In November 2021, Voices of the Staff shared a survey with every member of the staff community. The goal was to learn the answer to one simple question.
What is most important to you in our workplace?
How We Gave Voice to Our Colleagues
Two thousand responses were reviewed and themed into eleven main topics for deep and meaningful discussion. Six hundred staff members indicated an interest in attending a Town Hall to dig deeper into the challenges and opportunities we face.
On January 13, 2022, one hundred and fifty people gathered virtually for generative conversations. In breakout rooms, people shared their perspectives, supported by Voices of the Staff team members and alumni serving as room facilitators and scribes.
These groups were challenged to articulate their thoughts and condense the essence of a 2-hour conversation into a 45-second summary delivered in an elevator pitch to the president.
Discussion Summaries
Quotes from staff:
"Remote work enables a broader workforce to draw from across the US (world) vs just southeast Michigan. Retention of employees. I have lost staff who have left for fully remote positions, some even to other U-M units."
"Shift culture to focus more on staff development and growth, to highlight the importance of having a strong faculty body as well as staff/ administration."
"Success begins with your own well-being. We cannot pour from an empty bucket, meaning we cannot give of ourselves if we are not taking care of ourselves first."
"The importance of making connections through the meaning of work will further support our tripartite mission through the building of trusted relationships."
Staff are passionate. Smart. And ready.
They are ready to invest their time and talent. To embrace change and develop flexible, innovative workplace solutions empowered by integrity.
From the eleven key discussion topics, six themes rose to the top. And these themes align with the results from the survey. To facilitate an engaged staff, we recommend the following Voices of the Staff network teams to meet beginning in July.
About Voices
Voices of the Staff is an employee engagement program. It began nearly 20 years ago thanks to President Mary Sue Coleman requesting a way to receive staff input. Staff apply to join the program and those chosen reflect a microcosm of the overall university population. This makes Voices a ready-made focus group for quick feedback on emerging issues.
Hear from current Voices members about their experiences.