- What is my role in WES?
- What is different in the 2017 survey from past offerings?
- What is the difference between this survey and UniForum?
- How is privacy being protected?
- Will unit-level survey results available again this time?
- What is our department expected to do with the results?
Please see the FAQ for faculty and staff for additional information.
What is my role in WES?
As a leader at UBC, whether in a Faculty, department or unit, it’s critical that you encourage faculty and staff in your area to participate in the survey, share and discuss the results, and take action at a local level. If your unit received a unit-level report, it’s important to share these results in a meaningful way.
What is different in the 2017 survey from past offerings?
We continue to learn and make improvements with each offering of the survey. For those who participated in the 2014 WES, you may notice the following changes this year:
- We have evolved and refined the survey questionnaire to ensure that the questions and resulting data is meaningful and relevant. This process involved consultation with faculty and staff from across the university.
- The survey can be accessed through an open link. The link is not unique for each faculty or staff member, nor is it tied to a CWL account.
- The survey is now mobile-friendly.
- Our survey consultant is TalentMap. TalentMap’s survey methodology enables us to better track progress on engagement themes over time, rather than single questions.
- We heard feedback from faculties and departments that three years is a considerable amount of time between surveys. We’re introducing pulse surveys, which are shorter versions of the WES that look at one or two themes. Faculties and departments can conduct a pulse survey to gauge whether actions taken as a result of the previous survey have had a positive impact.
What is the difference between this survey and UniForum?
The purpose of the Workplace Experiences Survey is to understand both faculty and staff experiences of UBC as a workplace. For instance, the survey includes questions related to work environment, professional growth, and health & wellbeing.
In contrast, UniForum is an annual data collection process gathering information from staff, librarians, and Extended Learning program directors to better understand, at an organizational level, how we deliver which services, where those services are, and how those services are most-effectively aligned to our academic mission so that we may enhance both the outcomes of and satisfaction with our service delivery.
How is privacy being protected?
UBC uses a third-party survey consultant, TalentMap, to administer the survey and analyze the survey data. TalentMap is based in Ottawa, Canada. All individual survey feedback will be confidential and anonymous, and survey reports will only be generated if there are 10 or more respondents. The online survey will be hosted on servers in Canada and entry of data from completed paper surveys will occur in Canada. This practice complies with Canadian privacy laws.
When will my unit receive a unit-level report?
In February-March 2018, units eligible for a unit-level report (i.e. those with ten or more respondents) will receive their reports. Reports will be available through Dean’s Offices and HR in VP portfolios. These reports will not be available online; however, all eligible units will be listed online.
To see if your unit received a report in WES 2014, visit: https://focusonpeople.ubc.ca/workplace-experiences-survey/unit-level-reports/.
What is our department expected to do with the results?
We encourage you to review your results and share them with your faculty and staff. If you would like support and guidance reviewing and interpreting your results, HR will be available to assist. We hope that departments and units use the survey results to help identify priority areas and inform their strategic planning efforts.
