The Great Colleges to Work For® program, which recognizes colleges that have been successful in creating great workplaces, is one of the largest workplace-recognition programs in the country.For the first time, the University of Alabama at Birmingham has been recognized by the Great Colleges to Work For® program with strengths identified in shared governance, faculty experience, job satisfaction, confidence in senior leadership, and diversity, inclusion and belonging, among other areas.
“This recognition is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our faculty and staff, working together each and every day to advance our mission while being a great place for our employees to work,” said UAB President Ray L. Watts. “As the largest single employer in Alabama, with an annual economic impact exceeding $12 billion, everything we do to enhance the faculty and staff experience has the potential to positively affect thousands of people.”
The Great Colleges to Work For® program was designed to recognize colleges that have been successful in creating great workplaces and to further research and understand the factors, dynamics and influences that have the most impact on organizational culture in higher education.
The results are the outcome of a two-step evaluation process, with the primary criterion for determining institutional Great Colleges to Work For® recognition based on employee feedback. First, an institution questionnaire was distributed to gather employment data and workplace policies information from each institution. Then an anonymous survey was distributed to university faculty and staff.
UAB’s results, which were derived from responses received from 4,132 university employees — representing a 42 percent response rate — revealed several strengths in the following areas:
- Job Satisfaction
- Connection to Mission and Pride
- Supervisor Effectiveness
- Professional Development
- Faculty and Staff Well-Being
- Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging
UAB received recognition for its particular strength in four categories:
- Confidence in Senior Leadership
- Shared Governance
- Faculty Experience
- Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging
UAB has participated in the survey in the past, but this is the institution’s first time to be recognized among the Great Colleges to Work For®.
UAB Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Pam Benoit says this year’s results are based on listening and responding to previous faculty and staff feedback, as well as a lot of purposeful, hard work.
“We have invested extensive time and resources to address opportunities for improvement that were identified by employees in past engagement surveys,” Benoit said. “What makes UAB special is our people, and we take very seriously our responsibility to provide a great place for them to work.”
Watts — who has enjoyed unprecedented success over his 10 years as UAB’s president — says UAB will not rest on its laurels.
“While we are proud to be recognized, we know we’re not perfect and should always be working toward the continued improvement our faculty and staff deserve,” he said. “We will continue to solicit and use employee feedback to inform our strategic planning.”
UAB continues to receive accolades as a leading employer in the nation, including being named among Best-In-State Large Employers in 2023 and America’s No. 1 Best Large Employer in 2021 by Forbes.
For more information about Great Colleges to Work For® and to view all current and previous recognized institutions, visit GreatCollegesProgram.com and GreatCollegesList.com. ModernThink, a strategic human capital consulting firm, administered the anonymous employee survey and analyzed the results.