- Author: Matt Baur
The UC ANR Staff Assembly has established a scholarship program that is available to all UC ANR staff employees and county-paid employees. The scholarship provides financial assistance to UC ANR staff to pursue career interests, develop new career paths, and address knowledge or skill gaps needed to reach professional development goals.
This year's award dates are for courses taken between May 1, 2017, and April 15, 2018. Deadline for applications is close of business April 15, 2018. Late applications will not be accepted. Courses taken after April 15, 2018, will be eligible for reimbursement on the next scholarship cycle of April 16, 2018, to Nov. 30, 2018.
Scholarship criteria:
- Funding up to $499, dependent on amount of eligible applications received.
- Training activities must occur between May 1, 2017 and April 15, 2018.
- Scholarship allocation will be considered only for successfully completed training activities. Proof of completion with a passing grade must accompany applications for courses or seminars (i.e. grade report, transcript, certificate, etc.)
- Applications must be submitted by close of business April 15, 2018. Late applications will not be accepted.
- Receipts for all eligible expenses are required for reimbursement and must be submitted with application.
- Applications received incomplete or without required documentation will not be considered.
- The UC ANR Staff Assembly Council will review applications within 30 days of application close date. Award recipients will be notified within 60 days and receive reimbursement checks when notified.
For more information, please visit the Staff Assembly website http://staffassembly.ucanr.edu/Scholarships.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Human Resources and Staff Assembly hosted an online town hall with Vice President Glenda Humiston to discuss ANR's results of the staff engagement survey on Feb. 6. The discussion focused on three main areas raised in the survey: change management, performance management and wellness.
If you missed the town hall, a video recording of the Zoom meeting is available at https://ucanr.zoom.us/recording/play/gL9SQUszO9DdC-P-Ec7HHusAJC5RLuRbDgcN2Qt__VBccf6cR0FZ-BJ-T8cs47u3.
To hear only the audio, visit https://ucanr.zoom.us/recording/play/ikr3TuSmSXNFMbv4snPwcDWtOYjOCu5Jt8uEPNqbUzBq32NaiVyO7pvXavceuLP-.
Both links display an autogenerated transcript of the audio, but the transcript is not a reliable representation of the discussion. For example, John Fox's introductory statement was transcribed as “I'm joined here in the room and Davis by Pam con rise from Strategic Communications Christina Adam sinned from IBM is also One of the leaders of our staff assembly group shame and guilt from HR, who's also in staff assembly as a junior delegate to the cook. So organization and our Vice President going to Houston.”
What Fox actually said was, “I'm joined here in the room in Davis by Pam Kan-Rice from Strategic Communications; Christina Adamson from IPM, who's also one of the leaders of our staff assembly group; LeChe McGill from HR, who's also in staff assembly as a junior delegate to the CUCSA organization; and our Vice President Glenda Humiston.”
The staff engagement survey results and a recording of the Dec. 13, 2017, ANR Engagement Survey orientation webinar are available at http://staffassembly.ucanr.edu under the CUCSA tab.
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Last spring, a sampling of non-represented UC ANR staff were asked to complete the biennial Staff Engagement Survey to gauge their impressions about working for the University. The Council of UC Staff Assemblies (CUCSA), in collaboration with Systemwide Human Resources' Employee Relations department, developed the survey with the company Willis Towers Watson. The 2017 survey follows similar surveys conducted in 2013 and 2015. The results have been tabulated, and the UC ANR Staff Assembly and UC ANR Human Resources are preparing to share the results broadly across the division.
All staff and academics are invited to take part in a webinar review of the survey results from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Dec. 13 (additional information and the webinar link will be e-mailed). Vice President Glenda Humiston, ANR Staff Assembly and ANR Human Resources will host a town hall meeting from 11 a.m. to 12 noon on Jan. 16 to discuss the results and ideas for improvement.
“Reviewing the engagement survey results gives us the opportunity to have open conversations about how people feel about working at UC ANR, and identify ways we can improve,” said John Fox, ANR Human Resources executive director.
