MES introduced Ronnie Haas from MIT HR who provided an update on new professional development and training being offered, as well as an overview of new programs emerging from HR.
- Services and resources on offer to staff at MIT: HR workshops and professional development opportunities.
- Looking to make them more visible to staff.
Goals for HR Spring Programming:
1. Develop skills and share best practices to work effectively in a changing work environment- hybrid work.
2. Develop competencies that contribute to an environment that enable all staff to feel respected and valued.
3. Provide strategies and resources for working collaboratively in condition of great stress.
4. Help people stay connected regardless of where they work.
Offerings Coming Up:
1. Learn and grow
Mix of virtual, online, self-paced and consultative services and resources (quarterly-newsletter coming out next week), includes virtual workshop, management development, carrier development resources, online learning and learning bundles, tuition assist plan benefit reminder. Action: Help spread word among DLCs.
2. Cohort Role-Based Program (help get word out)
Manager mostly roundtable, managers feedback program, coaching for success, insights to management. Action: Help share word among managers.
A Shared Responsibility between employee and manager- specific and measurable development goals based on current and future org needs; prepare for and being open to conversations about career goals, actively support development goals and providing ongoing feedback.
Going Beyond Training opportunities to apply and integrate in current role, coaching and feedback from manager, mentoring, stretch assignments, shadowing, committees, and expand professional network.
Other Resources from HR: MIT Learning center, performance development at MIT, talent development planning, resources for managers, career development services, staff recognition, learn@mit.edu. Action: how do we help managers think through what kind of skills/competencies will be required in the future? How to train in-house talent?
Priorities: Learning and Development
Ongoing: Management development, fostering culture change: MIT staff conversations, successfully implementing work succeeding, bias-free hiring.
Emerging (later this spring): Search inside yourself leadership (new tool and hoping to be far reaching), mentoring for MIT staff: framework and pilot (toolkit that can be taken up by DLC and adapted), career pathways: model and pilot (increase transparency of career pathways at MIT).
General Conversation:
ML: Fostering career advancement at MIT, more guidance for AA or AA2 on what roles they can apply to that aren’t AA roles? Any thought about mapping different types of progression and paths that exist, (understanding that there isn’t a one-size fits all)?
RH: Podcast coming soon on staff career paths. Will be starting with AA as first priority-creating a visual model that they can lean in to, learn from, and act on.
EL: How to emphasize that professional development is not solely on manager? Rather a partnership between manager and employee.
RH: Important and needs emphasis that it is individually driven and should seek out information, but managers need to make information accessible, and be open to having conversation with staff. HR offers a session on preparing for that conversation with manager.
MR: Actively looking into challenge of AA career pathways. Trying a pilot in dept—for interested AAs have tried to engage them in HQ functions. Expose them to work being undertaken, can use the experience for resume building. Working well and helping with department succession planning. Time release for professional development becomes an important piece…can you engage on top of FT job, or is it a question of time release? Revisit job responsibilities, and reflect on financial implications.
ND: How to address inconsistency (whether real or perceived) between promotion for administrative and research appointments. Research appointments more flexibility, fix perception that less flexibility within administrative positions. Ties back to culture.
MES: On emerging topics-leadership training will it be an open call for participation?
RH: For all leaders-Learn & Grow going out next week. If highly subscribed, HR will respond to demand. Active listening and communication, goal setting very popular courses. People want to be engage given the opportunity. On managers side: project management, and positivity well received.
EL: What is the most important thing coming out of work succeeding?
RH: Taking action to know how your staff are feeling. Are they valued and respected? Listening to staff for this.
MES General Updates:
AO-AO equivalent meeting
MES: Plan is to have quarterly meetings. Brought up at AD meeting. Who is best positioned to host? Inconclusive feedback not sure best place to house. What’s a good structure for it?
RE: Clarify the role of this effort?
MES: Networking opportunity for AOs but doesn’t replace AO/FO meeting—agenda by AOs. Each area selects an AO to nominate to serve on committee, organize agenda.
EL: Not replacing, just augmenting, helping AOs connecting in meaningful manner
MR: Great idea- but how realistic is it to add another AO-level meeting? For example, SoE has school wide AO meetings, as well as additional informal bi-weekly meetings.
JD: Dean’s Office organized meet every two weeks. Topic identified ahead of time.
MES: Networking is quarterly—opportunity to share across schools.
MR: Who would own and organize? AACII host?
AL: SHASS meeting every other month.
JD: Needs to be a discursive forum, not purely information sharing.
MES: If stellar example could share in this forum.
Annual Meeting
-Mary Ellen and Olympia met with Maryanne Kirkbride, discussed DEI as topic for this year’s meeting.
-Looking to do an in-person event. Planning phase more of a heavy lift if in person.
-Members of AACII volunteer for sub-committees.
-Subcommittees include: Agenda (working with format, finalizing agenda, working with different individuals that will join), marketing (create invitation design, collecting RSVP, mailing list, evaluation forms, compiling responses), logistics (planning with the space, seating assignments, space planning, assigning AACII).
-Tentative agenda: Intro MindHeartHand, DEI hires, faculty-staff relationships. 1-2hrs meeting. May date.
Concluding Remarks
-Feb Christine Lo joining from VPF to discuss purchasing with purpose, being rolled out end of summer-looking for feedback.
-Any ideas for remaining meetings? IDHR, Katie Hammer (and Ed), introduction to new leaders at MIT (OSATT & RAS & Assistant Provost).
