Your Voice matters — words into actions

Now more than ever, Dalhousie is committed to understanding and supporting the needs of its employees — needs that are, in many cases, different and potentially greater as we continue to live and work amidst a pandemic.

As the university gets set to launch the 2021 Your Voice workplace survey on November 15, it is a good time to reflect and recognize all of the actions undertaken since the last survey.

Last year, Dalhousie released the results of its 2019 Your Voice workplace survey and the 2020 Pulse Check follow-up, which revealed a range of perspectives. Among the bright spots, faculty and staff said they felt trusted to make decisions, are personally motivated, feel that they make a positive contribution and get a sense of accomplishment from their work. However, respondents also revealed they are experiencing challenges with workload, pressure and burnout.

“After we reviewed both sets of survey data, we designed the university’s action plan and have worked with leaders over the past year to build their individual department and faculty ones,” says Janice MacInnis, manager of organizational health — a unit within Dal’s Human Resources department.

As part of the plan, Human Resources refreshed its Work Well strategy: Creating Space for Well-being, which was launched as a key action under the university’s strategic plan — Third-Century Promise. The goal of Work Well is to respond to the issues identified in the 2019 Your Voice workplace survey and Pulse Check, to reflect on current and emerging topics and trends that impact workplace wellness, and to identify strategic initiatives for furthering the university as a healthy workplace.

A highlight of some of the workplace initiatives introduced this year at the university-wide level (derived from the recommendations outlined in the 2019 Your Voice survey results) include:

• development of Guidelines for Flexible Work Arrangements to provide employees a more flexible work environment as many have returned to campus in different ways
• creation of a Separating Home and Work support group, programming and video series
• introduction of a Sleep Guide to promote the importance of sleep for one’s well-being, as well as an overall Personal Wellness Guide
• health and wellness content and programming available on the Remote Working site, Healthy Dal blog and Return to Campus site
• self-directed calendar challenges for wellness, mental health and inclusion
  
• ongoing funding of departmental initiatives through Workplace Wellness Grants
  

View the full list of recommendations and actions.

“While we have made some great steps towards addressing employees’ concerns, the Faculties, departments and community campus groups deserve special recognition for all of the innovative ways they have come together to meet employees’ needs through the pandemic, whether it’s doing online trivia games, embracing flexible ways of working, encouraging physical activity, or not scheduling meetings on certain days of the week to give employees a chance to disconnect,” says MacInnis.

“It all adds up.”

Campus success stories

“The results of the Your Voice survey helped us identify areas of focus for our faculty,” says Heather Elliott, chair of the wellness committee in the Faculty of Computer Science. “We’re looking forward to the results of the 2021 Your Voice survey to help us check that we’re on the right course.”

The Faculty’s recommendations related to five themes.  A number of them have been implemented to date, including a monthly “good news” section in Faculty Council meetings to recognize what their members are doing; the wellness committee as a standing committee of the Faculty with a dedicated budget; and ongoing development of a five-year wellness plan through consultation with faculty and staff.

In the Faculty of Management, the results have proven useful as well.

“The results of the Your Voice survey for our Faculty provided us with a jumping-off point for our Workplace Wellness Committee and Dean’s Executive team to focus on areas that needed some attention,” says Anna Cranston, assistant dean of administration jn the Faculty of Management.

Some of the initiatives that have been introduced this past year include: a Management-specific Pulse Check survey that is issued every few months, with longitudinal data measuring things like work and life balance and burnout; development of a staff forum and council which provide a framework for more regular consultation and information sharing; a and a focus on opportunities to grow a sense of community within the faculty such as hosting social events, wellness workshops, and using virtual social spaces for sharing favourite things like recipes and photos.

Read about more success stories.

2021 Your Voice survey campaign

The 2021 Your Voice survey will run November 15 – 26. Faculty and staff will receive an email directly from Narrative Research, a local survey provider, on November 15. It will be a unique link for each person and should not be shared. Check your “Other” inbox in Outlook if it doesn’t show up in your “Focused” inbox. Alternatively, paper copies of the survey will be available by contacting YourVoice@dal.ca or picking one up at Room 150 of the Henry Hicks Building.

Employees’ confidential feedback will help advance Dalhousie as a great place to work. This year is more important than ever to inform the university about what it’s doing right, where it falls short and what new opportunities it may wish to pursue.

The Your Voice survey results also help measure workplace engagement and experiences across the university’s diverse communities, which will inform Dalhousie’s equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) planning under the Inclusive Excellence pillar, as part of the university’s strategic plan.

“We have a goal to further increase participation in the survey beyond 2019’s 42 per cent response rate, so we need to hear from faculty and staff in all Faculties, departments and units to have even more confidence that the results represent the experiences of our people,” adds MacInnis.

There will be some great prizes for those who complete the survey, including Dal clothing, Beats wireless headphones, catered coffee breaks, Apple Air Pods and the grand prize, an Apple iPad mini.

Results of the 2021 survey will be shared broadly after analysis is completed in the new year.

If you have questions about the Your Voice workplace survey, please send them to YourVoice@dal.ca or visit dal.ca/YourVoice.

View the full 2019 and 2020 reports: Dal’s 2019 Your Voice workplace survey and Pulse Check report on the HR site of myDal [log-in required]

The Your Voice survey, conducted by Vendura Wellness and Narrative Research, is distributed to full-time and part-time faculty and staff. There are separate surveys designed for faculty and staff. Responses are strictly confidential and no personally identifiable information is shared.