By Dr. John Haller, Vice President of Enrollment Management & New Student Strategies, University of Miami and Assistant Consultant, AACRAO Consulting
COVID-19 changed the way we work. One of my higher education mentors, Perry Robinson, used to say, “In higher education what we cannot do in salary we work to make up for in flexibility and time.” COVID-19 changed the way we view flexibility such that modality of work versus just time out of the office is a different way of considering flexibility. While I know there are mixed reviews about a team’s productivity as a result of being in the office as opposed to working remotely, my experience has been that teams are more engaged and productive with increased flexibility.
Outside of peak student interaction periods, I believe in providing a team with the opportunity to work remotely. My experience has been that many students prefer virtual meetings as this provides flexibility for them as well. I have also experienced how flexibility attracts talented employees from other areas from within and outside an institution.
Encouraging Growth
Ensuring the retention of a talented team also involves building a culture of belonging and care within the organization. I believe there are two types of people – retreat people and non-retreat people. I am a firm believer in the value of holding all staff retreats. They serve as an opportunity for a team to level set and assess progress while taking on challenges, celebrating successes, and looking ahead from a planning perspective. Engaging a team in the planning process at retreats helps align the team while facilitating buy-in to ensure the team’s contribution. I believe this fosters a culture of belonging where people know they are valued and add value.
As part of the planning process, I feel it is important to articulate and prioritize an investment in providing paths for professional growth. That means no dead-end jobs in organization structures and fostering opportunities for people to grow and develop professionally.
In addition to encouraging a team to pursue education outside of the office – associate's, bachelor's, as well as master’s or doctoral degrees – initiating programs to cultivate leadership for rising star professionals serves as an opportunity. These programs can be cohort-based where different work areas are represented to capture a diversity of professionals. Groups can meet regularly and learn about leadership from other individuals in senior positions on campus. For example, people who represent finance, IT, HR, or DEI. In addition, leaders from other areas can share information about their roles or responsibilities, so the cohort learns about other institutional functions or operations. At the end of the program, holding a graduation ceremony where everyone receives a certificate, and a leadership book, adds a celebratory capstone experience.
An additional program to cultivate professional growth, I refer to as immersion or job shadowing where individuals from one functional area can shadow an individual from another functional area. How I have seen these programs work is that each area lead approves the experience knowing the timing of the immersion depends on the peak periods in each area. The shadowing generally lasts two to three months and involves the individual doing a hands-on project. This way, individuals learn about another area in which they have an interest that can help retain them for longer periods of time. I believe these programs are great talent retention tools.
A final leadership development program I have experienced that facilitates professional growth is an employee mentoring program. In this program, an individual is paired with a mentor who meets with his/her mentee on a regular basis. Topics can include general leadership development, coaching, problem-solving, as well as specific functional skills training.
From the Ground Up
From an onboarding and belonging perspective, I believe there is an opportunity to conduct new team member meet and greets so new team members are introduced to other new team members. In this session, new team members are also introduced to the area’s strategic plan and their respective roles in helping to achieve the plan. In addition, information is shared about the organization’s culture and values. This session serves as an opportunity to communicate to new team members how and why they are important and valued. New team members get to meet people from other areas, so it gives them a broader view of the work, what others do, and who people are.
Helping people grow professionally and putting them in a position where they can be successful is a great way to ensure talent retention. AACRAO stands ready to assist institutions in working to attract and retain talented individuals in facilitating the achievement of strategic enrollment objectives.
To learn more about the many resources available to grow your talented pool of team members visit AACRAO’s Resource Center online. To learn more about AACRAO Consulting, check out our resources online.