Engagement Survey

We partner with the trusted independent research organization Gallup Inc. to host a brief, annual, voluntary survey that provides an opportunity for us to identify our strengths and improvement areas as a workplace, towards improving our own work lives, those of our colleagues and UCSF overall.

UCSF is committed to this survey as an ongoing opportunity for all staff to help make positive changes in their workplace. UCSF's senior leaders believe in the value of the survey and take the results very seriously. With years of responses collected at UCSF, we have meaningful data to guide our work.

Engagement Ambassadors Managers Events Strengths Action Planning

Survey Measures

Gallup’s internationally-renowned research has identified 12 questions about engagement that indicate a high-performing work environment, known as the “Q12.” Particular wording is used, such as “I have a best friend at work,” because research shows that the specific language reveals qualities that differentiate teams on critical outcomes such as productivity, safety and retention.

GROWTH: How do I grow?

TEAMWORK: Do I belong?

INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION: What do I give?

BASIC NEEDS: What do I get?

Additionally, our UCSF staff engagement survey asks data-driven items tailored toward key UCSF priorities:

Engagement Survey Additional Measures: Accountability, Belonging, Wellness, Recommend UCSF, Patient Safety

ACCOUNTABILITY: assessing action planning effectiveness of a team

RECOMMEND UCSF as a place to work and get care: Net promoter

BELONGING: one of the ways the UCSF understands and measures staff experiences of inclusion and equity

I know where to find the info and resources I need to help me do my job effectively.
There is a clearly defined path to growth and development in my role.
My manager or supervisor serves as a strong advocate for our unit/department.
My manager or supervisor is consistently trying to help me progress in my role.
At work, I am respected for who I am as a person.
I have the same opportunities for advancement as other employees at my organization with similar experience and qualifications.
For people managers only:
I feel prepared to have meaningful conversations about race and equity with my team.

Learn more about our Belonging Index.

INTENT TO STAY, BURNOUT, & WELLNESS: understanding what keeps team members anchored to UCSF, why they might leave, and what their workload feels like

PATIENT EXPERIENCE & CULTURE OF PATIENT SAFETY: asked of only certain UCSF Health and Clinical Staff

How would you rate your unit on patient safety?
Problems often occur in the exchange of information across your hospital unit.
Important patient care information is often lost during shift changes.
The actions of hospital management show that patient safety is a top priority.
Our procedures and systems are good at preventing errors from happening.
In this unit, we discuss ways to prevent errors from happening again.
We are informed about errors that happen in this unit.
We are given feedback about changes put into place based on event reports.
When a lot of work needs to be done quickly, we work together as a team to get the work done.
When one area in this unit gets really busy, others help out.

OPEN ENDED: “What can UCSF do to make this an even better place to work?”

Responses to all questions are confidential, combined with comments from at least five respondents by Gallup and reported to UCSF exactly as written.

Survey Distribution FAQs

Why should I participate in the survey?

Sharing your thoughts about your work helps drive real change. It is one of the best ways we have to voice our opinions confidentially with the goal of improving our own work lives, those of our colleagues and UCSF overall. The survey is also an investment in us as staff to ensure we have what we need to be successful. We really hope you will express your opionions and help make a difference in your workplace through this voluntary survey.

Who is invited to the survey? Should we alter who has been included (such as for new hires, separations, or transfers)?

All UCSF Campus and Health staff in payroll are invited. Some short-term and part-time staff, as well as faculty and non-faculty academics are not invited.
Benioff Children’s Hospitals (San Francisco & Oakland) and UCSF Benioff Children’s Physicians are invited.
Newly hired staff who have tenure of less than 3 months at the time of the survey launch are not invited, but will be invited to the following year's survey and will have the opportunity to participate in their team action-planning after the survey results are released. Although we understand the desire to include new staff, we want to be sure to collect meaningful survey data from staff with experience in their role and department.
For separations and leaves - UCSF HR works with Gallup to remove any employees who separate from UCSF between roster submission and survey open - these changes to the roster will occur during the final week of the survey, and may effect your team's survey participation rate. An employee active at any point during the survey open period is eligible to participate (even if it is only for the first day of the survey), so Gallup cannot remove participants from the results after-the-fact.
If your department or supervisor recently changed, this should not affect your response - think of yourself in your current work environment when you take the survey, regardless of who will receive the data.

Is my response confidential? Will my manager be able to figure out how I responded to the survey?

The independent research organization Gallup Inc. administers the UCSF Staff Engagement Survey according to strict confidentiality policies. Gallup has been around for more than 70 years, known and trusted around the world for conducting polls and research-based consulting. At no time will Gallup share data with UCSF in a way that would directly connect you to your responses.

Gallup NEVER shares the origins of individual feedback with UCSF or an affiliate, not even with senior leaders or managers. All results are reported at the team level, grouped when there are five or more responses -- if there are fewer than five responses to any given item, the responses will not be shared directly and will roll up to the higher level team. Gallup experience has shown that when there are five respondents in a group, it is very difficult to figure out one person’s answers.

Variables such as age, gender, ethnicity and race are considered private workplace variables, so team managers do not have access to that level of survey report detail. Other categories (such as primary work location) are not private, so managers will be able to look at reports by those details. Again, all results are grouped by 5 or more respondents, so no individual's survey answers can be singled out.

How can I take the survey? What if I haven't received my email invitation to the survey?

Check your email for your personalized link.
Staff receive an email from Gallup on the survey open date, plus periodic email reminders throughout the survey open period. Do NOT forward this unique link or ask others for their personal survey link! You may want to check your "spam" or "junk" mailbox for messages sent from the vendor Gallup [email protected].

Alternately, staff may login to UCSF’s Gallup Access (via MyAccess) to take the survey.

The survey is available in English, Spanish and Mandarin via computer or mobile browser.

Please note: newly hired staff who have tenure of less than 3 months at the time of the survey launch are not invited to this year's survey, but will be invited to the following year's survey. Some short-term and part-time staff are also not invited to the survey.

If made a mistake on my survey, can I retake it?

Who's on my team?