What do I want to be when I grow up?

1/23/2015
The question that has been asked repeatedly to all children by
parents, grandparents, relatives, teachers, role models, peers, and the
Walmart cashier checkout lady since a very young age. Truthfully, I
always said a vet; my love of animals stemmed from my two dogs and
American Saddlebred horse. Animals love unconditionally, cant speak,
have simple needs, and appreciate the attention that you give.
Ironically my dream of becoming a vet morphed into entering the
Human Resource field, in which people do not always get along with
each other, the chatter is constant, the needs are personalized, and
appreciation is not always #1 on everyones list!
As I begin my last semester of graduate school education, I think
back to the important practical lessons I have learned, both inside and
outside of the classroom. The necessity of conducting a thorough
needs assessment and analysis phase of ADDIE comes to mind with a
project that I am currently assisting the Outreach Specialist at JMU
with. Employee retention has been deemed very important by the
university; JMU would like to attract and most importantly RETAIN the
best and brightest faculty/staff. The question that was posed to the
James Madison University HR Department was: HOW? I was assigned to
begin the researching; did we need to offer higher salaries, bigger
offices, or more parking options to retain the best of the best? After
analyzing the best practices of similar universities and conducting
interviews with the champions of this idea, our team determined it was
a sense of belonging that was needed! Employees sought work-life
support and wanted an inclusive community where they could seek
social connections from their peers. Such a simple thing seemed to be
valued by so many!
The Human Resource Department decided to create Employee
Resource Groups (ERGs), a structure and practice commonly used in
the private sector, to create the niches that JMU employees craved.
Once this was decided upon, the Outreach Specialist and myself (the
graduate assistant) began the process ALL OVER! What did these
groups need to have? What should the pilot groups be? HOW would we
ever decipher which groups were important enough to qualify for the
3 pilot groups? What skills would the leaders need? Who were the
leaders? The search for best practices and necessary facets began
again! I was then introduced to the concept of STEERING
COMMITTEES.
More next time!
Over and OutChandler