Q: What is a climate and employee satisfaction survey?
A climate and employee satisfaction survey is a comprehensive inquiry tool used to gather anonymous feedback on a variety of topics related to the work environment at Rice. This feedback will be used to better understand both the positive aspects and/or opportunities for improvement about working at Rice.
Q: Why did Rice decide to create a staff climate and employee satisfaction survey?
Staff play an integral role in shaping the success of our university, and your insights and experiences play an invaluable role in shaping our campus culture and making Rice a great place to teach, learn, and work. This survey will provide valuable data in order to make certain changes necessary for Rice’s continued evolution and success.
Q: Why is this survey only for staff? Faculty are already surveyed on an annual basis. How is this survey different?
The Office of Faculty Development (OFD) sends out an annual survey to capture detailed information on the faculty lifecycle and experiences. The OFD will continue to survey faculty. This survey will provide Rice with valuable information on staff that hasn’t been collected before.
Q: Why is Rice changing the survey from one annual survey to two annual surveys?
To make it even easier to share your feedback, the Perch Perspective is evolving! Instead of one annual survey, we’re introducing two shorter surveys—one in the spring and one in the fall semester. The spring semester survey will focus on feedback about Rice as an employer, and the fall survey will focus on the work environment in your department. This change in survey cadence will allow us to hear from you more frequently and respond to your input in a timely manner.
Q: How can I participate in the Perch Perspective survey?
Participation in this survey is easy! In early April 2025, you will receive an email from surveys@rice.edu inviting you to participate in this year’s spring survey.
Q: Will the survey be administered by NORC like it was last year?
This year’s survey will be administered by Rice’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness. OIE is responsible for managing and administering Rice surveys, and they will be responsible for managing and administering the Perch Perspective surveys moving forward.
Q: What kind of data will be collected?
The Rice Climate and Employee Satisfaction survey will ask questions about staff’s workplace experiences at Rice in general and in their particular areas, as well as their perceptions and experiences with workplace practices; learning and development; discrimination and harassment; stress and well-being; and general department climate, including campus and department resources at Rice.
Q: Will my responses be kept confidential?
Yes. At the conclusion of the survey participation period, Human Resources will receive a data file with deidentified survey data. From this data, they will be able to conduct simple statistical analysis to show aggregated trends in survey results year after year.
Q: What does deidentified survey data mean?
Deidentified survey data means that no individual survey response will be able to be traced back to an individual.
Q: How will the results be shared with Rice?
Broad survey results will be shared with the Rice community through various media platforms, including the Administrator’s Forum and the Fast Five monthly newsletter. Other additional avenues are being explored.
Q: Am I required to participate in this survey? Is this mandatory, or can I decline?
Your participation is encouraged but not required. Likewise, should you choose to participate, you may skip any questions that you do not wish to answer. Your participation is crucial to inform future changes to improve certain aspects of working at Rice.
Q: How much time will this survey take to complete?
The new survey (two surveys instead of one) should take no more than 10 minutes to complete.
Q: How will survey reporting be shared?
In addition to sharing survey results with the Rice community, division and school specific results will be shared with division and school leaders. This data includes aggregated scores to the various survey questions and does not include individual responses.
Q: Why should I participate in this survey?
Your feedback matters because it will be used to:
- to enable positive change – your feedback will directly influence initiatives and changes that will improve our work environment, ensuring Rice continues to be an outstanding place to learn, teach, and work.
- to enhance employee satisfaction – by understanding your needs and concerns, we can create a more supportive and inclusive community for everyone, and we can make meaningful changes where necessary.
- to drive innovation – your unique experiences and ideas can spark innovation and help us grow as an institution.
Q: Will the survey be available in another language?
Yes. The survey will be available in Spanish.
Q: I have more questions, to whom should I reach out?
We’d love to hear from you. You may reach out to any member of the Survey Committee or to Joop Oranje, Sr. Director of People and Culture, at joop.oranje@rice.edu.
