Feedback sparks action: Faculty and Staff Experience Survey results to be shared at Sept. 22 town hall

George Mason University administered the Faculty and Staff Experience Survey this spring, and survey feedback is already shaping both institution-wide priorities and local conversations within schools, colleges, and units, ensuring employees can see how their input informs decisions at multiple levels of the university.

The full survey results will be shared with the university community at a town hall with President Gregory Washington on Tuesday, Sept. 22, from 1–2:15 p.m. in The Hub ballroom on the Fairfax Campus. The town hall will also be livestreamed via Zoom.

The Faculty and Staff Engagement team in Human Resources has been working with university leadership to analyze the survey results and help supervisors understand the data and create action plans for their teams.

"Our faculty and staff have given us something incredibly valuable: a clear picture of their experience at George Mason and a roadmap for where we can improve,” said Chris Ackerman, vice president for Human Resources and chief human resources officer. “The most important part of an engagement survey is what happens after the results come in. We are committed to turning this feedback into action at the university, unit, and team levels and creating a workplace where every Patriot can do their best work and feel connected to our shared mission.”

Preliminary results show improvements in employee engagement, development opportunities, and connection to the university's mission. The survey also identified opportunities to improve role clarity, workplace resources, and employee recognition.

Supervisors with five or more direct reports who completed the survey can already view team results in the Gallup Access portal. Team and unit results are compared with university results in each individual report.

Preliminary takeaways from the Faculty and Staff Experience Survey

The number of engaged employees at George Mason went up to 44%. This is a 5% increase from the 2024 survey and is significantly above the national average of 31%.

George Mason had its highest participation rate to date with 47% of employees completing the survey. Completion rates varied by employee category:

• Administrative and professional faculty: 79% 
• Classified staff: 70% 
• Instructional faculty: 56% 
• Research faculty: 25%
• Adjunct faculty: 18%
• Non-student wage employees: 17%
• Student employees: 16%

This year, George Mason is benchmarking its results against other R1 institutions, rather than the general postsecondary/higher ed database, in order to evaluate the data in comparison to more similar, peer institutions.

George Mason showed meaningful improvement among Gallup Q12 employee engagement questions in the following areas: “There is someone at work who encourages my development”; “The mission or purpose of my institution makes me feel my job is important”; and “I have a best friend at work.” 

Improvements in areas such as employee development and connection to institutional purpose may reflect increased investments in supervisor development, workplace coaching, onboarding resources, and professional development opportunities.

“Human Resources has delivered team retreats focused on communication, trust, team dynamics, and leadership,” said Andrew Lane, director of performance management and employee engagement. “Supervisory and leadership development continues to be a key priority. Over the past two years, 266 supervisors have participated in programs such as Supervisor Bootcamp, the Emerging Leaders Supervisor Series, and the Leadership Legacy Program.”

Additional resources have been put toward improving the employee onboarding process, a Workplace Coaching Program, and George Mason’s signature in-house professional development event, Faculty-Staff Enrichment Day. 

Opportunities for improvement

George Mason’s survey results revealed areas benchmarked as low in comparison with other institutions: “I know what is expected of me at work”; “I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right”; and “In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.”

Based on these findings, the university will focus engagement efforts during the coming year on role clarity, ensuring employees have the resources they need to do their jobs effectively, and workplace recognition.

Because recognition emerged as an opportunity area, the university will help ensure more employees receive meaningful feedback and appreciation for their contributions. Human Resources has set a goal of increasing use of central reward and recognition tools by 10% during the 2026–27 academic year.

“To enhance awareness of the programs we offer, we will host training on workplace appreciation to promote a culture of appreciation amongst colleagues, not just from the top down,” said Lane. The team will also consider ways to expand recognition programs.

What happens at the team level

Gallup research has found that 70% of the variance in engagement on a team is related to supervisory relationships. To foster employee engagement, supervisors should feel empowered to explore the survey results as a starting point for discussions with their teams. 

The Faculty and Staff Experience Survey Supervisor Toolkit has been updated to reflect this year’s results and includes guidance on reviewing data and making positive enhancements to the workplace. 

Human Resources teams are available to meet with supervisors to discuss results, facilitate team discussions, and support unit and team action planning. 

Additional self-guided resources include Gallup Access recordings found in MasonLEAPS and a Q12 article series.

While survey results help inform university-wide decisions, day-to-day interactions with supervisors play a major role in employee engagement. Actions at the unit and team levels also shape the individual experiences of employees.  

“How we lead and support faculty and staff shows up in how students experience this place,” said Lane. “An employee who understands their role and gets real feedback does better work, and here, that means better advising, better teaching, and better support for students.”

Faculty and staff are invited to hear the full Faculty and Staff Experience Survey results and action plan at the town hall with President Gregory Washington on Tuesday, Sept. 22, from 1–2:15 p.m. in The Hub ballroom on the Fairfax Campus. The town hall will also be livestreamed via Zoom.