Your Feedback In Action

In October 2022, we invited you, our employees, to share your experiences through our Employee Engagement Survey and help Lakehead identify what's working well and where we can improve. Now, we're building on those insights and taking action.

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Top Priorities

Engage & Innovate Sessions

Over 20 sessions were held across the university to review the survey results with employees and gather insight on what areas of opportunity identified through the Employee Engagement Survey should be prioritized. During these sessions, three polls were conducted to gather your feedback:

Strengths: Identify the key strengths of our organization that we should celebrate and leverage.

Opportunities: Highlight areas where we have opportunities for improvement and growth.

Faculty Feedback: Faculty members can select the faculty-specific area they believe should be improved.

Concept Creator Groups

In February 2024, we created Concept Creator Groups–diverse teams of employees who volunteered to co-create recommendations the the Executive Team for the top engagement drivers as determined by you:

1. Workload Manageability
2. Professional Development
3. Support for Diversity

After months of collaboration and idea generation, many recommendations for the Executive Team were identified by the Concept Creator Groups.

We are pleased to share the five areas of focus:

Strengthening Professional Development (PD)
Enhancing Workload Management & Digitalization
Promoting Employee Well-being
Fostering an Inclusive and Supportive Culture
Advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)

These initiatives reflect the recommendations from the Concept Creator Groups and have been selected because they lay the necessary groundwork for other recommendations to follow. Many of the proposed actions are interconnected, so a phased approach is being taken, starting with those that must be implemented first to enable and support the success of future initiatives. This approach ensures meaningful progress while remaining mindful of team capacity and existing workloads.

Top Priorities

1. Strengthening Professional Development (PD)

Initiative	Project Lead	Update (April 2026)
Develop a Shared Understanding of PD We’re creating clearer policies and processes so everyone understands how to access and benefit from PD opportunities.	Kylie Williams	Terms of reference currently under draft for pulling together a PD Committee
Create a PD Framework A structured framework will define what PD means at Lakehead, including scope, goals, and how to participate.	Kylie Williams	Will be initiated after PD Committee is put together
Integrate Strategic Goals into Onboarding We’re embedding Lakehead’s strategic direction into onboarding, so new staff feel connected from day one.	Roshni Antony / Chris Glover	In progress - First phase to be launched by August 2026

2. Enhancing Workload Management & Digitalization

Initiative

Project Lead

Update
(April 2026)

Evaluate and Improve Technology Infrastructure
An audit of our current tech landscape to maximize workload reduction and improve technology alignment with organizational needs

Kathy Pozihun & Gillian Balfour

Digitalization Project in progress. Intake and review of all University technology needs being undertaken. Manager, Digital transformation position created and filled.

Streamline Processes through Automation
We’re working with Ellucian to automate time-consuming processes like:

Applicant tracking
Request To Hire
Time and attendance

Kathy Pozihun & Gillian Balfour

Work with Ellucian / Colleague underway to review our main operational areas to increase efficiency.

3. Promoting Employee Well-being

Initiative	Project Lead	Update (April 2026)
Promote Self-Care and Wellness Practices We’re sharing tips and practices to help employees take care of themselves and set healthy boundaries	Rosanna Scaffeo & Roshni Antony	Environmental scan in progress
Launch a Supportive Workload Management Website A new online resource will offer tools, strategies, and access to wellness supports	Roshni Antony	Expected to be complete by September 2026

4. Fostering an Inclusive and Supportive Culture

Initiatives	Project Lead	Update (April 2026)
Support Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) We’re encouraging spaces for identity, inclusion, and belonging.	Dylan Mazur	No update
Focus on Employee Retention & Satisfaction Implement retention-focused strategies, including regular feedback collection and offering career growth opportunities. Ensure competitive benefits and work-life balance to promote long-term engagement.	Kathy Pozihun & Gillian Balfour	Employee value proposition under review. Enhancements to group benefits including mental health services. Continue to provide wellness days.

5. Advancing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)

Initiatives	Project Lead	Updates (April 2026)
Implement EDI Training for Faculty Hiring Committees Training to ensure inclusivity and reduce bias in faculty hiring	Dylan Mazur	Training continues. Additional training under review.
Leverage Community Partnerships for Recruitment. Build and strengthen partnerships with community organizations to help diversify recruitment pools.	Amie Coffey	Connections with community partners being established. Specific initiatives under review.
Establish EDI Leadership Structures Clear equity policies and specialist roles to support and embed EDI across the university	Dylan Mazur	Policy review continues.

What’s Next?

We will provide quarterly updates on the progress of these initiatives, share successes, and keep inviting feedback.
Your work shaped this plan, and your continued input will help guide it forward.