In February 2022, Administration staff completed the Work Environment Survey (WES) to get insight into the current state of our organization as we transitioned through changes brought on by the pandemic.
Primary actions in three areas have been tracked:
The following are departmental accomplishments relative to the three priority areas.
1. Resilience and Employee Engagement
- Offered techniques via literature, meetings, and small targeted sessions to support resilience.
- Updated the CHR internal onboarding plan to include cross-collaboration at the peer and supervisor level.
2. Communication
- Invited CHR staff to attend HR IT Systems Optimization (HRITSO) Project Town Hall Meetings
- Held Quarterly All-Staff Meetings with introductions of new staff and recognition of university service.
- Teams continue to collaborate cross-functionally through various HR-IT systems projects, monthly business operations meetings, and the website update project.
3. Talent Retention
- Offered the HR Partners Learning Academy to support learning and development opportunities.
- Actively encouraged staff to attend internal and external professional development classes, including e-learning opportunities through LinkedIn Learning. Staff are invited to collaborate with different HR functional units to broaden knowledge and working relationships.
- Developed a process to announce job openings to increase the internal applicant pool.
- Held quarterly recognition meetings to acknowledge milestone years of service, standout student employees, and extra efforts from our full-time employees.
- Communicated details from the previous quarter and updates for the upcoming quarter, such as presentations from the sustainability group.
- As the weather gets better, will be planning more team building activities to bring staff together such as outings, games, or team sports.
- Developed compensation plans for all staff based on equity analysis; messages delivered during department meetings, intranet, and individually.
- Continue to assess turnover rates and exit interviews.
- To address the feeling of burnout within the department, EH&S offered counseling sessions for all EH&S staff with Dr. Jorge Cherbosque on mindfulness/stress management and emotional intelligence/leadership.
- Compensation and Equity: reviews completed and conducted, process education meetings held for all employees, individual reviews held, and increases made where applicable.
- Work-Life Balance: work hours delineated, standards set, and communication made to the department about the importance of employees protecting their non-work hour time for rest and relaxation. Tools and resources created to assist staff with time and work-life balance management and placed on the intranet.
- Engagement and Morale: staff polled with surveys for social activity ideas and whenever possible such activities, puzzles, potlucks, and group coloring posters provided. A Laughter Yoga session was held in the fall.
- Created a centralized location to share information with our employees via the Sharepoint intranet site. The intranet site is live and shared with all Facilities Management employees. It provides a space to highlight our employees, from their promotions and new hires, to their participation in campus programs such as the Administration Leadership cohort. We are still working with Marketing to develop a process to post and share campus wellness events.
- Installed a physical drop box in our building to allow any and all employees to provide anonymous feedback, suggestions, or questions directly to AVC Kelly Schmader. AVC Schmader’s feedback is then shared via email, the intranet site, and also physically posted in locations for employees who do not regularly use email.
- AVC Schmader completed “coffee talks” with all shops within Maintenance & Alterations and Custodial & Grounds over the course of six months, providing these employees an avenue to discuss and share their concerns regarding their workplace.
- Assessed work functionalities and offered remote work option to FMS and OED team members.
- Established monthly virtual staff meetings for OED to ensure steady communication of Administration and campus initiatives and activities and for team to provide updates on current projects.
- Participated in in-person Administration Thank You Thursdays hosted by the Administrative Vice Chancellor to strengthen connection with internal team members and other Administration partners.
Provided staff development programs to ensure growth, improve communication and collaboration, and to thank our dedicated team members. Programs include:
The Workplace English Program
Launched in 2022, this program aims to bolster the English language proficiency of our team members across speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension for effective workplace communication. With 21 graduates to date, we've expanded to include evening classes, ensuring more of our team can benefit.
Emotional Intelligence and Diversity (EID) Workshops
Since Fall 2021, our EID workshops have equipped over 775 team members from all organizational levels with key skills in emotional intelligence and diversity understanding. Tailored to various learning styles, the program boasts a 90% satisfaction rate, fostering a more positive and inclusive workplace culture.
Mentoring Program
The Class of 2024 marked the resumption of our comprehensive 10-month mentoring journey, welcoming 12 mentees and leveraging the BruinLearn digital platform to enhance learning and technology engagement. Mentors range from senior directors to senior managers, enriching the program with diverse leadership perspectives.
Financial Series
Responding to a strong demand for financial literacy, the 2023 business finance series aims to ground H&H managers and supervisors in the fundamentals of our business operations and strategic planning. The curriculum includes understanding financial reports, the H&H debt model, and the nuances of Proforma analysis.
Strategic Planning with Managers
This initiative guides managers through SWOT analysis, fostering cross-functional collaboration and idea generation for organizational improvement and revenue growth. Subcommittees empower participants to take active roles in realizing these strategic objectives.
Hats Off Recognition Program
After overcoming technical challenges, we successfully revived the Hats Off program, celebrating numerous team members with awards since January for their outstanding contributions.
All-Team Town Halls
Affirming our commitment to transparency, our annual Town Hall provides all team members with vital updates and insight into upcoming projects, ensuring everyone is aligned and informed.
Thank You Thursday
Our monthly token of appreciation, Thank You Thursday, continues to celebrate our team's hard work and dedication with sweet treats, underscoring our gratitude for their continuous excellence.
- Since 2022, we have held two awards ceremonies including the presentation of multiple Lifesaving Medals and other awards. We have also hosted two holiday parties during which we presented service awards and Employee of the Year plaques.
- Provided a festive team meal to employees who were required to work on holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.
- The department hosted its first annual Community Pancake Breakfast and its first annual UCPD Family Day for department employees and their families.
