 2013 and 2015 survey results, staff employees also rated significantly lower scores on items of “safe working environment” and “recommending department” as a good workplace in the 2017 survey.
- Staff retention remained an important issue in the 2017 survey. Slightly more than half of the respondents indicated they had seriously considered leaving their job in the past year. Of those staff employees who had considered leaving, around 50% had looked at job openings outside of the university, almost half had updated their résumé, approximately one-third had applied for jobs outside the universities, and around a quarter had been on a job interview.
- Similar to the 2013 and 2015 survey findings, lack of adequate compensation and career advancement remained staff’s top two reasons cited for considering leaving their current job. Poor management and unprofessional work environment were also important noted factors for those had considered leaving.
- One-fifth of the respondents indicated they had someone who mentored them in their professional workplace role. These mentored staff had significantly higher mean scores in the areas of functional aspects of the job, development & support, and work environment within department/unit than those who were not mentored. In addition, staff who were mentored and had not considered leaving GSU had the highest mean scores, whereas staff who were not mentored and had considered leaving GSU had the lowest mean scores in the areas of functional aspects of the job, development and support, and work environment within department/unit.
- The majority of the respondents indicated they were able to take advantage of training or professional development opportunities. Staff who had taken advantage of training or professional development opportunities had significantly higher scores than those who had not in all the satisfaction items and subscales. Identical to the 2013 and 2015 findings, lack of budget, time issues, and lack of support by management remained the top three barriers for those seeking to take advantage of training or professional development opportunities.
- 2 Staff who had considered leaving had significantly lower mean scores on all the satisfaction items and subscales than those who had not considered leaving.
- The predictive analysis revealed that positive perception of development and support, functional aspects of the job, and opportunity to engage in training or professional development increased the likelihood of staff retention, regardless of their demographics and role in a supervisory/non-supervisory position.
View: 2015 Staff Climate Report
The 2015 Staff Survey Findings report presents the complete results of Georgia State University’s staff climate survey.
The results presented in the report are based on responses from 1,173 university staff who completed the survey during its administration during June and July 2015. The response rate was approximately 44%, and the instrument reliability is excellent according to standard measures.
The report begins with an overview of survey development and methodology:
- Section one presents the respondent characteristics.
- The second section presents descriptive data that reveals the general response patterns associated with questions on job satisfaction, mentoring and training or professional development opportunities.
- The third section addresses issues around employee retention.
- The fourth section explores the relationship between employee satisfaction and demographics.
- The fifth section compares the 2015 and 2013 staff survey findings.
Recommendations regarding the survey findings are offered at the end of the report. Comprehensive data tables can be found in the appendices.
Major Findings
- When compared to the 2013 survey, the 2015 survey results indicated a significantly improved university staff climate in the areas of environment, job functions and performance and communication.
- Overall, respondents indicated high overall satisfaction with their job environment. They believe their department/unit supports an inclusive understanding of diversity and they have developed close relationships with their colleagues. As in 2013, the staff gave job function and performance items generally high scores, but the inability of departments to deal effectively with poor performance by staff remains the lowest scoring item. Staff responses show that communication with supervisors and administrators has increased since the 2013 survey.
- While staff retention remains an important issue, slightly less than half of the respondents indicated that they had seriously considered leaving their job in the past year. Of those, almost two-thirds have looked at job openings in other areas of the university and over half have applied for jobs outside of the university. Two-fifths have had job interviews. As in the 2013 survey, lack of career advancement and adequate compensation were reasons cited for considering leaving their job. A non-supportive work environment and poor management were also noted factors. Those who have considered leaving have significantly lower mean scores on all satisfaction items compared to those who have not considered leaving. As in the 2013 survey, those staff in their current position between four and eight years continue to be the at-risk group for leaving the university.
- A quarter of the respondents indicated that they had someone who mentors them in their professional workplace role. Staff who are mentored have significantly higher mean scores in the areas of environment, job function and performance and communication than those who are not mentored. Also, they are less likely to have considered leaving their job than those respondents who do not have a mentor.
- Georgia State staff are well educated with just under half having earned graduate degrees.
- The large majority of respondents indicated that they are able to take advantage of training or professional development. As in 2013, time issues, lack of funding and support by management remain barriers for those who are unable to take advantage of training and professional development opportunities. There is a significant relationship between training and job satisfaction. Those who have not had training or opportunities for professional development score lower on the majority of satisfaction and subscale items. ills, but they do not believe as strongly that they can advance in their career.
The 2015 staff survey was a Staff Council initiative and approved by the University Administrative Council. The findings from previous surveys have provided invaluable insight into the perspectives of staff employees that have helped shaped the development of a variety of university initiatives and programs.
