Dear Colleagues,

I wanted to express my gratitude to all of you who have participated in the recent employee input sessions. As we put renewed and intentional focus on employee engagement, the HR team and I have greatly appreciated hearing from so many of you, both in person and through online input. Experiences from across all areas of the Bates community were shared and heard.

As I wrote in April, these input sessions were created so that we can better understand which of our current practices and policies promote positive employee engagement and where there is work to be done. We are deeply committed to sharing what we learn and what next steps are as this process continues to unfold and take shape.

The input sessions have concluded, and we will summarize actionable findings as soon as we are able. However, as we close out the academic year, I want to convey some of what we’ve learned. Approximately 200 colleagues, representing a wide variety of departments, participated in the in-person sessions or submitted input online. A range of topics, perspectives, and areas of concern and opportunity were brought forward – often reinforcing one another, but also highlighting how employee experiences and needs can differ.

The following topics have emerged with some frequency in the input sessions: communication, compensation, consistent ways for staff to provide feedback and input into decisions, and seeking a greater sense of belonging to Bates beyond one’s department/office. These are broad themes and not fully representative of all the input we’ve received. Within each of these, more nuanced experiences and specific challenges and opportunities will become apparent as we fully analyze the results of the input sessions.

To ensure that we capture the thoughts and ideas of each employee at the college, the next phase of work will be for us to identify an external consultant to design and conduct an in-depth employee survey to distribute to staff in the fall. The survey will expand on themes identified through the input sessions and the results will inform tangible action plans. Given the unique characteristics of faculty and staff work, faculty will be surveyed using a separate instrument that allows us to benchmark against previous faculty surveys. The Dean of Faculty will communicate more about that survey in the coming months.

Employee voices are central to this process, so we are also establishing an employee engagement working group that will:

— Advise HR and Senior Staff on the goals and scope of the staff survey
— Vet potential consultants for the staff survey
— Use staff survey results, input session data, and best practices to inform the development of goals and priorities

We anticipate this group will begin meeting every two weeks for 90 minutes this summer and continue through January 2024. We invite staff and faculty to nominate themselves or a colleague to serve on this working group board by completing this form by June 16. Human Resources will select membership with the goal of having a diversity of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences in the working group, which will include both staff and faculty representation. The working group will ensure consistency across both the staff and faculty surveys where appropriate.

As I have shared previously, our goal is to establish clear, consistent, and enduring ways for every employee to be seen and heard; to be provided opportunities to develop knowledge, skills, and advance career interests; and to find purpose in our work and see the connection between that work and the college’s mission.

If you have questions or thoughts, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly: hburnell@bates.edu.

Sincerely,

Hope