Responses | EA Staff Feedback Forum #4: Professional Growth
How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
I have been exploring CULearn and Linkedin for opportunities that I can undertake to grow and develop my skill set.
What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited?
Continued Zoom webinars related to working remotely - tips and practices, etc. would be spectacular! Additionally, promotion of work related webinars (platform specific or general) would be helpful.
What will be important for you as we look forward to the future?
Continued support from management and senior leadership in developing our skills as we will more than likely find ourselves in a place of having to do more with less. Maintaining work-life balance is vital as well.
How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
I feel limited by the fact my position is only secure until the end of the year. What are plans for Full Time Temps? What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? Job role come January.How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
As a newer employee and manager, I am learning new skills on the fly to manage teams remotely, support online programs, and support staff's professional development. My professional development is hands on navigating HR, tech support, finance, and working with OSP. Equity and Inclusion discussions and activities and how to embed them in our organizational culture are also critical. As we work remotely, conversations around mental, emotional, and physical health are urgent. What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? Professional development that supports our current changes to online platforms and the external movements around social justice, equity, and deconstructing structural racism in our organizations. What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? Authentic in house conversations and training that responds to employee current needs in this new normal.How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
I’m thinking options are limited during covid What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? Coaching What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? Access to free trainings, that don’t require supervisors permission when supervisor isn’t interested in your professional developmentHow are you thinking about your own growth and development?
Learning to be open minded to new ways of growth and developement. What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? I don't have any thoughts about this. What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? As we look to the future, most important to me is maintaining my job.How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
I had been looking forward to getting through my year here in February of this year as it was the checkpoint for me to move forward and look into an apprenticeship with trades (which i have worked in multiple different ways before Cornell) and I wonder if and when i might be able to pursue this career goal with Cornell. What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? As I have not been able to acquire much feedback or information regarding the specifics behind the apprenticeship program. I hoped i would be able to gain more knowledge from the university as to options that were available during this time. What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? Being able to provide an opportunity for advancement as i feel that myself and others that seek to further their careers or look to be in a position where their full potential can be utilized can do so.How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
It's really important as a staff role. I completed CUlearn courses to improved my growth and development. And volunteered at the Booksale this year. What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? Added more online self paced on CUlearn. What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? Stay informed.How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
That is not today's priority. Today's priority, and for the foreseeable future, is to support the reactivation of the campus to ensure the ongoing education/outreach/research Cornell serves the global community with, and to do so with the health and safety of our campus and regional community at heart. Seriously... it's not about me right now. What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? Speak truth... even the hard truths. Engage in uncomfortable dialogues. Help our culture grow while learning from all who have written/researched/debated before. Help - no - set the expectation for our whole Cornell community have a "learning culture"... including the staff. What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? Article after article talks about the "me" and "I" culture as core to the challenge now for implementing behavior changes to improve the health of all. Looking forward to the future... I don't feel the question should be what is important to me, but rather what is important for us. That change alone is what I hope for.How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
In terms of COVID-19, I'll looking at professional development in terms of CU Learn classes or Lynda.com sessions that I can take that will further myself professionally. For example, I've been taking/researching information about Zoom. In terms of growth, due to what's occurring in the world today, I've been attending discussions that pertain to racial discrepancies that have been happening in our country. It's important to learn as much as we can and carry it through when the students return. What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? I believe being transparent is all you can do right now. I think it's important to be forward with what spending/money is cut and/or limited. It is my belief that limited spending is necessary in the long run in order for the university to reach it's top goals: having students return and keeping as many jobs as possible. Concessions have to occur for these top items to happen. What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? 1) Making sure the students come back. 2) Keeping my own job and the jobs of as many other faculty/staff members as possible. 3) Creating procedures for in person events that are safe to Cornell Community members but also enjoyable. That way when faculty, staff, and students do return to campus, there are still activities and events to look forward to.How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
I am worried it is at a stand still right now. What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? more zoom based "community chats" and an "end" date to a wage freeze (at least).How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
