Building a Strong Organizational Culture

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Priority: Building a Strong Organizational Culture

Build a culture of value, effectiveness, and opportunity for divisional staff.

 

Objectives and Tactics

(Progress Updates in Red)

A. Assess how staff define a sense of value and develop corresponding opportunities.

  • Provide an inclusive and accommodating work environment where every effort is made to ensure staff feel that their professional and work/life balance needs are met, their work is valued, and the work fits their professional competencies.
    • Identified factors that contribute to staff sense of value via two surveys.
  • Incentivize faculty and staff to participate in cross-divisional initiatives and programs to support other units and divisional priorities.
    • Implemented a division wide awards program to recognize staff achievements.  Developing an Application Workflow for ease of submission.
  • Hold regular discussions with employees to address concerns and create a meaningful and supportive work environment that allows professional growth.
    • Hosted networking groups, which are dialogue sessions aimed at connecting and learning from others that do similar work.
  • Ensure all mission and vision statements for the Division, a unit, or a department aligns with U of A 150 Forward as well as the divisional priorities.
  • Establish new and strengthen existing ties to SEC and other peer institution networks for information sharing, idea generation, and camaraderie.

 

B. Provide professional development opportunities that allow staff to develop their skills and progress along a career stream appropriate for each unit and individual.

  • Provide training and targeted career development to support staff and expand experiences promoting growth in their professional competencies.
    • Developed a framework of 3 tiers and 10 student affairs professional competencies that have been linked to career streams and career growth opportunities.
    • Planning a Supervisors’ Summit for January 2025.
    • Supported and collaborated with Human Resources’ Supervision Development Program; participate in the pilot.
  • Establish monthly meetings that focus on professional development opportunities: identifying new internal and external opportunities, discussing areas of opportunity, andreview of current professional development opportunities.
  • Initiate consistent professional feedback for all employees to enhance their professional growth.
  • Maintain rolling budgetary professional development funds for staff to better plan and intentionally prepare for desired professional development engagements.
  • Provide funding and continuing medical education time to recruit, retain and advance patient care skill sets as required for licensure for medical professionals.

 

C. Build a mindset of evolving information sharing at all levels.

  • Utilize a portal of information sharing for units, departments, and the Division to provide a transparent outlet for updates on data gathering/analysis, meeting outcomes, presentations, etc.
    • Added a Data Analysis & Reporting site to the division Intranet to build a strong data-driven culture and increase transparency & data literacy.
  • Implement cross training between offices (CEA/VMASC/CCE, etc.) to better serve students and eliminate duplication of efforts.
  • Create consistent and intentional opportunities for the Division to come together for networking, information sharing, etc.
  • Promote divisional programs and opportunities on a continual basis using existingresources.

 

D. Tell the story of the Division to the campus community.

  • Collect data that aims to contribute to communicating the story of the Division by maintaining a strong data-driven culture via data acquisition, analyzation, and visualization amongst units, programs, initiatives and events for the entire Division of Student Affairs.
    • Continued to educate division staff on forms of data collection and ways the division’s data team can assist in visualizing the data to help tell a story.
  • Create a group of Division staff to produce regular deliverables catered to College deans and associate deans based on what they want and need to know about how Student Affairs operates and supports students.
    • Launched a search for the Sr. Director of Communications & Marketing for the division.
  • Work with student leaders to share stories each semester, highlighting student involvement and resources within the Division that have benefitted their student experience.
  • Institute open houses of SA units and departments throughout each semester to encourage visitors and increased awareness, making sure not to double-book two or more SA units' open house events.

 

E. Ensure the divisional structure is adaptive to the needs of the student population and university priorities.

  • Work with the data team to determine what is learned about student needs across all feedback mechanisms and share division wide.
  • Continuously assess graduate student and professional staff position descriptions to ensure they are up to date and communicate alignment with divisional priorities.
  • Continuously evaluate the functions and processes operating in shared services models, to evaluate whether service needs are being met and overall satisfaction.
    • Implemented structures for shared services teams for 4 functional areas within the division:  data analysis & reporting, human resources, IT, and marketing & communications.  Still to be completed:  finance.
  • Implement initiatives that improve financial resource allocation across the division and create long-term goals and forecasting strategies to help meet our overall goals and objectives.