How Great Colleges Distinguish Themselves
By Eileen Filliben Edmunds and Richard K. Boyer
Back in 2008, The Chronicle of Higher Education and ModernThink LLC partnered to create the Great Colleges to Work For program. The top goal was to conduct research that would help leaders understand and leverage the key success factors that differentiate great places to work in academe. In 2015 the program attracted 281 institutional applicants from across the country.
Out of all of the applicants this year, 86 colleges and universities were highlighted in one or more of 12 recognition categories. Each category represents a key driver of workplace quality (e.g., Collaborative Governance, Senior Leadership, Job Satisfaction, etc.). Forty-two of those 86 recognized colleges received accolades in multiple categories, thereby distinguishing themselves as the best of the best and earning a spot on the Honor Roll.
While it is true that even great colleges cannot please all of their people all of the time, the Honor Roll institutions have won the hearts, loyalties, and discretionary efforts of the vast majority of their faculty and staff members. Here we examine what distinguishes the recognized colleges, especially those on the Honor Roll, from the other 195 institutions.
In short, by investing in their people, great colleges create a culture of engagement. Faculty and staff members understand and support the institution’s mission, are provided with the tools and authority they need to contribute their best, and consistently go the extra mile for colleagues and students.
This investment in culture pays off. When responding to the statement “This institution’s culture is special — something you don’t find just anywhere,” the Honor Roll colleges indicated a much higher level of agreement (84 percent, a combination of “Strongly Agree” and “Agree” responses) than did the unrecognized colleges (64 percent). In addition, the unrecognized colleges had a dissent rate of 14 percent, nearly triple that of the Honor Roll institutions.
Cultures of engagement are distinct, differentiating, cohesive, and empowering. This year’s Honor Roll institutions proved that they excel in each of the four strategic pillars upon which great cultures are built: leadership, communication, alignment, and respect.
Senior leadership: When assessing their senior leaders, faculty and staff members look for two traits: credibility and capability.
Senior leaders establish credibility through interactions that build trust and through behaviors that are consistent, reliable, and reflect integrity. When responding to the statement “I believe what I am told by senior leadership,” Honor Roll scores indicated a high level of agreement (77 percent) compared with scores from colleges that were not recognized in any categories (58 percent).
Faculty and staff members are also looking for leaders who show capability. They must demonstrate that they have the knowledge, skills, and experience to effectively lead the institution. Responding to the statement “This institution is well run,” employees of Honor Roll colleges answered far more favorably (80 percent positive) than unrecognized institutions (56 percent positive). Additionally, the dissent at the unrecognized institutions was more than triple that at Honor Roll institutions.
At Honor Roll colleges, the senior leaders delivered.
Communication: Employees rely on transparent and interactive communication to understand what’s going on, solve problems, get ideas across, and fuel progress.
Regarding transparency, it is vital that institutions remain open concerning both good and bad news, provide the context and rationale for decisions, and ensure that the campus community receives regular and timely updates. Honor Roll scores on the statement “There is regular and open communication among faculty, administration, and staff” were 73 percent positive, 22 percentage points higher than the scores at unrecognized colleges.
In addition to modeling transparency, it is important to foster interactive communication that creates opportunities for two-way exchanges. Healthy dialogue will help employees feel that they can provide input and be heard. Looking at the statement “At this institution, we discuss and debate issues respectfully to get better results,” Honor Roll responses were 73 percent positive, 21 percentage points higher than at unrecognized colleges.
Communication is a high priority in great workplaces.
Alignment: Great colleges demonstrate alignment in their people practices in two key areas: collaboration and contribution.
When collaborating, faculty and staff members are aligned to further a goal. They support and are supported by one another, enabling them to do their best work. They solicit input from one another and pay little attention to who gets credit for what. One of the greatest distinctions we saw on this year’s survey had to do with collaboration, specifically the statement “There’s a sense that we’re all on the same team at this institution.” At Honor Roll colleges, responses were 73 percent positive, 24 percentage points higher than at unrecognized colleges. Furthermore, the negative responses from unrecognized colleges reached 22 percent, versus 8 percent from Honor Roll institutions.
Great colleges position people to contribute at their highest level. They have the right people in the right jobs and provide them with the training, tools, and resources to succeed. Responding to the statement “I am provided the resources I need to be effective in my job,” faculty and staff members at Honor Roll institutions were 76 percent positive; their peers at unrecognized institutions were 58 percent positive.
People within great workplaces collaborate and are supported to do their best work.
Respect: The hallmarks of respect within a workplace are fairness and acknowledgment.
Institutions with an intentional focus on building an equitable culture treat employees fairly regardless of personal attributes or position. When considering whether “This institution’s policies and practices ensure fair treatment for faculty, administration, and staff,” Honor Roll responses were 79 percent positive, compared with 60 percent positive from their unrecognized counterparts.
In addition to being treated fairly, people want to be acknowledged. Therefore it is important that rewards, recognition, and feedback are specific and regular, and that they motivate faculty and staff members to treat one another well and do their best work. Honor Roll institutions significantly outperformed their unrecognized peers in their responses to the statement “Our recognition and awards programs are meaningful to me.” Honor Roll colleges scored 65 percent positive; unrecognized colleges, 45 percent positive.
In great workplaces as in life, respect breeds respect.
An institution’s path to creating a culture of engagement does not have to be long or complicated. As your college continues on its journey toward greatness, we hope that it will leverage this report as the resource that it is. Learning from the best of the best — especially in the areas of leadership, communication, alignment, and respect — can provide great insight and motivation.
