Employee Engagement Task Force

Earlier this Spring, we initiated an Employee Engagement Task Force (EET) and conducted the first employee engagement survey to gather employees' perceptions of our university as a workplace. 

The Task Force will be tasked with analyzing engagement survey results, gathering additional employee feedback, identifying areas of both opportunity and concern, developing recommendations to increase employee engagement, and sharing information with the campus community as this work is conducted. 
 
The Employee Engagement Task Force is an initiative of our current Strategic Plan, Transforming Tomorrow Together, Goal 5, which aims to establish and maintain a culture of excellence at the University. One of the key objectives for Goal 5 is to "provide for greater employee engagement and satisfaction as a top priority by seeking and using formalized feedback systems to retain high-performing faculty and staff."

You may recall that A&M-San Antonio conducted its first employee engagement survey earlier this year. The feedback provided has been helpful for identifying both some incredible strengths of which to be proud, and some critical areas for growth and improvement.  

Now the Task Force is working to build on the insights gained from the survey results and to that end, hosted eight employee focus groups from October 4-October 7, 2022. The focus groups were held virtually and conducted by a third party. Employees were divided into employment categories to help ensure open, confidential, and comfortable dialogue with peers in the focus groups. All supervisors were informed of this invitation and asked to be flexible and supportive in enabling employee participation in the Employee Engagement Focus Groups.  We hope to share the results of the focus groups soon. 

If you could not complete the survey or attend an employee focus group, we still highly encourage you to review the Employee Engagement Survey Results by logging in here. 

In addition, the EET committee is dedicated to “REACHing for a better tomorrow” by enhancing the culture of the workplace, strengthening relationships, educating employees, appreciating each other's contributions, working collaboratively, and supporting honest communication. We are proud to continue this work and our new logo. 

• R-Relationships 
• E-Education 
• A-Appreciating Contributions 
• C-Collaboration 
• H-Honest Communication 

For questions please email us at EmployeeEngagement@tamusa.edu

Employee Engagement Task Force Committee Members:

• Dr. Sandra DeGrassi, Associate Professor & Chair, Department of Management and Marketing; Employee Engagement Task Force Co-Chair
• Dr. Mary Kay Cooper, Director of Alumni Affairs; Staff Council President; Employee Engagement Task Force Co-Chair
• Jarrick Brown, Assistant Director for Student Involvement; Staff Council Immediate Past President
• Dr. Gary Coulton, Associate Professor, Department of Life Sciences; Faculty Ombudsperson
• Dr. Megan Wise de Valdez, Associate Professor, Department of Life Sciences; Faculty Senate Vice President
• Dr. Hsiao-Ping Wu, Associate Professor, Department of Educator & Leadership Preparation
• Reed Vesey, Director of Assessment & Communications, Student Success and Engagement
• Vanessa Torres, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management
• Craig Elmore, Associate Vice President for Finance & Controller
• Jessica Loudermilk, Chief of Staff & Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives
• Art Olague, Director, Recreational Sports
• Dr. Carl Sheperis, Professor, Department of Counseling, Health & Kinesiology
• Jacob Martin, Business Administrator II, Office of the VP for Business Affairs
• Cecile Montanez, Assistant Director for Strategic Initiatives, Office of the President