In August 2015, Acting President Dr. David E. Bixby, with the input of faculty and staff, created a Value People Task Force composed of seven faculty, six staff, Special Assistant to the President Andrew Barton and Vice President of Human Resources Stephen Eckberg to improve APU’s working environment.
The members of the Value People Task Force brought their areas of expertise to meetings and conversations. The task force made recommendations during the process and submitted the employee survey results to Bixby.
After the members of the task force were finalized, the committee contacted the Best Christian Workplace Institute and asked the organization to conduct an anonymous voluntary survey on employee engagement. There were three open-ended questions and 58 questions with a five-point scale.
The questions allow the university to measure employee awareness of calling and passion, organizational trust, talent management, strategy and execution, innovation and staff involvement, Christian leadership, personal development, compensation and benefits and teamwork. Demographic questions are also included.
“The task force has met three times. We’ve had conversations with the Best Christian Workplace consultants in this process, and empowering the Value People Task Force to come up with recommendations has begun,” Bixby said. “This process will take place over the next six months.”
Some employees said they appreciate the university taking the time to listen to their feedback and found the survey to be beneficial.
“I think the goal with any survey is to assess what’s going well and find areas that need improvement,” Associate Director for Orientation and Transitions Stephanie Gala said. “I believe that APU is already an incredible place to work. Since the administration is putting in the effort to do this survey, it shows me that they are serious about continuing to make adjustments as needed to keep APU a wonderful place to work.”
Gala said she believes the survey provides the university with the opportunity to make the school aware of potential areas that may need improvement.
“It’s not always easy sharing concerns and suggestions,” Gala said. “This creates a way for the administration to continue cultivating a great workplace by knowing what employees think.”
Peter Smart, assistant director of program development and evaluation in the Office of Academic Advising and Retention and mathematics professor, encourages other employees to take the survey.
“It is important to give the broadest perspective possible so that themes are either validated or not supported. To do this, we need as many people to respond as possible,” Smart said.
The task force will meet with faculty and staff to discuss the findings of the survey on Dec. 8. After the meeting, the results will be shared during community meetings, within schools and departments, at staff council and in the faculty senate.
“The December community meetings reflect part of the communication strategy the task force suggested,” Eckberg said. “The group seeks to focus its collective energy on those areas identified for growth while celebrating organizational strengths.”
Eckberg said he believes the engaged and passionate faculty and staff at the university is accomplishing APU’s mission of creating a better workplace.
“That commitment [of working at APU] and energy can only assist our students,” said Eckberg. “We’re so fortunate to have employees who believe deeply in our mission and purpose and want to see APU flourish.”