I’d like to encourage all our employees to take a few brief moments from their work day and make the time to respond to this very meaningful survey. — Dr. Andrew Agwunobi

It’s 2 ½ years now since UConn Health last surveyed its employees to gauge their engagement. With the pandemic less of a novelty than at this time last year, Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, UConn Health CEO and interim University president, is ready to bring back what had become an annual practice.

“The world’s a different place than it was when we did our last employee engagement survey,” Agwunobi says. “Given what our employees have experienced and accomplished since then, this year’s survey has added importance.”

This year’s survey opened Nov. 1 and runs through Nov. 22. Like previous years, it is a confidential online survey run by a third party, Press Ganey. Press Ganey creates a unique participation link for each employee, collects the responses, and shares only the responses — no identifiable data — with UConn Health.

“This is an opportunity to make sure that UConn Health leadership continues to hear from all of us directly,” says Lakeesha Brown, associate vice president for human resources. “Our responses will be reviewed by leadership, all the way up to Dr. Andy. Given that fact, it is especially important to make our voices heard so our leaders have the information they need to make improvements that will affect us all.”

New this year, rather than asking nurses to complete a separate survey, the annual nursing engagement survey has been folded into the employee engagement survey. The version of the employee engagement survey that goes to nurses includes 19 nursing-specific questions. There’s also a version for physicians that has five physician-specific questions.

“I am very proud of our entire nursing and advance practice staff and remain incredibly grateful for their commitment to our patients and the nursing profession,” says Chief Nursing Officer and UConn John Dempsey Hospital Chief Operating Officer Caryl Ryan. “It is important for our nurses and APPs to have a forum to anonymously express their views on present experience and use that feedback to determine where we have made progress and where we may need more focused attention.”

Each employee received an email from Press Ganey with an invitation to participate from Agwunobi, Medical Dean Dr. Bruce Liang, and Dental Dean Dr. Steven Lepowsky. The unique survey link is to ensure one response per employee; Press Ganey does not share any data specific to individual respondents. The survey is also accessible by smartphone, through the QR code on the Employee Engagement page on UConn Health Express.

This is the fourth employee engagement survey under Agwunobi’s leadership, and the first since May 2019.

“I’d like to encourage all our employees to take a few brief moments from their work day and make the time to respond to this very meaningful survey,” Agwunobi announced in a virtual town hall for employees Tuesday. “It will go a long way in helping us as an organization identify opportunities for improvement.”