The IT Communications Survey, open February 3 to February 14, 2025, invited IT professionals to provide feedback on official Office of the CIO IT-related communications. Findings from this survey will be included in a more holistic IT Communications Analysis report developed by the Communications and Marketing Team to build a roadmap for service changes and feature enhancements.
- Sent to 1,320 IT professionals from the Tech Support and IT End User Services Teams channels via a Qualtrics survey.
- 213 IT professionals responded (16.1% response rate).
- 25 colleges/units and 47 departments responded to the survey including the following:
- AITS, Auxiliary Units, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, College of ACES, College of Applied Health Sciences, College of Education, College of Law, College of LAS, College of Media, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, Facilities & Services, Gies College of Business, Grainger College of Engineering, Office of the Chancellor, Office of the CIO, Office of the Provost, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Operations, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Office of the Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation, School of Information Sciences, University Audits, University of Illinois Foundation and UI Alumni Association and University Library.
Communication methods
Key findings: Email remains the main method by which IT pros currently receive and indicate they want to receive information from the Office of the CIO, followed by events, then Microsoft Teams. As an organization, we should continue to find ways to make email messaging as effective as possible for our IT pro stakeholders.
164 IT professionals responded to the question about how they receive IT-related information from the Office of the CIO.
- 86% receive information from Tech Support emails.
- 76% receive information through Eweek.
- 69% receive information from the Privacy & Cybersecurity newsletter.
- 64% receive information from the IT Professionals Forum.
When asked about the primary way IT pros receive information, nearly 50% stated that Tech Support emails are the main avenue that information is shared. 67.5% of respondents identified email as the primary way they consume information we distribute.
Of 140 respondents, 89% state that they prefer to receive IT-related information via email.
Newsletters
Key findings: Newsletters are an effective means of communication, but spreading IT-related content for IT professionals across multiple newsletters causes some frustration. We need to provide clarity on the intended audience for existing topical newsletters and consider creating a single newsletter specifically for IT professionals that includes technical IT-related topics by subject area.
Of 155 respondents: 110 indicated that they receive the Privacy and Cybersecurity IT Pro newsletter, 64 subscribe to the Research IT newsletter, 58 to the Training Services newsletter, 56 receive the Work Secure newsletter, 15 subscribe to the Canvas newsletter and 23 do not subscribe to any newsletters.
Of 118 respondents, a large majority indicated that they always or usually read the newsletters they subscribe to. Only 26 indicated that they rarely or never read the newsletters; 49 indicated that they sometimes read the newsletters.
A free-text field in the survey allowed respondents to share general comments. Multiple commenters indicated some frustration with having multiple newsletters from the same source, but on different topics.
IT information on websites
Key findings: The Technology Services website was originally created to serve end users: students, faculty and non-IT professional staff. Over time it has changed and includes some information for IT professionals. We need to be more intentional in determining the future of the Technology Services website; in addition, we need to consider developing IT pro-specific content pages on the Technology Services website, leveraging the Office of the CIO website or possibly the it.illinois.edu domain.
Similarly, though linked from the Technology Services website, information about the IT pro community and ways to engage with the community is housed in the Answers KnowledgeBase. This content should be migrated to the same website as other IT professional-specific content in a single location.
Finally, we need to increase awareness of the Technology Services Tech Support message archive to increase its usefulness for the IT pro community.
Of 135 IT professionals who responded to a question about finding information for IT professionals on the Tech Services website:
- 56% stated that finding information for IT professionals is not difficult at all or not very difficult.
- 38% find it moderately difficult.
- 6% state that it’s very difficult or extremely difficult.
136 respondents have more difficulty finding information about engaging with the IT professional community (joining mailing lists, events, etc.).
- 46% find it not difficult at all or not very difficult.
- 40% find it moderately difficult
- 14% find it very or extremely difficult
The Communications and Marketing Team maintains an archive of two years of Tech Support messages on the Technology Services website. Of 139 respondents, 68 found the archive useful, 6 do not find it useful and 65 did not know it existed.
Communication quality
Key findings: Our communications are valued, timely and accurate. We have established ourselves as a trusted partners with IT professionals.
Over 70% of IT professionals do not provide feedback on communications. This could be because there is not a clear, simple way to do so. When feedback is provided, it is to an individual, which is not ideal because a single person is responsible for processing and determining if they share the feedback. We will work to build a communications feedback process and embed that in our messaging strategy so feedback becomes a norm and is directed to a team.
Overall quality
Overall, IT professionals have a high opinion of our communications. Of 136 respondents, 74% rate them as excellent or good, 25% as fair and 1% as poor.
Clarity
When asked about the clarity of general IT-related information from the Office of the CIO, 140 respondents shared:
- 93 – Extremely clear or very clear.
- 43 – Moderately clear.
- 3 – Not very clear.
- 1 – Not clear at all.
- 0 – I don’t know.
When asked about the clarity of technical information, such as patching guidance or minimum software versions, from the Office of the CIO, 140 respondents shared:
- 73 – Extremely or very clear.
- 50 – moderately clear.
- 3 – Not very clear.
- 1 – Not clear at all.
- 13 – I don’t know.
Feedback
Overall, IT professionals (138 responses) report that they do not provide feedback on a message they’ve received.
- 27% never provide feedback.
- 46% rarely provide feedback.
- 25% sometimes provide feedback.
- 2% often provide feedback.
When IT pros do provide feedback they use the following methods:
- 53% – via direct contact with an individual.
- 29% – via a feedback form or survey.
- 17% – via meetings
- 1% – via a method not listed.
Accuracy
134 IT professionals rated the accuracy of messaging we distribute.
- 59% – About 100% accurate.
- 38% – About 75% accurate.
- 2% – About 50 accurate.
- < 1% – About 25% accurate.
Communication lead time
Key findings: Most IT professionals prefer at least three weeks notice of technical changes. As an organization, we need to be more proactive in planning and communicating our changes to the Illinois community and build communication timelines into plans.
134 IT professionals responded to this question about preferred lead time for technical changes. They report wanting the following lead time:
- 15% – More than one month.
- 33% – One month.
- 38% – Two weeks.
- 14% – One week.
Keeping IT professionals informed
Key findings: We do a very good job of keeping IT professionals aware of IT service updates/outages and cybersecurity updates and best practices. There is room for growth on topics including IT policies and procedures, IT projects and initiatives and IT training and development opportunities.
Additional qualitative feedback further supports the idea of a single, scheduled IT professionals newsletter with categories on these topics.
137 IT professionals provided feedback about how well they feel informed about different topics through Office of the CIO communications. Those responses include the following:
IT policies and procedures
- 32% – Very or extremely well.
- 36% – Moderately well.
- 28% – Not very well.
- 2% – Not well at all.
IT projects and initiatives
- 27% – Extremely or very well.
- 49% – Moderately well.
- 22% – Not very well.
- 1% – Not well at all.
IT service updates and outages
- 74% – Extremely or very well
- 22% – Moderately well.
- 3% – Not very well.
- 1% – Not well at all.
IT training and development opportunities
- 38% – Extremely or very well.
- 44% – Moderately well.
- 16% – Not very well.
- 1% – Not well at all.
Cybersecurity updates and best practices
- 66% – Extremely or very well.
- 28% – Moderately well.
- 6% – Not very well.
- 0% – Not well at all.