Thank you to every UConn Health employee who completed this year’s survey. Your voice is shaping what we do next.
Since launching our first Employee Engagement Survey in 2016, we have been listening, learning, and evolving together. This year marked our fifth survey — and with updated questions focused on belonging, leadership, and collaboration, we gained even clearer insight into how employees are experiencing work at UConn Health today.
Steady Growth in Engagement
In 2024, UConn Health reached its highest engagement score yet — 3.95 — a statistically significant increase from our last survey.
From a baseline of 3.67 in 2016, scores have steadily improved over each survey cycle: 3.72 in 2017, 3.83 in 2019, 3.80 in 2021, and now 3.95 in 2024.
The 2024 response distribution shows that a strong majority of employees are engaged or highly engaged, setting a solid foundation for continued progress.
How We Compare
Since our last survey in 2021, UConn Health has made measurable strides — not just in overall engagement, but in how we compare to peer institutions.
The chart shows UConn Health’s engagement score alongside both the National Academic Health Care Average and the broader National Health Care Average. In 2021, UConn Health trailed both benchmarks. By 2024, our score rose from 3.73 to 3.95 — surpassing the academic benchmark and narrowing the gap with the national average.
This upward trend reflects meaningful, organization-wide improvement and reinforces how employee feedback is shaping a more engaged and responsive workplace.
What We've Learned
This year's results showed meaningful progress with 38 of 62 tracked items showed statistically significant improvement since 2021.
Standout areas of strength include:
- Improved perceptions of staffing adequacy
- Increased trust in leadership
- More employees willing to recommend UConn Health as a place to work
- Higher intent to stay with the organization
- Stronger perceptions of career development opportunities
At the same time, areas for greater attention emerged:
- A decrease in employees' sense of personal connection with coworkers
- Faculty physician feedback pointing to gaps in communication with administration
These insights are helping leaders focus on what matters most, including well-being. The gains are significant given the challenges of recent years and reflect the strength and resilience of our workforce.
Prioritizing, People, Culture and Community
Supporting our people is central to UConn Health’s strategic goals — and a key driver of our culture. While many employees feel supported, many face stress, emotional exhaustion, and work-life balance challenges. These results underscore the importance of making well-being a shared priority across teams and departments.
Efforts like Senior Leader Rounding help build connection and recognition in day-to-day moments. With tools like the Well-Being Index, we’re gaining insight into how our workforce is doing so we can respond with care and intention.
Turning Feedback into Action
We’re committed to translating survey results into meaningful change through focused, collaborative steps:
- Department action planning: Leaders and teams reviewing results and selecting 1–2 team-specific areas to improve.
- Leadership development: Targeted support is available to help leaders grow and strengthen team relationships.
- Team conversations: Employees are encouraged to share ideas and shape plans through open, ongoing dialogue.
- SMART goals: Teams are developing action plans that are Specific, Measurable, Accountable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
- Follow-up: Leaders will track progress, adjust when needed, and celebrate wins along the way.