Xerox surveyed over 5,000 people regarding their optimism in the workplace, including over 500 responders from colleges and universities. See the results and learn why optimism is so vital to the mission of education.

1. presented by:
Return On
Optimism
Survey Findings:
Higher Education

2. What is Return On Optimism?
The belief that you can:
Overcome
big challenges
Be confident
about your
outlook and
opportunities
Know that
what you do
makes a
difference
This results in determination, innovation and BUSINESS SUCCESS!
2

3. In 2014, Xerox launched an online
survey at returnonoptimism.com
• Over 5,900 participants took part
• 10 questions covering work environment,
communications, empowerment and more
• Optimism scores span industries—Healthcare,
Higher Education, Enterprise/Business and
Government—and internal departments
Assessing the Return On Optimism
lousy meh ok aces
Xerox® Managed Print Services (MPS)
knows that optimism fuels innovation
and business success.
We’re so keen on the positive effect of
optimism to an organization’s bottom
line, we set out to study it.
3

4. Healthcare
14%
Higher Ed
9%
Government
11%Business/
Enterprise
57%
Other
9%
Respondent Data Comparison
5,941 total responders to ROO survey
533 Higher Education responders
4

5. Optimism Score: Higher Education
Higher Education was among the
most optimistic of industries surveyed
• Alumni/Donor Relations were the
most optimistic departments
• Admissions was the least optimistic
B- Optimism Grade
82 ROO Score
87 Alumni/Donor Relations
86 Auxiliary Services
83 Admin
83 Finance/Accounting
83 Marketing Comms
80 Procurement
79 Admissions
82 Other
5

6. Key Optimism Issues
Biggest barriers to innovation and creativity:
Workspace
and
Environment
Communications
Implementing
Technology
6

7. Workspace and Environment
1: Bloom, N. “To Raise Productivity, Let More Employees Work from Home”, Harvard Business Review. January, 2014.
https://hbr.org/2014/01/to-raise-productivity-let-more-employees-work-from-home
ROO Survey Findings:
Uninspiring work environments can hinder
innovation and growth.
• Mobile workers are more productive and produce higher
quality work than those who have no option but to work
from a corporate office.
• Flexible work environments contribute to employee
well-being and reduce operating expenses.
—Harvard Business Review (HBR) Study1
Xerox
Digital Alternatives Tool
• Provides mobile workers with easy
and secure access to the information
they need, when they need it
• Allows mobile workers to read, save,
share and annotate documents
within a single application
• Automatic synchronization, across
PCs and iPad tablets, provides secure,
up-to-date access to information
7

8. Communications
2: Education to Employment: Designing a System that Works, McKinsey on Society. 2012.
http://mckinseyonsociety.com/downloads/reports/Education/Education-to-Employment_FINAL.pdf
ROO Survey Findings:
Poor communication flows hold back Higher Education
workers from being more effective in their job.
• Education providers must take a high-level view to holistic
communications (inside and outside of institutions).
• Collaboration is needed between education providers in
order to gather data, and to identify and disseminate
information updates.
—McKinsey2
Xerox MPS
• Streamlines approach to
document management and
collaboration between co-
workers and partners
• Improvements help to drive
efficiencies so employees can
engage in more meaningful,
collaborative work
8

9. Implementing New Technology
2: Education to Employment: Designing a System that Works, McKinsey on Society. 2012.
http://mckinseyonsociety.com/downloads/reports/Education/Education-to-Employment_FINAL.pdf
ROO Survey Findings:
Lags in new technology implementation can prevent
students from reaching their full academic potential.
There is a need to couple technology with a
standardized curriculum to help support faculty and
spread consistent instruction, at a modest cost.
—McKinsey2
Xerox Ignite
Teacher Tool
• Allows schools to take better
advantage of digital support
tools
• Provides teachers with more
insight into student progress
• Helps teachers spend less time
grading and more time
teaching
9

10. Return on Optimism
Higher Education Survey Answers
10

11. What percentage of your work would you
describe as meaningful?
of people working in Higher Education
feel that the majority of their work is
meaningful and that they’re making
a big difference through their work.62%
11

12. How would you describe the work/life
balance at your administration?
of people working in Higher Education
feel that their work/life balance is ok.52%
12

13. of people working in Higher Education
feel that their clarity of work is clear enough.56%
How would you rate the clarity of
your administration’s mission?
Obscure and
ambiguous.
Foggy at best. Clear enough. Crystal clear.
13

14. How would you describe your workspace?
of people working in Higher Education
feel that their workspace is presentable,
though not necessarily inspiring.57%
14

15. How would you describe the communication
in your workplace?
of people working in Higher Education
feel that the communications are spotty
and in need of improvement.26%
The lines
are down
Spotty signal
Decent
reception
Full bars
15

16. How would you rate your organization’s
commitment to community outreach?
of people working in Higher Education
feel that their administration’s commitment
to community outreach is more than
promising.38%
16

17. How effectively do you feel your
administration/faculty serves its students?
of people working in Higher Education
feel that while they get the job done,
it isn’t always in the most effective way.52%
We’re falling short We muddle through We get the job done We’re firing on all cylinders
17

18. How proactive is your school in
implementing new technologies for students?
of people working in Higher Education
feel they are not proactive when it comes to
implementing new technologies for students.55%
18

19. How would you rate your institution’s
reputation for pioneering academics?
of people working in Higher Education
feel that they are respectable when it
comes to pioneering academics, but they
are not world-renowned.53%
19

20. How would you describe your opportunities
for professional development?
of people working in Higher Education
feel that opportunities for professional
development are encouraging.52%
Non-existent Discouraging Encouraging Positively rosy
20

21. Want to fuel
employee
optimism
within your
school?
See how Managed Print Services
can change the way you work:
xerox.com/mps
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