Re: Help Shape How We Work at UC Merced
To: All employees
May 17, 2022
Dear colleagues,

As we move forward with our campus’ strategic plan - centered on our mission of equity and a culture of respect, student success, and advancing research - it will be critical for us to consider how we work to advance our mission and our strategic plan.

Even prior to the pandemic, UC Merced’s workforce was dispersed – meaning our organization works across remote and on-site locations. However, the last two years materially expanded our understanding of what can be done using remote or hybrid work modalities and our employees gained experience with how different modes could impact their productivity and job satisfaction. We are eager to learn from our employees to inform a more deliberate and equitable dispersed workforce that enhances our students, faculty, and staff experiences here at UC Merced.

We are seeking feedback from all managers, supervisors, and staff regarding their experiences and professional judgements about what circumstances best support their work. We are asking that those staff use the How We Work tool to submit confidential feedback, which takes about  10-15 minutes to complete. Submissions will be collected through Monday, June 13.
The Value of Your Feedback
Your feedback is essential for understanding the on-the-ground knowledge you have for your individual work and the broader work of your team to deliver services. By sharing this knowledge, we can embark on learning as an organization how to improve our student, faculty, and staff experience. We hope you find this feedback opportunity to be a valuable place to share your voice in shaping how we work.

How the Feedback Will Be Used
Insights gathered from the feedback will be used to inform a consistent approach for the enhancement of work modality guidelines based on the work a position performs and the experience we strive to deliver to our campus community.

While the matters addressed in the feedback survey are subject to bargaining for represented employees, represented staff, at their sole discretion, may complete the feedback survey or provide feedback directly to their exclusive representative. The intent of this tool is for information gathering to help inform the enhancement of equitable practices related to how we work.

Past staff experience surveys, such as the University of California 2021 Staff Engagement Survey will also be used in conjunction with this feedback to provide holistic insights and recommendations in light of our current climate.

Learn More about the How We Work initiative
To learn more about the How We Work online tool, the initiative’s timeline, how to help promote this feedback process, and the collaborative workgroup supporting the initiative, please visit this webpage.


Sincerely,

Luanna Putney, Ph.D.
Associate Chancellor and Chief of Staff to the Chancellor