Higher education institutions are often seen as places of innovation, knowledge, and tradition. But behind the ivy-covered walls and digital classrooms are teams of faculty, administrators, and staff who drive the institution’s success — and their level of engagement matters more than ever.
In a sector facing increasing pressure from enrollment shifts, staffing shortages, and evolving student needs, engaged employees can make the difference between falling behind or leading the charge.
This article explores what employee engagement looks like in higher education, what factors influence it, how to assess it objectively, and actionable ways to improve it.
Employee engagement in higher ed is more than job satisfaction or retention. It’s the connection faculty and staff feel to their work, institution, and its mission.
An engaged employee in higher education might:
The challenge? In higher education, many employees are juggling multiple responsibilities, especially in roles that support both academic and administrative functions. Add in the red tape of large institutions, and engagement can quickly wane without intentional effort.
There’s no single lever that controls engagement. For colleges and universities, several unique dynamics play a role:
1. Leadership Communication:
Transparent, timely communication from senior leaders builds trust. In fact, Gallup research found that only 13% of employees strongly agree that leadership communicates effectively, a key factor in disengagement across sectors including education.
2. Career Development:
Many higher ed employees want to grow but feel limited by rigid advancement structures or unclear paths. Opportunities for mentorship, training, and lateral movement can improve engagement.
3. Institutional Culture:
Whether it’s a small liberal arts college or a sprawling state university system, culture matters. Employees who feel their values align with the institution are more likely to stay engaged and stay long term.
4. Recognition and Appreciation:
Academia often emphasizes student success, and rightfully so. But recognizing the employees behind that success is essential. A simple “thank you” from a dean or a recognition program for behind-the-scenes work can go a long way.
5. Workload and Burnout:
Higher ed is notorious for “doing more with less,” especially in administrative departments. When workloads aren’t regularly assessed, engagement can deteriorate fast.
Recommended Reading: 5 Sure Fire Way to Prevent Employee Burnout
Understanding how engaged your faculty and staff are isn’t guesswork. Institutions that rely solely on anecdotal feedback or annual HR metrics miss key insights.
Here are a few ways to assess engagement objectively:
Custom Employee Surveys
Standard engagement surveys often fall short in the higher education space. We once worked with a university system that wanted to assess culture across multiple campuses.
We created a custom survey that dug into why employees joined the institution, what kept them there, and how well internal communication aligned with expectations. The data uncovered campus-specific trends, allowing leadership to take more targeted action.
Pulse Surveys
Instead of surveying once a year, short and frequent pulse surveys help track sentiment in real time. These are especially useful during times of change (e.g., after leadership transitions, new policies, or mergers).
Focus Groups and In-Depth Interviews
When you want to dig deeper, qualitative research adds context to the numbers. For example, one EdTech organization we partnered with conducted online focus groups with school and district leaders to understand how technology was impacting engagement. The result? Clear, actionable insights they couldn’t have uncovered with surveys alone.
Improving engagement is not about grand gestures. It’s often about consistency, visibility, and listening.
Not every institution can offer pay raises or new titles frequently — but recognition doesn’t have to cost much.
Simple, effective ideas include:
Recognition is most effective when it’s timely, specific, and authentic.
One mistake we see often is institutions collecting feedback but not acting on it or worse, not sharing results. Monitoring engagement isn’t just about the data, it’s what you do with it.
Make sure to:
We’ve seen workloads quietly balloon over time, especially when staff cover for open positions or take on new initiatives. Conducting a workload assessment even informally can help identify when expectations are unrealistic.
Questions to consider:
Institutions that proactively manage workload send a clear message: We see you, and we want to support you.
Surveys are one of the most efficient and scalable ways to measure engagement, especially when conducted with a third-party.
According to CUPA-HR’s Higher Education Employee Retention Survey, nearly 60% of staff said their institution rarely asks for feedback about their experience. This shows how underutilized employee engagement research still is in higher ed.
Why surveys work:
If you’re working with an employee survey company, be sure they understand the unique environment of higher education. That includes the nuance between academic and non-academic roles, decentralized decision-making, and the importance of shared governance.
At Drive Research, we’ve conducted several higher education market research studies with colleges, universities, and education-based organizations across the U.S.
Our process includes everything from survey design and data collection to live presentations with leadership teams. We aim to provide not just data, but insight.
Improving employee engagement in higher education starts with listening and acting. Whether you’re aiming to understand your culture, boost retention, or support your staff more effectively, research can guide the way.
Let’s talk about what’s possible.
