As President Kennedy announced, the 2023 Employee Engagement Survey will be open from November 21 to December 5 an opportunity for Niagara College faculty and staff to share their valued insights on the college’s workplace culture and find new opportunities for improvement.
Why does NC measure employee engagement?
Gathering feedback on our workplace culture has been regular practice since 2006 and helps us make significant strides in accomplishing our shared goal of student success. Your feedback year-over-year helps us in our commitment to continuous improvement.
How is the feedback used?
Employee feedback from the last survey in 2021 informed departmental plans that have had a remarkable impact, playing a role in our continuous improvement to provide the best services and supports for NC students that have resulted in investment in our people, systems and infrastructure
Feedback from 2021 in action
On a broad level, NC employees expressed a desire for better recognition to feel more deeply connected to our organization.
Your feedback from the 2021 survey informed not just the direction of the Strategic Plan, but the actions being used to guide planning. NC adopted an inclusive and consultative approach to other major initiatives like the Master Plan and EDI Blueprint.
The NC ExperieNCe Awards – an expansion of our Years of Service program – is a direct response to employee feedback to strengthen our commitment to recognition. The new program aims to be more inclusive, recognizing employees for their contributions in any role they have served at NC, be it full-time, part-time, short-term, and contract employment. At Niagara Day in October, over 400 employees were recognized with an NC ExperieNCe Award.
The College also invested in our Tuition Assistance Program to expand eligibility, increase funding and flexibility in support of lifelong learning. Non-credit certificates, micro-credentials, and professional designations are now eligible credits and funding includes costs for books and exam fees. We also added another application period to make the process more accessible.
In addition to supporting these key priorities like professional development and employee recognition, the College is investing in tools and resources to enrich the teaching and learning environment. The College’s new Learning Management System, D2L’s Brightspace, is a response to that need and was selected through comprehensive consultations with faculty, staff and students.
In the 2021 survey, faculty and staff identified the need for additional resources to support student mental health. To deepen our focus on student mental health, the College is investing in the development of a comprehensive Mental Health and Well-being Framework, slated for completion in fall 2024.
College-wide, NC has placed greater emphasis on the communications of College events, news and activities. And at the departmental level, teams have taken steps to improve interdepartmental communication, actioned changes to their process, and engaged in learning opportunities to advance their work.
Within specific departments and schools, actions have also been taken. For instance, staff within the FMCS team expressed an interest in improved information-sharing to be better informed of departmental activities. They instituted a weekly internal newsletter with information on the work projects scheduled for the coming week.
Employees in Academic Advising and Career Services were nearly unanimous in their interest to weave a more equitable, diverse and inclusive approach into their work with students. They took part in various EDI workshops that gave them actionable strategies to improve how they support both students doing co-ops and placements and the employers they work with. The team made changes to their policies and processes to ensure a more equitable and accessible approach. Learn more here.
Each year, feedback from employees helps to advance our efforts for continuous improvement and growth. We hope you will share your insights in the 2023 Employee Engagement Survey to help improve our workplace culture and advance our ability to support students.
