Despite the impact of the pandemic and working remotely, UC’s 2021 Systemwide Engagement Survey showed encouraging signs of continued improvement for UC.

This is the fifth time the joint Council of University of California Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) and Systemwide Human Resources have sponsored the Systemwide Engagement Survey, designed to track trends in employee engagement for policy-covered staff and identify areas of opportunity. Over 11,000 people responded to the 2021 survey, for an all-time high participation rate of 52%.

“The results of the most recent Systemwide Engagement Survey demonstrate the incredible resilience and dedication of UC’s staff,” said Cheryl Lloyd, vice president of Systemwide Human Resources. “There is always more to do, but I am proud of our continued commitment to making UC a great place to work.”

Results showed significant improvements across a number of areas: sustainable engagement, leadership, organizational change and innovation and communication. The only area that showed a small but statistically significant decline across all locations was retention, or the intent to stay at UC. While UC is working to make progress, survey responses do continue to show significant gaps with respect to gender and ethnicity. 

Systemwide Human Resources has shared the results with UC President Michael V. Drake, M.D., chancellors and other senior leaders.

Union-represented employees did not participate in the survey because UC receives their feedback through their union representatives during the collective bargaining process.

In the next few months, CUCSA and local staff assemblies will be working with local Human Resources officers to communicate the results and generate ideas for improvements based on both the systemwide and location-specific results.

“Fostering an equitable and inclusive workplace that supports the professional growth of our employees is central to UC’s mission,” said President Drake. “I look forward to working with staff members across UC to make progress toward this goal.”

Watch for more information about the survey results at your location in the coming months.