Report: Higher Ed Neglecting Employee Engagement
Faculty
and staff engagement and retention is financially beneficial to higher
education institutions and contributes to student success, yet many
colleges and universities are not measuring employee engagement,
according to a new report from Cornerstone OnDemand and Ellucian.
The report follows up on a recent Gallup survey, which found that 52
percent of higher ed faculty are not engaged in their work, and 14
percent are actively disengaged.
The report, "Empowering Employees: The state of employee engagement and student retention," is based on the 2016 Employee Engagement and Retention in Higher Education survey conducted by Human Capital Media Research and Advisory Group
in collaboration with Cornerstone OnDemand and Ellucian. Survey
participants included 469 faculty and staff members from public,
private and for-profit colleges and universities.
The survey
found that employee recruitment and retention is a common challenge for
colleges and universities. Contributing factors to that challenge
include compensation rates, workload, workplace culture and competition
from other higher ed institutions.
Key findings related to employee recruitment and retention:
- 61 percent of institutions have difficulty sourcing top faculty, and 59 percent struggle to retain top faculty;
- 62 percent have difficulty sourcing top staff, and 69 percent struggle to retain top staff;
- 27 percent report above average turnover rates for faculty;
- 41 percent report above average turnover rates for staff;
- 71 percent see a correlation between faculty engagement and retention; and
- 80 percent see a correlation between staff engagement and retention.
According
to information from Cornerstone OnDemand and Ellucian, "employee
engagement programs, such as professional development, employee
mentoring and flexible work options, can result in better retention
rates and significant cost savings for the organization over time."
However, 39 percent of institutions surveyed do not offer any form of
employee engagement opportunities.
"One definite conclusion we can draw from the results of this survey is the need for continuous learning and development for higher education employees. At academic institutions, learning is heavily focused on the students, and rightfully so. However, research shows that the colleges and universities that invest in learning and development programs for both faculty and staff have more engaged employees, which can greatly impact the success of the students," said Mike Bollinger, global AVP of thought leadership and advisory services for Cornerstone OnDemand, in a press release. "Faculty and staff members help create the student experience, and it's up to the institution to provide their employees with the learning curriculum, professional development opportunities and recognition they deserve to help both higher education employees and their students succeed."
For the purpose of the survey,
faculty included higher education professors, assistants and
researchers, and staff included administrators, support staff and
grounds personnel.
A free, downloadable PDF of the report can be found on Cornerstone OnDemand's site.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].