Staff Development Transformation
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This document discusses creating effective and sustainable staff development. It recommends reframing staff development as a personal growth opportunity rather than just checking boxes. Supported learning groups and peer observations can help promote engagement and impactful experiences for students. Staff feedback indicates the current approach increased confidence, interpersonal skills, and opportunities for both personal and professional development. The document calls for continuing an open and reflective approach to avoid past mistakes and keep staff development evolving to meet future needs.
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Staff Development Transformation
- 1. Creating Immersive and Sustainable Staff Development Aleksandra Kulesza aleksandra.kulesza@ryerson.ca
- 2. How do you want to be developed in your role?
- 3. Supported Learning Groups Reframing staff development Supporting Leaders Growth
- 4. Food for Thought Reframe staff development as a personal development project rather than supervisor checklist Promote buy-in and active engagement of staff Create impactful and exceptional student experiences Move beyond the job description
- 9. Staff Experience Then “I learned a lot more about my role and what the true essence of SLG since the development program began.”
- 10. Team meetings Blogging Peer observations Staff Development Then
- 12. Staff Experience Now “increased my confidence and interpersonal skills” “rewarding” “team dynamic is genuine” “allows me to continue to grow in ways that are important to me” “I learn something new just about every day” “I'm very grateful for the opportunity to work as a SLG leader, it has truly changed my undergraduate experience.” “opportunity to develop personally and professionally”
- 13. Team meetings Mentorship program One-on-one development meetings Video observations Peer observations RU Noted participation Other… Staff Development Now
- 16. Action Plan Pose questions Remain open Think beyond
- 17. Questions?
Editor's Notes
- https://docs.google.com/a/ryerson.ca/forms/d/1j_uL3dOVkULER6cxM3s8yUjOgHJHMWjKrk1Y5gQnUf8/edit?usp=drive_web Who am I? What do I do? A quick survey of the group to get to know who we have here and what different perspectives are being brought to the conversation. How many folks supervise student staff? How many staff are you supervising.. 5 or less 5-10, 10-20, 20 +? -- this program was implemented with about 15 staff Who enjoyed their long weekend?
- Bring participants to the board to write ways the want learning to happen Prompt– think of activities as well as approaches to development Was it easy to think of ways or topics? When was the last time you were asked how you wanted to learn? – rhetorical What are some common themes from what is mentioned? This was our goal during the SLG Leader Development process. For staff to identify what they want to learn, how they want to learn it and then to create opportunities which they are the drivers of.
- What I am suggesting is not novel or revolutionary, rather is it acknowledging the value is stepping back and handing over the reigns. The focus was on the student facing programming (Supported Learning Groups) not on the leaders facilitating the programming. Reframing staff development required recognition that staff were here to learn and develop as students, professionals and people.
- Goal to have these food for though items as key take-away’s Ways to reframe staff development as personal development project rather than supervisor checklist Promote buy-in and active engagement of staff Create impactful and exceptional student experiences Move beyond the job description; engage staff as contributors How can we reframe staff development? How can we promote buy-in and active engagement of staff? How can we create impactful and exceptional student experiences? How can we move beyond the job description? (not to silo staff out of opportunities that were not expected or predicted in the job role creation)
- What do we see in this image? Individualistic Uninspiring Process Procedure Transactional These items were the problem. What I saw were staff who were disconnected, saw the role as clock-in and clock-out (fulfilled their duties by arriving and answering student questions) however did not appear to be taking much more from the role. My focus turned to staff engagement and finding opportunities for staff development.
- What do we see in this picture? Collaboration Conspiring Trust Communication Team/community The goal was to achieve these components. Reaching out to student staff and identifying what they want to learn from the experience. Developing a plan that was flexible to their goals.
