Motivation for this Strategic Initiative:
It is impossible to achieve our vision for the School without staff, and their success is as crucial as that of our faculty and students. The staff is the engine of the academic enterprise and, like an engine, requires careful attention and investment to ensure sustainable, peak performance. The task force for this initiative included front-line staff, managers, and faculty. Together they developed a list of action items for advancing each of these areas and developing measures of success that will include climate surveys and new evaluation tools as well as metrics.
Summary of Task Force Report (see appendix for full report)
The task force organized their recommendations into four focus areas. The first three are staff training, development, and professional advancement, and the fourth is staff-faculty collaboration. The task force then organized a multi-year plan for improvements to these focus areas including action items for each year. The first year’s action items include the first step in a 3-year effort to address JEDI issues, as well as a management review initiative that will create a baseline for workload associated with current or proposed administrative processes. Additional first-year action items involve steps towards creating a culture of advocacy within the SNS staff and staff leadership and forming a partnership with the school’s faculty to develop ways to increase community and cooperation between faculty, staff, and students. In the second year, the action items include improving the SNS staff performance appraisal process, formalizing the onboarding process for new staff, and creating an SNS annual report. The third-year action items include expanding the scope of the SNS EXCEL! program to assist student services units and faculty, as well as increasing the presence of SNS staff on campus-wide committees and organizations. Another third-year action item is to foster a culture of professional development and community for SNS student staff, including more formal mentoring of student staff as well as opportunities to participate in training and instituting On-the-Spot awards and an appreciation event for student employees.
Proposed Action Items (see Task Force Report for more details and metrics)
2021-2022
- Begin the creation of an EDI Culture and develop SNS staff cultural competencies.
- Implement a Management Review Initiative.
- Encourage SNS supervisors and staff to nominate one another for awards within SNS and across campus.
- Create a Faculty and Staff Partnership Liaison.
- Create an SNS Faculty Resource Webpage.
2022-2023
- Continuation of and end-of-year review of Year 1 actions.
- Improve SNS staff performance appraisal process.
- Formalize Staff new hire procedures and onboarding
- Create SNS Annual Report.
- Expand the scope of the SNS Staff Council to include community service, faculty collaboration events, and more diverse offerings in the Professional Development Series.
- Hold SNS summer retreat for faculty and staff.
- Create SNS faculty support workshop series.
- Create a sense of SNS pride and culture through branding, marketing, and annual events hosted by SNS.
2023 and after
- Expand presence of External Relations, Alumni Relations, and Campus Events team in SNS initiatives and events.
- Expand Scope of the SNS EXCEL! Program to increase services in support of faculty and academic advising/student support units.
- Increase SNS Staff presence in inter-campus committees, organizations, student RCOs, and collaborations with other campus units in campus initiatives.
- Implement a Sustainability Initiative where all SNS Staff Unit offices are LEED Certified under the Green Office Program through the Office of Sustainability at UC Merced.
- Create a culture of professional advancement and community for SNS Student Staff through mentoring, regular check-ins, inclusion in more Staff events and recognition for their work.
