Dear Members of the UCSF Community,

We are writing to share a brief summary of results of the 2021 UCSF Staff Engagement Survey conducted in May. Thank you to all of the staff who voiced your opinions. This survey is important because it helps us understand your experiences at work and our progress toward our shared goal of making UCSF a great place to work.

We achieved 67% participation, compared to 72% participation in 2019, across the UCSF campus, including UCSF Fresno, UCSF Health West Bay, and Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. Our grand mean score, on a five-point scale, decreased slightly by .01 to 3.92 in 2021, compared to the .01 increase between the 2018 and 2019 surveys.

In some ways, this year’s survey is even more important than in years past, since the COVID-19 pandemic presented unique challenges and prevented us from conducting the 2020 survey. The 2021 results reveal where we need to continue our efforts. The gap between populations of employees who are more or less engaged remains significant and a key area of focus across UCSF.

Although the last 18 months have been difficult, especially when also considering the national reckoning on race, our engagement results held strong and are a testament to our UCSF community. Staff remain steadfast in their strong connection to the UCSF mission and their dedication to quality work. Additionally, as in years past, teams that used survey results to engage in conversations, planning, and addressing areas of weakness showed strong improvement in engagement and higher overall satisfaction.

Highly engaged staff correlate to positive improvements in all areas of an organization. We are making progress and know...