- Transactional employment promotes transactional leadership (focus on rewards and punishment as the key strategy to compliance) Transformational employment transforming staff to cooperation, harmony and a higher moral maturity Would be led by a transformation leader This is a big ask and may not be realistic Development employment Process of being developed or developing others includes active personal growth as well opportunity to support the development of others
- Fresh eyed and bushy tailed entry into the role. Wanted to bring my student staff experience to planning of staff development however was quickly swept up in the need for performance and results– without recognizing that these require nurturing and support. An existing development structure did not exist and so it took time to recognize the need for it and value in having it. Often said “if only I had time to set this up” but couldn’t because my attention was needed with administrative items (timesheets, troubleshooting online system, creating promotion and scheduling). The demands of the job, a quick transition into the role and a new level of responsibility resulted in staff development lacking intentionality. I quickly fell into a pattern of… Monitoring attendance/hours Ensuring task completion Essentially chasing student staff Occasional student complaints of leader behaviour It didn’t feel right. It was not satisfying.
- Staff were unsure of the expectations of them Staff did not take ownership of their position (it was as if we were renting out the opportunity to them rather than something that they encompassed and fed) Staff did not have a role in developing their position or themselves beyond the pre-scripted activities This was visible through the Questions staff brought to me were related to scheduling conflicts, timesheet or pay issues, checking what was “necessary” of them
- Staff development included mainly individual activities without many opportunities for staff to collaborate on tasks. Staff did not have an opportunity to select or opt-in to activities that further promoted the development they hoped to achieve. All activities were mandatory and were monitored by supervisors. There was no wrap-up or reflection on any learning that may have taken place. Essentially the development “plan” assumed that results occurred by essence of activities existing.
- Setting aside time to develop materials and opportunities based on staff feedback and suggestions. Establishing an open space for questioning, inquiry and mistakes. Recognizing that time spent in this work will have greater returns for staff and myself. By taking time to improve staff experience the other “troubleshooting” items have reduced– I hypothesize because staff feel a connection to and value the work they do so they bring their best selves to the role which means problem-solving, bringing forward solutions and engaging with one another. Frequent feedback from students and contact with leaders thanking them for their work and impact they’ve had.
- Questions staff now bring to me are new ideas for student engagement, staff development Feedback received through an anonymous staff survey sent via Google Forms. Development happens outside of the SLG session, staff receive “positive and constructive feedback from [their] peers”, can brainstorm session strategies, discuss challenges and develop their leadership skills with one another. “Not only are we helping students develop skills, with this addition to the program, leaders are also developing along the way.” This is where the immersion and sustainability sources– staff are not just developing for this role, they are developing for life.
- Each of these have changed drastically over time. The point to highlight here is not that these are the ideal activities or will have the highest value. Other key features: Flexible timeline (staff schedule their development) Optional activities (invite to participate rather than mandating participation) Team meetings (facilitated development topic) Mentorship program One-on-one development meetings Video observations Peer observations RU Noted participation Other…
- What staff development will look like will change next semester, next year and continually. I believe it must change to retain staff, maintain interest and continue to offer growth opportunities. I want to focus on flexibility of supervisors and coordinators to continually modify existing activities We will take the activities, opportunities and structure developed and remain curious– curious about what we can change, what staff want/need from the role, how we can achieve goals together
- This is something I have seen done by colleagues and have every belief that the process is happening across campus. Here are some mistakes I made… Mistakes: - Not allowing the process to be iterative Assuming that a one time plan will last for years Informing development from above (top-down); not including staff in the process (of course the development plan comes from the supervisor/coordinators, however it is valuable to find a way to identify topics/activities that are staff-driven and to introduce the plan in a way that focuses on the staff, not the supervisor)
- If you are able to start the process, you must commit to the following... Post questions Consider what skills do I need in a student staff? Likely this skill is transferable to their professional endeavours, so... How can this skill be developed? How do staff want to gain new skills or develop in their capabilities? Remain open to the process, to staff feedback and suggestions and to your own learning. Every small achievement can and should inform your next steps. Think beyond the job description, not a matter of ignoring the expectations of the job role. Moving beyond the job description means avoiding silo-ing staff or yourself ; it means offering opportunities for development in unexpected places.
- What are you doing currently? What can you be doing better? How can you get there? Another activity– what challenges do you face in promoting staff development? Small group discussions?