Transcript please see report for more detail - The University of Texas at Austin

Communication Practices in
University Operations
Data Collected Fall 2008
An Overview of Findings
(please see report for more detail)
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Keri K. Stephens, Department of Communication Studies
Study Summary
• 903 total surveys
• Demographics similar to Univ. Operations
as a whole
• Paper and on-line versions
• English & Spanish versions
• Data collected by Dr. Stephens & graduate
class on organizational communication
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Keri K. Stephens, Department of Communication Studies
Key Findings
• Communication practices are different between office
and labor workers
• Office workers
– Want less email
• Labor workers
– Want more paper
– Want more communication on most topics and through most
channels.
• FtF matters for everyone
• Everyone is similar in their job satisfaction, identification,
overload, impression of the quality of the HR Website,
and that safety is a priority at UT.
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Keri K. Stephens, Department of Communication Studies
Computer-Related
• Office workers
– have access to computers at work and
95% at home as well
– Report fairly high skills (3.75 out of 5) low SD
• Labor workers
– See details next slide
• English (N = 740) vs Spanish (N = 163) version
– Spanish version M = 1.96, English version M = 3.26
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Keri K. Stephens, Department of Communication Studies
Computer-Related
Access at Work and at Home
Job category
Work access
Service & Maintenance
Tech Staff & Para
Other Professionals
Executive & Manage
Clerical & Sec.
Skills & Crafts
38.9%
97.1%
99%
100%
100%
84.2%
% with no access
either place
30.5%
1.4%
0%
0%
0%
8.1%
See p. 11 of report for more details
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Keri K. Stephens, Department of Communication Studies
Channels Used and Desired by
Office
Workers
Office
Workers
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Amount
Used
Amount
Desired
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Keri K. Stephens, Department of Communication Studies
Family
Frien ds
Mail
UT home pa g
e
Informal ta lk
Da ily Te xan
Lo cal new s
Instan t mess a
ging
Blogs
De partment M
e etin gs
FtF w ith co wo
r ker s
FtF w ith su pe
rv iso r
La ndline pho
ne
Pers ona l ph o
ne
Org . pr ovide d
phon e
HR W ebs ite
Paper n ews le
tter s
Outlook calen
dar
Tex t on c ell
0
Email
Channels Used and Desired by Labor Workers
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
Amount
Used
Amount
Desired
1
0.5
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Keri K. Stephens, Department of Communication Studies
Channel Use Discrepancy
• Three groups wants less email:
exec./managerial, other professionals, and
clerical & sec.
• All groups want to use their personal phones
less except for service & maint. & skills & crafts.
• Statistically significant does not necessarily
mean practically significant.
• See Tables in Section 5.0 for details for each of
the 6 categorized work groups.
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Keri K. Stephens, Department of Communication Studies
Parking Specific
• Office workers want less
– Probably related to email overload
• Labor workers want more
– Verbal comments during survey
administration 5:45pm time change & shifts
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Keri K. Stephens, Department of Communication Studies
Safety & Security Specific
• Safety is viewed as a priority at UT (4 out of 5)
• People feel fairly comfortable finding what they
need on this topic and the quality of the info.
• Office workers
– Like to receive more health & safety info.
• Labor workers
– Like to receive more info on all topics from all channels
• Note: Not sure they know what mobile campus is
and how to use it.
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Keri K. Stephens, Department of Communication Studies
Human Resources Specific
• Website quality similar between groups and fairly high
• Office workers
– Have more access to HR Website
– Use benefit fairs & supervisors less than labor workers
– Are learning about working at UT from the Web (more than labor)
• Labor workers
– Have less access to HR Website
– Perceive benefit fairs as quite useful
– Perceive the mail as quite useful (as useful as the
HR Website)
– Want considerably more information on all topics
• Both groups
– Want much more on Employee Discount Program, Pay and raise
information, Organizational decisions, & Policy changes
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Keri K. Stephens, Department of Communication Studies
Few Outcome Differences
4
3.5
3
2.5
Labor workers
2
Office workers
1.5
1
0.5
0
Job satisfaction
Identification
Overload
University of Texas
at Austin
Dr. Keri K. Stephens, Department of Communication Studies
Top Recommendations
• Paper still matters and we should resist moving all
information to the Web with no paper options.
– people take paper home and have others read and it explain it to
them, they also use postal mail
• Benefit fairs are more important for labor workers, so look
for ways to help them attend
• Office workers say they want less email, so are there ways
to allow them to opt out of receiving specific types of
information?
• It is common for people to say they want more information,
but prioritize the areas where the gaps between what they
receive and want are close to 2.0 points.
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Keri K. Stephens, Department of Communication Studies