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UT System staff survey shows stable engagement, flags inclusion concerns at some campuses
Summary
Systemwide staff engagement remains broadly positive (NPS 28) but the survey identified pay/rewards and inclusion as areas needing attention, with notable declines at UT Southern and lagging scores at UTC.
The University of Tennessee System presented results from its 2025 staff engagement survey with more than 4,500 employee responses, reporting a generally positive engagement picture alongside specific areas for intervention.
Brian Dickens summarized key findings: nearly 59% of staff are engaged and the system's Net Promoter Score is 28, "more than double the higher education benchmark of 13," he said. He highlighted strengths (coworker relationships, empowerment, work environment) and noted compensation, rewards and recognition as the clearest low‑scoring areas. Dickens also reported declines in inclusion scores systemwide and called out UT Southern for notable declines and UTC for net promoter scores that lag the system average.
Trustees discussed next steps: campus leadership will convene qualitative discussions to diagnose drivers behind the scores, craft action plans and report progress. The system will visit campuses to help develop targeted interventions.
Why it matters: employee engagement can affect retention, service quality and institutional stability; trustees emphasized translating survey insight into concrete actions on pay communication, inclusion and staff recognition.
Next steps: campuses will produce action plans, HR teams will use new dashboards and system leadership will report progress during campus visits.
