At his September 2015 State of the University Address, President Fuchs announced a university-wide faculty and staff climate survey. The UF Faculty and Staff Climate Survey was available for completion from October 27 through November 27 of 2015 and was designed to help determine how well the university fosters an overall sense of belonging for its faculty and staff while leveraging the uniqueness of the people who work here. Creating an inclusive climate allows all of us to do our best work and together shape a better UF.
The UF Faculty and Staff Climate Survey built on the work of the UF President’s Council on Diversity, the Faculty Senate, and a long list of other campus participants, and it was informed by comparable work done at peer institutions. Based on the results of this survey, university leadership identified action items to influence our workplace practices, interactions, and/or general environment. Some outcomes of these action items include:
Inclusiveness
- Added a Chief Diversity Officer and campus diversity liaisons designed to identify and share best practices to create a more inclusive environment
- Launched Gators Together, a robust professional development program to address, among other topics, unconscious and implicit bias, micro-aggressions and affirmations, bullying and civility
Professional Advancement
- Mapped current staff jobs to a career framework to help identify how staff may advance at UF
- Introduced an aligned and contemporary approach to performance management that focuses on fostering high performance (UF Engaged)
Respect
- Expanded the university’s ombuds program to include staff for improved problem-solving
- Improved onboarding process; Experience UF program also is for new faculty and professionals, aimed at creating a sense of belonging
- Expanded staff service recognition program
Equity
- Mapped all staff salaries to market reference points and shared with key leaders prior to 2019 university-wide increases to support market and merit pay adjustments. Concluded an OFCCP audit, including compensation, that showed full compliance
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