Staff Council targets August for systemwide benefits survey

The University of Colorado Staff Council (UCSC) moved one step closer to completing the final draft of a survey on work and benefits, which it has developed to gauge how staff members currently use – or don’t use – benefits and why.

Council members, during their regular meeting May 19 at CU-Boulder, reviewed each question for the survey, which is scheduled to be emailed to all staff members in mid-August.

UCSC hopes the data gleaned from the survey – which is campus specific – will provide information to help them better represent and advocate for staff wants and needs.

Some survey questions will focus on university benefits that are offered to staff and which ones they currently use or plan to take advantage of in the future.

For instance, several items in the survey address the university’s tuition waiver benefit for employees and their dependents, a benefit that varies for each campus and has been a topic of discussion for governance groups and CU administration for years. UCSC previously has advocated for a benefit that is consistent across all campuses. Lack of funding is one of the factors preventing an evolution of the benefit.

Council members have been working on the survey for several months. Council Chair Denise Thomas said questions were pared down to those that are “actionable” or will give council a better understanding of which benefits are more important to staff members.

While most of the questions ask respondents to either agree or disagree with statements, many allow respondents to comment on their experiences.

Council will evaluate respondent answers and prepare their 2016-17 agenda based on the answers. The results also will be shared with administration at each campus.