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: How can I participate in the Perch Perspective survey?
An email from Ricesurvey@norc.org will be sent to every staff member’s email address to participate in the survey. The link you receive will be for your use only, please do not forward it to others.
Q: Who is NORC, and what is their role?
NORC at the University of Chicago is an objective, nonpartisan research organization that delivers insights and analysis on various topics. NORC has been a pioneer in social science and data science research for more than 80 years. Rice has contracted with NORC to – alongside the Climate Survey Advisory Committee – develop Rice’s climate survey, and provide statistical data analysis and reporting.
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. The privacy of participants is critical. To make sure staff feel comfortable answering questions freely and candidly, all data will be completed and analyzed by NORC researchers, and no one at Rice will have access to individually-identifiable responses. No one at Rice will know who responded to the survey or how anyone answered the questions. Individual identifiers will be kept by NORC under password protected files or on a secure server with restricted rights and will not be shared with Rice. Any results will be reported only in aggregate groupings so there is no method to identify individual participants or associate particular responses with any individual.
Q: How will the results be shared with Rice?
NORC will provide Rice with a final report that summarizes the results. All reported data will be in aggregate in order to protect respondent confidentiality, and no individual responses will be reported. NORC will also provide Rice with a data file from the survey, but the file will contain no personally identifiable information and NORC will take steps to mask the data so that responses cannot be linked with any specific individual through a combination of variables.
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 survey should take no more than about 20 minutes to complete. If you are unable to complete it in one sitting, the survey instrument will save your spot so you can return to it later.
Q: How will survey reporting be shared?
Deans, Vice Presidents, Vice Provosts, and division leaders will receive an overview report for their specific school or division.
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?
If you have questions about the survey tool, please contact ricesurvey@norc.org. For any general questions about the survey, please reach out to Becca Gould at gould@rice.edu
