How long will the survey take to complete? Should I take it during work time?

The survey will take less than twenty minutes to complete, and you should take it during paid working hours.

Is the survey voluntary or mandatory?

The survey is voluntary (not required) but all faculty, staff, officers of administration, and graduate employees are strongly encouraged to complete the survey. Completing the survey means that you are voicing your opinions and, as a result, you are actively participating in creating a supportive and productive workplace. The survey is a jumping-off point for a conversation, and we need as many voices as possible in that conversation. 

Why do I need an access code to participate in the survey?

All survey participants receive a randomly generated unique access code. Gallup creates and distributes the access codes. No one knows anyone else’s access code; this ensures your responses are confidential. The access code also ensures that each person can take the survey only once and that Gallup will be able to aggregate the data for each workgroup in the organization.

What is the cutoff date to have an active position in Banner in order to participate in the survey?

Employees need to have an active position in Banner by January 15, 2026 to participate in the survey, regardless of their actual hire/start date.

How is this survey different from the 2022 IDEAL Climate Survey?

The 2022 IDEAL Climate Survey focused on climate at the institutional or university level, helping us understand broad patterns related to inclusion, belonging, and the overall workplace environment. In contrast, the 2026 employee engagement survey is designed to look more closely at engagement at the department, unit, and/or team level.

The goal of the current survey is to provide supervisors and teams with a practical entry point for conversations about day-to-day work experiences. Team- and unit-level response summaries will be shared to support discussion, reflection, and action planning. By focusing on areas that workgroups can influence directly, the survey is intended to help supervisors and employees identify strengths, address challenges, and take concrete steps to build connection, trust, and engagement in their work together.

Some of the questions are the same in both surveys; see Will the university compare the results of this survey to results from the 2022 climate survey? for more information.

Who will see my responses?

Gallup administers the survey and uses specific rules to ensure confidentiality of individual responses. The university receives results aggregated by team, division or college, or institution depending and will not see individual responses. Supervisors will not see their team-level data unless at least five direct reports responded to the survey.

Can the university identify me from my responses?

No. The reports the UO will receive contain results by groups only, and Gallup does not generate reports for groups without at least five people who answered the survey items.

If I don't know how to interpret a survey question, what should I do?

There is no right or wrong way to interpret the survey questions. What each question means to you depends on your role and what is important to you in your role. For example, if you aren’t sure whether a question is asking about the university as a whole, your department, or a specific team, respond about the level of the organization that feels the most relevant to you.

Managers and unit heads should not interpret the questions for you.

If different people in the same unit interpret items differently, that’s okay. When your unit has follow-up discussions after the survey, you can talk about what each question means to you. However, if you have multiple positions at the university or have had multiple positions over time, see the next question. 

When I answer the survey questions, should I be thinking of my department/unit, or the university as a whole?

For many of the questions, you should respond for the level of the institution that feels most relevant to you. However:

• Questions that refer to the institution are about your experience with the University of Oregon as a whole.
• Questions that refer to your unit or department are about your experience at that level.

The rest of your responses should be about whichever level feels most relevant to you: your team, your unit, and/or the university as a whole.

I have held multiple positions at the university over time, or have recently changed jobs at the university. Should my answers reflect my current position, or my overall experience since I began work at the UO?

Whether you have been with the UO or in your current role for two months or ten-plus years, you should consider and respond based on your current work environment.

Will the university compare the results of this survey to results from the 2022 climate survey?

Yes, for the questions that were asked in both surveys. We will receive and share comparison data for the 2022 climate survey and the 2026 employee engagement survey. These comparisons will be available at the university level, as well as at the division, school, and college levels.

How will we see the survey results?

Individual managers and supervisors will receive the results and share them with their teams.

Why does the survey ask whether I have a "best friend at work?" What does "best friend" mean in this context?

Gallup’s research shows that no other wording of this question is as predictive of employee engagement as “I have a best friend at work.” People who agree with the statement are more likely to be highly engaged employees than those who do not, and they are also more likely to be highly engaged employees than people who agree with statements like “I have a good friend at work,” or “I have a close friend at work.”

Why might this be? Think about the people you consider your friends, at work or outside of work. You like them and enjoy being around them. Now think about someone you consider a best friend. In addition to being a friend, this person probably shares many of your values, supports you when you’re stressed, and watches out for you. Most of all, you have a high level of trust with each other. When you have a colleague like this at work, whether you consider them a friend outside of work or not, you’re more likely to feel confident, productive, and engaged. 

What if our workgroup does not have enough responses to receive our own results report?

If a workgroup does not have at least five people who responded to the survey, the group will not receive its own results. That workgroup’s responses will be included in the report for the next level up. Teams are encouraged to use the level-up information as a starting point for discussions about their workplace.

What if the members of our workgroup change after we take the survey?

The survey is a snapshot in time, designed to spark conversation, not an end in itself. It's normal for employees to come and go from teams; the survey is not about that, but about overall team or unit culture. Even if the members of your team have changed, it's important to have the conversations and engage in post-survey engagement action planning.