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Campus Climate: Warm Or Cold?
Convened
by: Bob Drapeau, Melvin Wade
Reported by: Kendra Joaquin
| Participants |
| Ed
Smith |
Graham
Bell |
Pam
Christman |
Nancy
Hawksley |
| Gerald
Williams |
Kathleen
Maher |
Karen
Sherman |
Zak
Peloquin |
| Louis
Francis |
Stephen
Myles |
John
Stevenson |
Louis
Kirschenbaum |
| Linda
Lyons |
Paul |
Mike
Havemer |
Blair
Lord |
| Lynda
Perkins |
Jay
Flanders |
Melvin
Wade |
Kendra
Joaquin |
| Gregory
McNab |
Mark
Davis |
Dave
Bascomb |
Andrew
Coles |
| HP
Davis |
Donna
Figueroa |
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There is a
lack of mutual respect and civility between business services and
the rest of campus, that results in low morale for business
services.
- Classism across the campus
- Crossing lines across campus (students)
- No orientation for new hires
- Treatment of staff by students
- Treatment reflects perceptions of importance
- No sense of value for those whose work is not perceived as
important
- Share decision-making to prevent infighting
- Politicizing operational decisions is destructive
Divisions
of "customer" & "deliverer" rather than
people with a shared goal
Campus climate reflects that of the surrounding culture
It is crucial to become aware of boundaries, and remain conscious
before we begin to break them down.
Management needs to use leadership skills (coaching and
collaborating)
Our structure makes it difficult to reward good performance
within our system which leads to mediocrity
Implement an orientation for new hires that targets respect
Retrain staff members not to correct problems, but to help them
do their job (and implicitly, to value the position and the
person)
Professional development fund exists for faculty, what about one
for staff that would be available simply to give positive feedback
to workers for a job well done
A more participatory budget process would make decision-making
less of a political matter and instead a part of solving problems
Funded rewards are not necessary; recognition is needed to
overcome the effects of our system
Individual forces within the climate contribute to a more positive
A gold star to one person in an unhappy workforce will only
please one person, and anger the rest
Retraining is necessary because every job is valued
Climate is a huge factor in retention (one percentage point is
about a million dollars)
| Action
Steps/Recommendations: |
- Implement an orientation for new hires that targets respect
- Retrain staff members not to correct problems, but to help them
do their job (and implicitly, to value the position and the
person)
- Professional development fund exists for faculty, what about one
for staff that would be available simply to give positive feedback
to workers for a job well done
- A more participatory budget process would make decision-making
less of a political matter and instead a part of solving problems.
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