In This Issue

• On to Invent

In August, the Steering and Project Teams will meet with the Watson Wyatt Worldwide Team to begin the Invent Phase.

The Integrated Approach
The senior officers have endorsed the recommendation to maximize the effectiveness of the reward project by creating project teams and executive sponsors for the following three areas:

• Communication
• Performance Management
• Training

Because these areas are interrelated, success in one area cannot occur without
consideration of the others. Expanding the project to include these areas indicates the university’s commitment to taking action on the key opportunities for improvement that were identified by the survey, as well as commitment to a successful rewards project. You will hear more about these other project areas in the future.

Survey Says . . .
Results from the Employee Opinion Survey will not only assist in the design of the Classified and Information Technology (IT) Compensation Plans, but will help the university address opportunities for improvement.

The following is a preliminary report of the survey. We will communicate detailed results this summer, including a breakdown of responses by employee group (classified, administrative, IT, and faculty with administrative appointments).

Employee Commitment is High
Employee commitment across all employee groups is high. This is important because employee commitment is a key driver of organizational success through employee retention and customer satisfaction. The following chart shows the university’s responses. The column on the right compares Ohio University to education and government organization norms. A norm can be defined as an average or standard response. The norms used here were taken from Watson Wyatt’s national survey database. For example, the category "Satisfaction with OU" shows that Ohio University had a 21% higher favorable response than education and government organizations.

As we position the university for continued success, we need to build upon our strong employee commitment. At the same time, it’s important to address potential areas of concern including employee retention and turnover.

• Supervisors are generally well regarded and find ways to show that they value Ohio University employees.

• Satisfaction with total compensation (pay and benefits) is above the norm for classified and administrative employees (excluding IT).

Opportunities for Improvement

• Communication - Generally, there is a lack of cascading information throughout the university. Goals and expectations are not clear to employees.

• Accountability - Employees believe that people are not held accountable for doing what they say they will do.

• Collaboration - Employees work effectively within departments, but working across departments or planning units needs improvement.

• Motivation - This area refers the university’s ability to motivate employees with extrinsic rewards (pay and benefits). There is significant room for improvement.

• Trust - Improvement in the above areas should lead to an increase in the overall trust level.