Expanding the culture of support and professional growth at UNT

At a January 2018 town hall conversation with UNT System Chancellor Lesa Roe and Board of Regent Laura Wright, UNT President Neal Smatresk discussed the goal to make UNT a Best Place to Work  -- a goal that will guide the university toward becoming a more efficient and effective place to work.

The goal, he said, should be reached by supporting the professional growth of faculty and staff, recognizing their accomplishments and seeking their feedback on the university’s mission and goals. Maintaining a culture of support and caring is vital to sustaining the successes of UNT.

The university’s participation in the Gallup Q12 Employee Engagement survey is one tool used to gain feedback from faculty and staff, and to guide UNT’s next steps in improving a culture of support and professional growth.

This year, there were nearly 1,000 more responses to the Gallup survey over the 2017 results and the university saw improved overall scores.

Read President Smatresk’s note to UNT faculty and staff about the 2018 results.

UNT's Gallup results

To review the 2018 Gallup survey results for UNT:

  • Use your EUID and password on the left side of this page to log in
  • Once logged in, you'll see a drop-down menu from the Employee Engagement menu at the top of this page
  • Click on the link to UNT Gallup results
  • You may also choose the Gallup survey archive link to view the 2017 Gallup survey information and results

Next steps: how you can help make a difference to our employees

One of the most important things that UNT can do for its employees is provide them with a culture that stresses the importance of recognition, praise and professional growth. It's important for people to hear a "Thank you" for a job well done, but praise goes beyond that. Sincere, genuine praise lets employees know exactly what they are doing that is appreciated. It helps them identify their most valuable skills. It gives them confidence. It shows them that the university appreciates their problem-solving and customer service skills. It lets them know that they are valued.

Remember, praise and recognition are important for the entire team — between supervisors and employees, and between co-workers. 

 Engagement resources for supervisors:

  • Supervisor engagement toolkits in English and Spanish, along with other UNT System resources can be found here.
  • To provide regular feedback to employees, supervisors can use this mid-year feedback tool. This is less formal than the annual review and meant to start a productive conversation between supervisors and employees. The procedure can be found here. The form is available in either a color-coded tool or a numeric tool. Supervisors should select the tool that best meets the needs of their area and give feedback to all employees to maintain consistency.
  • Talent Management Training Specialist Amanda Fisher offers continuing sessions of Owning Your Own Engagement. Engagement is the key ingredient to overall well-being and long term success in the workplace. In the session, teams explore the importance of engagement, create awareness of their own unique personal connection to engagement and identify strategies for increasing engagement levels. To schedule a session or find out more, email Amanda Fisher.
  • Wondering just how meaningful "thank yous" really are to employees? Here's one perspective on why they work and how to do them.

Engagement resources for everyone:

  • Quick tips for praise and recognition can be found here. This document has options for supervisors and coworkers.
  • Looking for a way to recognize people that doesn't cost too much money? This document gives you 101 ways to do just that.
  • Keeping with the minimal cash but maximum recognition in 101 ways theme, you can find more ideas here and here.

Have you found a successful way to share praise and recognition with employees here at UNT? We would like to share it on this website and across campus! Email us at engagement@unt.edu.

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