UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – In February, Penn State Human Resources will launch a survey to assess the job satisfaction and employee engagement of full-time staff and technical service employees across the University. The survey will provide insight into the lived experiences of Penn State employees, helping to highlight areas of strength and for improvement.
On Feb. 10, eligible employees will receive an emailed invitation to participate in the survey, operated by independent survey agency ModernThink, a survey group with extensive experience in higher education. ModernThink will send a confidential, individualized survey link to the Penn State email address of each participant.
Penn State is also launching a separate faculty satisfaction survey this week. Together, these two surveys will provide a broad view of full-time employee satisfaction and engagement at Penn State.
“The success of this survey relies on participation and engagement from you, our full-time staff and technical service employees. Your insights into our strengths as a University, as well as areas where we can improve, will provide us with a clear vision of where to direct our efforts in the future,” said Jennifer Wilkes, vice president for Human Resources and chief human resources officer.
The survey will measure full-time staff, technical service employee, administrator, executive and academic administrator engagement and job satisfaction. Responses to questions such as “When I offer a new idea, I believe it will be fully considered” and “We have opportunities to contribute to important decisions in my department” will inform levels of engagement and job satisfactions in areas such as collaboration; communication; diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging; benefits; wellbeing; and performance management.
“I also want to emphasize our commitment to the confidentiality of survey results. I know this may be a concern for some, and I want participants to rest assured that their responses are confidential. ModernThink, the company conducting the survey, will never share identifiable information or raw survey data with Penn State,” Wilkes said. “I want to underscore how important it is for our employees to feel comfortable providing open and honest answers, which will help us enormously as we all work to make Penn State the best it can be as an employer and as a place where our talented staff can build rewarding, impactful careers.”
The survey is voluntary and will take roughly 20 minutes to complete. Results will be used to drive conversations about areas for improvement in the workplace environment, and to identify next steps.
For more information, visit the 2025 Job Satisfaction and Engagement Survey’s website.