Employee engagement is one of the most pressing challenges in higher education. From retaining faculty to supporting administrative staff, institutions are constantly searching for ways to understand and improve the employee experience. While traditional surveys can provide limited feedback, they often fall short of capturing the true depth of engagement.
This gap is precisely why apc created the Employee Experience Grade (exg™)—a proven, best-in-class methodology for measuring engagement at every stage of the employee journey. For higher education leaders, the exg™ represents not just another survey, but a comprehensive tool to uncover strengths, identify opportunities, and take action.
Why Traditional Surveys Aren’t Enough
Most institutions use satisfaction surveys to gather feedback. While these surveys may answer simple questions such as “Are you satisfied with your pay?” or “Are you happy with your department?”, they do little to uncover the underlying drivers of employee behavior.
The limits of traditional surveys include:
- Generic questions: Often borrowed from corporate templates with little relevance to higher education.
- One-size-fits-all design: Fails to address unique roles such as adjunct professors, tenured faculty, or administrative staff.
- Minimal actionability: Results are difficult to translate into strategies that improve retention or performance.
- Short-term focus: Satisfaction changes quickly, but engagement reflects deeper and longer-term commitment.
Colleges and universities need a tool that goes beyond satisfaction to measure whether employees are engaged, motivated, and aligned with the institution’s mission.
Introducing the exg™ Methodology
The Employee Experience Grade (exg™) was designed after years of testing and refinement. It transforms employee feedback into a clear, easy-to-understand index that reflects true engagement. Unlike satisfaction scores, the exg™ is multidimensional, providing leaders with insights that are both comprehensive and actionable.
The exg™ covers the full employee lifecycle, including:
- Hiring: New hire surveys reveal how effective recruitment and onboarding processes are at creating early engagement.
- Onboarding and Post-Onboarding: These surveys identify gaps in training, communication, and support that affect early retention.
- Relationship Growth: Regular engagement surveys track how well faculty and staff feel supported, recognized, and motivated as their careers progress.
- Retention and Exit: Exit surveys uncover the reasons employees leave, helping leaders proactively address issues for current staff.
- Pulse Surveys: Short, frequent surveys offer real-time insights into faculty and staff morale.
By measuring engagement across these stages, exg™ provides unmatched visibility into both immediate concerns and long-term patterns.
Why exg™ Is Different
1. Designed for Higher Education
Unlike many corporate-focused tools, exg™ is tailored to the complexities of higher education. Colleges and universities face unique dynamics such as tenure systems, reliance on adjunct faculty, decentralized leadership, and a mission-driven culture. The exg™ accounts for these factors, making it highly relevant for academic institutions.
2. Customizable to Your Institution
Most survey platforms restrict customization. apc’s exg™ offers flexibility to create questions and modules that reflect your institution’s values, priorities, and challenges. Whether you want to focus on diversity and inclusion, career development, or workload balance, the exg™ can be tailored accordingly.
3. Action-Oriented Insights
Rather than simply producing scores, exg™ highlights actionable steps institutions can take to improve engagement. Leaders can identify specific areas—such as recognition programs, professional development opportunities, or communication gaps—and implement targeted interventions.
4. Benchmarking Capability
The exg™ doesn’t just show how your institution is performing internally; it also allows for competitive benchmarking. Leaders can see how their college compares to peer institutions, providing context for decision-making and resource allocation.
The Impact of exg™ in Higher Education
Faculty Retention
Faculty disengagement is a costly problem. Recruiting and replacing a single faculty member can cost the institution 1.5 to 2 times their annual salary. By measuring engagement at early warning stages, exg™ helps institutions retain top talent before it’s too late.
Staff Morale
Administrative and support staff are the backbone of daily operations. Low morale leads to inefficiencies, absenteeism, and higher turnover. Pulse surveys powered by exg™ provide leaders with timely insights to maintain morale and intervene when issues arise.
Student Success
Engaged employees positively impact students. Faculty who feel connected to their institution are more likely to innovate in the classroom, support student development, and contribute to stronger retention rates for students themselves.
Example: How exg™ Translates to Action
Consider a mid-sized university that faced high turnover among its adjunct faculty. Traditional satisfaction surveys showed that pay was a concern but didn’t reveal much else. After implementing exg™, the institution discovered that adjuncts felt disconnected from decision-making and lacked professional development opportunities.
Armed with this insight, the university introduced mentoring programs and opportunities for adjuncts to contribute to departmental discussions. Within one year, engagement scores improved significantly, and adjunct turnover decreased by 18%.
A Future-Focused Approach
The landscape of higher education is evolving. Remote and hybrid learning, tighter budgets, and changing student needs are reshaping the workplace. Institutions that rely only on satisfaction surveys risk falling behind. The exg™ provides a forward-looking framework that ensures leaders can proactively adapt to challenges and build resilient workforces.
Final Thoughts
The Employee Experience Grade (exg™) is more than a metric—it’s a roadmap for higher education leaders committed to strengthening engagement. By capturing insights across the entire employee journey, offering customization, and providing actionable direction, exg™ helps institutions retain talent, improve morale, and align faculty and staff with the mission of higher education.
See how your institution measures up. Get started with apc’s Employee Engagement Surveys powered by the exg™ today.
