University to initiate project to assess staff work environment
November 14, 2013
Human Resources has partnered with two Purdue faculty members to launch a long-term initiative with the goal of understanding and improving the quality of the work environment for staff. Feedback and participation from staff will be crucial to the success and impact of this project.
The Quality of Work Environment Initiative will consist of four phases to be carried out over the next 18 months:
* In the first phase, occurring in December and January, a limited number of focus groups will take place around campus to hear from Purdue staff about the major issues they face. Invitations to participate will come from the Administrative and Professional Staff Advisory Committee (APSAC) and the Clerical and Service Staff Advisory Committee (CSSAC) with follow-up communication from the project organizers. Those wishing to volunteer may email workqual@purdue.edu to express their interest.
* The second phase will include a comprehensive survey of all nonacademic staff, aimed at understanding employee perceptions of their work environment.
* Phase three will involve the creation of training modules for a pilot group of staff supervisors, focused on tools for better understanding staff needs in order to create supportive work environments.
* The final phase will be a second survey for some Purdue staff to both understand the Purdue work environment and evaluate the training modules, with the goal of determining the most effective ways to enrich the work lives of Purdue staff.
The advisory committee for this initiative is being led by Ellen Ernst Kossek, the Basil S. Turner Professor of Management at Krannert and research director at the Butler Center for Leadership Excellence, and Deborah Rupp, the William C. Byham Chair in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Committee members include representatives from APSAC, CSSAC and Human Resources. The committee will ensure that the initiative is developed and customized to reflect the issues most important to Purdue staff.
Additional information will be released after each of the project phases. Questions, comments and suggestions about the initiative can be sent confidentially to workqual@purdue.edu.
