Staff Council Corner
by Susan Thompson

Staff Council developed a survey in the spring of 2002 to assess staff satisfaction with the Council and to identify issues important to SWT staff that we could address in the future. The survey was distributed to all regular staff members (n=1,508) in April. The majority (n=1,265) of staff received an e-mail invitation to complete a web-based version of the survey, while 243 staff members without e-mail accounts or access to a computer at work received a paper copy of the survey. Surveys were completed by 640 staff members for a response rate of 42 percent. Results of the survey are posted on the Staff Council website at http://www.swt.edu/StaffCouncil.

One immediate improvement that Staff Council will make based on survey results is to change the way we communicate with staff. Although 82 percent of staff agrees that Staff Council addresses issues of importance to staff, only 59 percent feel informed about Staff Council's activities. Staff Council has focused on using its website as a main source of communication, but 64 percent of staff have never visited it. Staff members tell us they prefer to receive information about Staff Council's activities through e-mail and the Human Resources Bulletin, so we will focus more on these methods of communication in the future.

In the survey, we asked staff to identify the top three issues that should be addressed by Staff Council. Compensation and benefits clearly emerged as the most important issue, mentioned by 49 percent of staff. Parking was mentioned by 10 percent of staff and seven percent identified issues related to holidays, time off, and compensatory time as important issues to be addressed by the Council. We will continue to do our best to ensure the needs and opinions of staff are considered when decisions are made regarding these and other important issues.

Other items on the survey addressed employment and compensation issues, the Wellness Program, and the proposed name change to Texas State University. Staff Council will continue to review the results of these items and will use the information in planning future activities.

Staff Council meets on the second Tuesday of each month from 10:00 a.m. until noon, usually in JCK 460. Information about Staff Council and upcoming meetings can be found at our web site (http://www.swt.edu/StaffCouncil).