Employee engagement matters
Your survey feedback impacts policies and benefits and drives college- and department-led action plansMeasuring our progress
We know we can only achieve our mission to advance the Commonwealth when our faculty and staff feel supported and engaged in their roles.
Employee engagement surveys are an important tool for measuring our progress.
This year, for the first time, we plan to conduct engagement surveys for both UK and UK HealthCare concurrently.
- UK HealthCare: Sept. 3-26
- UK at Work: Sept. 8-26
This will allow us to take stock of our entire institution as a place where the very best faculty and staff want to work.
No matter what position you hold, you play a critical part in helping us achieve our goals and improving our shared work environment.
Your voice matters as we chart our path to get there. We want to hear from you to help us identify our organizational strengths and opportunities for improvement in our shared work environment and team culture.
If you are eligible to take a survey, you’ll receive an email with a survey link. Your survey link is unique to you, so please don’t share it with anyone else.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement is all about the connection and pride you feel for your career, your colleagues and our organization.
Engaged employees are:
- Connected to the university and care about its success.
- Driven to contribute extra effort in their roles
- Satisfied in their work
- Advocates for our university
How your feedback is used
These surveys are one of several tools our leaders rely upon to inform decisions that impact you.
Previous surveys have led to changes including expansion of well-being resources and increases to the amount of paid parental and elder care leave available to university employees.
Individual survey responses are confidential, and no one at the university knows whether any individual has completed the survey or how they responded. Reports are only generated for groups that have at least 10 responses.
While responses are confidential, results from these surveys help directors and supervisors throughout the institution address concerns and continue what’s working well in their areas.
Enter to win a prize
Once you complete the survey, you’ll have an option to fill out a separate form to enter a random drawing for a chance to win one of many prizes.
Drawings are held throughout the survey period, so the earlier you complete your survey and enter, the more chances you will have to win a prize.
Employees working in Lexington will be contacted about picking up their prize. Employees working outside of Lexington will receive information about receiving their prize by mail.
| UK at Work | UK HealthCare | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | Sept. 8-26 | Sept. 3-26 |
| Who is invited to take the survey? | Faculty and staff with at least 0.5 FTE, hired as of June 30, 2025. | UK HealthCare staff, clinical faculty and advanced practice providers, including Eastern State Hospital, hired as of June 30, 2025. Employees at UK King’s Daughters and St. Claire take a separate survey. |
| How do I access the survey? | You’ll receive an email with your unique survey link. Please do not share the email with other colleagues, as your link is unique to you. Paper surveys will be provided in select areas where online access is limited. | You’ll receive an email with your unique survey link. Please do not share the email with other colleagues, as your link is unique to you. The link will come from Press Ganey with the subject line UKHC Employee Engagement Survey 2025. |
| How long will the survey take to complete? | The survey should take 10-15 minutes to complete. | The survey should take 10-15 minutes to complete. |
| Do I have to complete the survey once I start it, or can I save my responses for later? | You can save your responses and complete the survey at a later time by clicking the "Finish Later" button located in the upper right-hand corner of your screen as you take the survey. Next, click on "Copy Link" and store the link somewhere confidential and easily accessible, and close your browser. This link is unique to you and gives you the opportunity to review all your currently stored responses and complete the survey. |
You can stop the survey at any point and save your responses. To resume your survey, click on the link in your survey invitation email.
|
| Are survey responses confidential? | Yes. All survey data is hosted and analyzed by an independent consulting firm, Willis Towers Watson, who will report aggregated results. | Yes. Press Ganey administers the UK HealthCare engagement survey and does not share data with UK HealthCare in a way that would directly link any employee to their individual responses. |
| How will the information from the survey be used? | Aggregate results will be shared as part of thoughtful discussions on how to develop action plans. | Press Ganey reports aggregate data to UK HealthCare leadership. All results will be reported at the unit level for staff and department/division for providers. In areas where there are five or more responses, leaders will receive a report in which all individual responses are aggregated into group averages and percentages. Comments are shared in an unidentifiable manner with executive leadership. |
| What topics are covered? | There are several items on the survey related to communication, leadership, my UK community, stress and well-being, pay and benefits, and university culture. There are also three open-ended items for employees to provide insights about what makes UK a great place to work and what could be improved. | There are more than 60 questions plus two open-ended items. Topics include engagement with the organization (degree of pride, loyalty and intent to stay), team dynamics, resilience (ability to cope during challenging times), culture of safety (resources/teamwork). |
| Who can I contact with questions? | For technical support with taking the survey, contact EmployeeSurveySupport@willistowerswatson.com. If you have any other questions, please contact your supervisor, HR Business Partner or employeeexperience@uky.edu. |
For technical support with taking the survey, contact hdesk@pressganey.com. If you have any other questions, please contact your supervisor, HR Business Partner or employeeexperience@uky.edu. |
How we've responded to your feedback over time
Over the four previous times we've administered the UK at Work campus employee engagement survey, your feedback has led to many university-wide changes.
More access to paid leave
Policy changes expanded how you can use your sick leave after the birth of a child and created paid parental and elder care leave.
Financial well-being
We have increased our support for your financial well-being.
Mental health and well-being
We have added therapists with more counseling availability and begun allowing the use of two sick days as well-being days for any purpose.
Physical fitness and well-being
We offer an employee-dedicated fitness facility and more support for your overall health.
Pay
Reliable and consistent pay increases in recent years, including increased flexibility for supervisors to allocate salary increases based on performance, retention and other factors.
Campus employee engagement scores over time
Our scores continue to improve or hold steady since we began administering the UK at Work survey in 2015.
This improvement affirms the accolades we continue to receive as a workplace. We have been named a Great College to Work for multiple times since 2018. In 2023, we were ranked No. 6 on the Forbes list of America's Best Large Employers.
An overwhelming majority of our employees believe strongly in our mission, are proud to be associated with UK and feel a greater sense of community here. Those are important measures as we work toward fostering a community where everyone feels they belong.
Employee engagement surveys
The employee engagement surveys are administered by external vendors:
- UK at Work: Willis Towers Watson
- UK HealthCare: Press Ganey
Contact our office
For questions about accessing or completing the UK at Work survey, contact EmployeeSurveySupport@willistowerswatson.com.
For questions about accessing or completing the UK HealthCare survey, contact hdesk@pressganey.com.
For general questions about the survey, email employeeexperience@uky.edu.