Employee Engagement Survey
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To our Penn State colleagues,
Thank you for contributing your thoughts to the 2025 Staff Job Satisfaction and Engagement Survey. Our strong participation rate shows just how much you care about this community.
The results provided on this website give us a direct look at how you are thinking and feeling when you come to work. They highlight our strengths and show us areas of opportunity to improve the lived work experience for our valued staff members. We are dedicated to keeping both of these areas in mind as we move forward.
Your feedback and engagement are essential in making Penn State the best it can be for all employees. We will be working over the coming months to create plans to build on our existing strengths and address areas in need of improvement, and we encourage you to join us in this very important effort.
Vice President for Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer
About the survey
In February 2025, Penn State launched a job satisfaction and engagement survey for all full-time staff, technical service employees, administrators, academic administrators and executives. The survey is a commitment to the future. The results are helping leaders across Penn State to identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement, to make Penn State the best it can be as an employer and as a place where individuals can build rewarding, impactful careers.
The Penn State Job Satisfaction and Engagement Survey was conducted by ModernThink, an independent management consulting firm focusing on workplace quality in higher education.
The survey covered topics of employee engagement and satisfaction in categories such as:
- Benefits
- Collaboration
- Communication
- Confidence in senior leadership
- Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging
- Job satisfaction and support
- Performance management
- Professional development
- Wellbeing
- Supervisor effectiveness
- University mission and pride
The survey collected feedback from more than 7,000 Penn Staters, with more than 52% of staff responding.
Methodology
ModernThink sent a confidential, individualized survey link to the Penn State email address of each participant. The survey responses were processed by ModernThink, and individual answers were not shared with Penn State.
The University is committed to the confidentiality of survey results. ModernThink will not share identifiable information or raw survey data with Penn State.
The survey was distributed to more than 13,834 employees across the University, and there was a 52% response rate. The survey was sent to:
- Executives
- Administrators
- Academic Administrators
- Staff
- Technical Service
Overview of the results
An overview of the main takeaways from the 2025 Job Satisfaction and Engagement Survey is available below, as well as on Penn State News. Human Resources leadership also hosted an information session to discuss the results, and a recording of the livestream is available for the community to review.
A more detailed breakdown of feedback is available on the Results page.
Where you see strengths
Survey respondents highlighted a number of areas where they believe the University is doing well.
Community & Belonging
Penn Staters who answered the survey responded positively about their work environment in the following areas:
- I know where to go to report misconduct.
- 89% agree | 7% neutral | 4% disagree
- In my department, we welcome diversity in all of its forms.
- +86% agree | 10% neutral | 4% disagree
- Overall, my department is a good place to work.
- 78% agree | 16% neutral | 5% disagree
Professional fulfillment
Respondents to the 2025 Job Satisfaction and Engagement Survey gave positive feedback regarding their job’s purpose and meaning:
- I understand how my job contributes to this institution’s mission.
- 88% agree | 9% neutral | 3% disagree
- I am given the responsibility and freedom to do my job.
- 83% agree | 12% neutral | 5% disagree
- The work I do is meaningful to me.
- 81% agree | 14% neutral | 4% disagree
Trust in unit leadership
Staff showed strong trust and confidence in direct supervisors, particularly in the following areas:
- My supervisor supports my efforts to balance my work and personal life.
- 86% agree | 9% neutral | 5% disagree
- My supervisor shows genuine interest in my well-being.
- 83% agree | 11% neutral | 7% disagree
- My supervisor does what they say they are going to do.
- 76% agree | 16% neutral | 8% disagree
- My supervisor is consistent and fair.
- 76% agree | 15% neutral | 9% disagree
Suggested opportunities for improvement
The survey revealed multiple areas where Penn State staff see challenges.
Confidence in senior leadership
Survey respondents expressed a desire for more clarity and action from senior leadership at Penn State:
- I believe senior leadership will take action based on the results of this survey.
- 30% agree | 29% neutral | 41% disagree
- Senior leadership provides a clear direction for this institution’s future.
- 38% agree | 32% neutral | 29% disagree
- Senior leadership communicates openly about important matters.
- 38% agree | 35% neutral | 27% disagree
Institutional developments
Staff also showed a desire for more opportunities to involve themselves in institutional planning:
- There are sufficient opportunities to participate in institutional planning.
- 30% agree | 35% neutral | 35% disagree
- There’s a sense that we’re all on the same team at this institution.
- 33% agree | 35% neutral | 32% disagree
Recognition and compensation
University programs for recognition and compensation were cited as areas of concern:
- Our recognition and awards programs are meaningful to me.
- 34% agree | 32% neutral | 34% disagree
- I am paid fairly for my work.
- 41% agree | 26% neutral | 33% disagree
Performance reviews
Penn State staff also expressed dissatisfaction with the performance review process and the ability to adequately assess performance:
- Our review process accurately measures my job performance.
- 40% agree | 29% neutral | 31% disagree
- Promotions in my department are based on a person’s performance.
- 43% agree | 28% neutral | 29% disagree
- Issues of low performance are addressed in my department.
- 44% agree | 29% neutral | 27% disagree
Our Progress
Even prior to the launch of this survey, leaders in Penn State Human Resources have worked to gather feedback and enact changes to improve employee satisfaction and have launched multiple programs and initiatives in response:
- Added health benefits: We continue to add health benefits for our employees, including the Hinge and Scripta benefits you may have heard about earlier this summer.
- Shifting performance review timelines: Earlier this year, we shifted the performance review cycle to align it more closely with the fiscal year.
- Performance management: We recently concluded a follow-up survey for staff members and managers focused on performance management and will take that information to inform focus groups in November.
What comes next
Penn State is using this valuable feedback to drive decision-making and implement changes that create a welcoming and supportive environment. Over the coming months:
- Unit leaders have been tasked with developing action plans by the week of Dec. 1 to address two to three specific challenge areas within their teams. [Update: The deadline for action plans has been extended to Jan. 31, 2026.]
- University leadership also will focus on improving the performance management and confidence in senior leadership aspects highlighted in the survey.
A follow-up survey is planned to assess progress in 2027.
Timeline
- Spring 2025: The job satisfaction and engagement survey launched Feb. 10 and allowed two weeks for participants to complete the survey.
- Summer 2025: Penn State received results from ModernThink.
- Fall 2025: Penn State will release public results and additional information.
- Early 2026: Unit leaders develop action plans to address challenge areas revealed by survey results by Jan. 31
- 2026: Updates and announcements will occur as needed throughout the year.
- Spring 2027: ModernThink conducts follow-up survey to measure progress.
Contact
Have a question about the ModernThink staff satisfaction survey? Contact ModernThink Senior Project Manager Liz Flood at 888-684-4658 or lflood@modernthink.com.
Additional questions can be directed to Penn State Human Resources by submitting an inquiry.