UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As part of a broader effort to improve the work experience for Penn State staff, unit leaders across the University have started implementing action plans designed to address results from last year’s Job Satisfaction and Engagement Survey.
The survey was administered to full-time University staff, technical service employees, and administrative/executive leadership at all locations by third-party firm ModernThink in February 2025. Results were released in October, and unit leaders were tasked with developing unit action plans by the end of January to act on the findings.
“I’m very proud of the leaders in our colleges, campuses and units throughout the process of this survey. They’ve taken the results to heart and engaged with staff members in their communities to create very thoughtful action plans,” said Jennifer Wilkes, vice president for Human Resources and chief human resources officer. “There have been some wonderful discussions throughout the past fall on how unit leaders and staff can collaborate to make Penn State a better place for everyone to work.”
In developing their action plans, leaders were asked to tackle two or three aspects of their unit’s findings.
“We didn’t want leaders to try to solve everything all at once, but focus on two or three things that could be reasonably achieved in the coming months and year,” Wilkes explained.
She said the University received over 140 action plans from across 53 units at Penn State, with common themes including professional development, performance management, collaboration, communication, and confidence in senior leadership.
Wilkes noted Penn State has already implemented a number of changes in the past year to improve the overall work experience, including shifting the annual performance review schedule and seeking additional staff input to refine the performance management process.
She said the University also continues to prioritize the health and well-being of its workers by offering new health benefits and additional employee-focused programs, including Bring Our Children to Work Day on April 13 and “Well-Being Week” April 6-10.
As implementation of unit action plans get underway, Wilkes urged staff members to remain informed and engaged with the process.
“You have a role to play in this — we need your partnership and your participation to make this a success,” she said.
Wilkes added the University plans to continue providing the campus community with regular updates on progress with action plan implementation throughout the year, and a follow-up survey is slated to be administered to staff sometime in 2027.
“We are absolutely committed to addressing areas we need to improve on and build on our existing strengths as we strive to build a stronger Penn State workplace for everyone,” she said.