For example, the results of the earlier 2013 staff survey helped inform the funding of a university-wide training initiative. The Staff Council and other university decision-making bodies will use the 2015 survey findings to shape many staff-focused initiatives.
As with the 2013 survey, numerous respondents indicated that they appreciated the opportunity to take the staff survey and felt that the survey played an important part in giving staff an opportunity to express their views on important topics.
The Staff Council plans to conduct the staff survey again in 2017, with adjustments to the survey content and administration to be made in relation to the consolidation effort with Georgia Perimeter College.
View: 2013 Staff Climate Report
The 2013 Staff Survey Findings report presents the complete results of Georgia State University’s staff climate survey.
The results presented in the report are based on responses from 1,120 university staff who completed the survey during its administration during June and July 2013. The response rate was 48.0%. The instrument reliability alpha was .945 (excellent).
The report begins with an overview of survey development and methodology:
- Section one presents the respondent characteristics.
- The second section presents descriptive data that reveals the general response patterns associated with questions on job satisfaction, mentoring and training or professional development opportunities.
- Section three addresses issues around employee retention.
- The fourth section explores the relationship between employee satisfaction and demographics.
- The fifth section compares the 2013 staff survey findings with findings from the 2011 surveys.
Recommendations regarding the survey findings are offered at the end of the report.
Major Findings
- More than half of the respondents indicated that they had seriously considered leaving their job in the past year. Besides updating their résumé and conducting job searches, over half have applied for jobs outside of the university and over a third have had job interviews. The two most important reasons for leaving their job center on salary issues and lack of career advancement. Poor management and a negative work environment were also noted factors. Those who have considered leaving have significantly lower mean scores on all satisfaction items compared to those who have not considered leaving.
- Those staff in their current position between four and nine years are significantly more likely to have considered leaving their job than those employed more than ten years.
- Over three-fourths of respondents have not engaged in mentoring activities. For those mentored, they are more likely to get access to training and career development. They engage in discussions and solicit feedback in both formal and informal settings. Those who are mentored have significantly higher mean scores in the areas of environment, job function and performance, and communication than those who are not mentored. Also, they are less likely to have considered leaving their job than those respondents who do not have a mentor.
- Overall, respondents indicated high overall satisfaction with their job environment. They believe their department/unit supports an inclusive understanding of diversity and they have developed close relationships with their colleagues.
- Although respondents generally agree that their supervisors keep them informed about university developments that may affect their job, they are less confident in their ability to communicate with higher administration.
- Staff believe their skills are put to good use and they are encouraged to increase those skills, but they do not believe as strongly that they can advance in their career.
- The large majority of respondents indicated that they are able to take advantage of training or professional development. For those staff unable to take advantage of such opportunities, time issues, lack of funding and lack of support by management were major barriers.
- Georgia State staff are well educated. While the majority of respondents have college degrees and slightly less than half of those are post graduate degrees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below you will find some frequently asked questions about the Staff Climate Survey.
All Georgia State University employees in Downtown and Perimeter campuses, who have been at GSU for at least 6 months, are eligible to complete the Staff Climate Survey and will receive the survey link via email.
Employees that have been at GSU for less than 6 months will not receive the survey.
Every eligible employee will receive an email from the Office of Institutional Research (OIR) with an individualized link to the survey. Please note that newer employees (less than 6 months) will not receive the survey.
💡 TIP: Search your Outlook for an email from [email protected] to easily locate your survey link.
🚨 NOTE: We have received reports of the Climate Survey emails from OIR being filtered into the “Other” inbox or the “Clutter Folder” in Outlook. If you can’t find the link, please check these folders before reaching out for assistance.
This will vary for each respondent, but most report completing the survey in 10 to 15 minutes.
If you have already checked your “Other” inbox or Clutter Folder in Outlook and still can’t find the email from OIR, please contact Josh Simpkins at [email protected] for assistance.
That is a fair and legitimate concern. To prevent this from happening, the Office of Institutional Research has taken a few steps.
First, the Climate Survey has gone through the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for approval. The IRB has reviewed the survey to ensure it complies with applicable regulations, meets ethical standards, and adequately protects participants. The survey administrator in the Office of Institutional Research makes an academic and professional commitment to uphold the confidentiality of respondents.
This survey is confidential – the results will be reported only as aggregate data! No individual responses will be presented without at least 4 other responses grouped with it, so it should be extremely difficult for anyone to pick any one individual out. Any identifying employee data is removed and it’s impossible to associate a given response with a given employee by name.
If you are still concerned about the survey being a safe space to share your thoughts, please feel free to reach out to [email protected] to further discuss.