My workload has been too heavy to be able to participate in many professional development opportunities. While my unit is supportive of professional development, a missed day or even a hours of work make it hard to catch up. What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? I think the greatest support is reinforcing with supervisors and especially unit directors the benefits of professional development of staff. As the non-exempt representative on EA, I have fielded many questions and concerns from employees about supervisors or higher-ups not supporting development during working hours, and/or unfairly allowing certain employees but not all to participate. Also the disparity between departments and units is vast. Separately, I think that the GIGS feature in Workday can and should be revamped to really be learning, growth and mentorship opportunities, rather than what all seem to be full or part-time jobs!!! What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? I think that the strain on employees to continue to "do more with less" is a problem. With the hiring freeze units who are already tight have no opportunity to add additional staff. Then those existing employees are expected to do more without an annual raise and a cut in retirement or salary. Employee moral is a problem and anything to keep spirits up will be a positive help!How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
I am wondering how I can still grow and be given new responsibilities while under a hiring freeze. How can I take the next step in my career when I cannot be given a promotion? What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? I would like there to be guidance or understanding that title changes can take place without pay changes What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? I know I was up for a promotion before COVID-19 hit. While I fully understand that I cannot get a raise with a promotion, is it possible to still get a title change to acknowledge the hard work that I have put in?How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
I’ve been taking self-paced training, as time allows, to learn new skills. What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? Opportunities to job shadow in areas of interest to help facilitate career changes. What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? Removing burdensome processes while maintaining governance.How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
It is hard to consider professional development opportunities when we are in a hiring freeze/salary reducation environment. What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? Offer free facilitation for collaborative ‘retreats’ within offices. What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? An understanding of what cost savings plans are being considered, particularly any office restructuring/consolidating that may not make people lose their jobs, but may change the way we are asked/expected to do our work.How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
My personal and professional growth has been stalled over the last several years and I’m looking at this pandemic as a silver lining. Namely, allowing me to seek out opportunities which will enhance my skills and character traits in preparation for the re-opening of Cornell University. What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? It’s been talked about before but there are supervisors out there that were not 100 percent supportive of their staff seeking professional development options (mine specifically). Certainly not in pre-Covid times. Perhaps not the administration should make that perfectly clear and that supervisors should be encouraging and perhaps even facilitating any and all professional development opportunities for their staff members. Cornell has provided many great avenues for their staff (edX, Linked In, TAP, and the employee degree program). There may be others as well. What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? To be challenged in my position. It’s quite certain the on campus environment will be different. While I certainly enjoy my work, it will be different and as an employee, I’m concerned with that notion and at the same time excited about what changes will take place..How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
Wanting to explore new job skills/interests. What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? I would like to see the LinkedIn Learnings encourage as a way for staff to stay productive and not have the subject area be quite so tied to the current job position. Those of us who have done a lot of trainings through CU Learn may be a bit burned out at this point, especially those who have been overall constricted to trainings related to direct job functions by their department. Also, the University better managing financial resources on a centralized level as it pertains to the gig opportunitites so that employees are able to participate in gig opportunities. The home department needing to pay the employee’s wages while they are doing a gig can cause some departments to deny the gig based on financial reasons when the employee would otherwise be idle and could still be contributing to Cornell. What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? Administration support of measures enacted, like how they have been very clear that they support us working from home. Like administration explicitly saying they support folks wanting to explore training/development out of their core job function would set expectation that departments would all staff who have the time to do so, to do so. This would help advocated for employeees’ welfare on a broader scale.How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
With current uncertain times, growth and development aren’t even on my mind. What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? Look to expand roles, title changes, opportunities make more effective teams. What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? How we use this opportunity to make necessary changes and become more effective.How are you thinking about your own growth and development?
I’m thinking more seriously about enrolling in a class this fall. The ability to enroll is much greater as a virtual option. What support can the university provide when movement and discretionary spending is limited? Encouragement for each staff to create a personal growth and developemtn with your supervisor, in light of COVID. Given the circumstances, I’m thinking quarterly may be good. I would also like to see diversity & social justice as a bullet point on these plans (e.g. a prompt on the plan such as: What are 3-5 things that you’re personally doing to grown and expand your understanding of and to take action for race, equality, and social justice issues in your work? In your community? For you personally?) What will be important for you as we look forward to the future? I’d love to see guidance and encourage as a top-down approach. I understand that, under many circumstances, this isn’t the ideal approach. However, given the dispersion and disconnection that remote work carries, a more central approach for essential things including personal and professional development, are key. Cornell is already doing a great job and I would love ot see this continue to expand.