At the UC ANR Staff Assembly ambassadors' meeting in October, CUCSA delegates Jeannette Warnert and LeChé McGill presented a preview of the results in three areas that show opportunities for improvement: organizational change, performance management and wellness. After the presentation, the ambassadors broke into groups to suggest ways to improve staff impressions in these areas.
According to the survey, 34 percent of respondents had a favorable impression to the statement, "Generally, recent major organizational changes across the UC system have been planned well.” This is a 2 percentage-point increase from 2015.
The most popular suggestion from the ambassadors for improvement was including staff (particularly those affected by the changes) in the change process. The ambassadors also emphasized the importance of communication about changes, such as information about why changes are being made and how they will be implemented. They also stressed the importance of listening to staff and taking their input seriously.
In the area of performance management, 70 percent of staff surveyed responded favorably to the statement, “I think my performance on the job is evaluated fairly.” However, this was an 8 percentage point drop from the 2015 survey. A significant proportion, 67 percent, had favorable impressions about the statement, "I feel my personal contributions are recognized." A smaller group, 20 percent, responded favorably to "I feel my campus/location does a good job matching pay to performance."
The ambassadors felt strongly that performance management impressions could be improved by helping staff and supervisors develop a better understanding of the new employee-performance-appraisal report rating system. They suggested sharing details about the successes of staff who were rated "transformational," and providing training to staff on their role in the performance appraisal process.
Ambassadors also expressed a concern that there is an assumption among UC ANR managers that staff cannot be rated as "exceptional.”
The 2017 Staff Engagement Survey covered the topic of “wellness” for the first time. Sixty-one percent of UC ANR staff responded favorably to the statement, “My supervisor is supportive of my participation in health or wellness-related initiatives and programs offered at my campus/location.” A similar number, 60 percent, gave favorable responses to the statement, “My organization promotes an environment of physical, mental and social well-being.”
Ambassadors shared a number of ideas for improving this outcome, such as offering discounts for local health clubs/gyms, release time for exercise, exercise awards, structured wellness activities, and support for telecommuting.
For more information on the 2017 UC Staff Engagement Survey, see the UC ANR Staff Assembly website.
- Author: Nikolai Schweitzer
UC ANR Staff Assembly council members and Staff Assembly Ambassadors visited UC ANR headquarters in Davis on Oct. 10, 2017.
Council chair Matt Baur introduced the mission and purpose of staff assembly and explained how SA Ambassadors act as a voice for their co-workers. Baur also spoke of how UC employee workplace surveys drove the creation of UC ANR's Principles of Community and Staff Assembly. Trisha Dinh, business manager for youth, families and communities, UC Master Gardeners and UC Master Food Preservers, facilitated the meeting.
Vice Provost Mark Bell delivered an enthusiastic talk to the SA Ambassadors. He spoke candidly of the challenges UC ANR faces: reaching and engaging a “diverse and dispersed” target audience spread throughout California.
Associate director of Human Resources, Bethanie Brown, discussed three goals in the UC ANR Strategic Plan: Goal 6 (Recruit and Retain People), Goal 7 (Improve Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity), and Goal 8 (Expand Career and Leadership Development). Well-versed and passionate when it comes to understanding and explaining her department's goals, she shared a challenging forecast surrounding the implementation and execution of said goals. Due to an uncertain financial climate, a UCOP fiscal audit resulting in policy and procedure changes that will directly affect Goal 6, and policies that limit internal upward career growth, Brown's role as associate HR director will, more than ever, be vital for UC ANR employees.
Nikolai Schweitzer, co-program chair for the UC ANR Staff Assembly Council, delivered a presentation on the history of staff organizations. The presentation included information about the previous Staff Congress. Staff Congress was in existence from 1998 to 2003 and consisted of Research and Extension Center personnel only. The group learned about the Staff Congress' Agricultural Program, Education Scholarship Program, and Employee Rewards that involved administration as well as staff employees.
Jeannette Warnert, senior delegate to the Council of UC Staff Assemblies (CUCSA), and LeChé McGill, junior CUCSA delegate, spoke about the September CUCSA meeting at UC San Diego. They explained that CUCSA's role is to “enhance communication within the University community on matters of interest to staff employees in accordance with California laws and Regent policy.” Warnert and McGill presented information about the 2017 UC ANR Staff Engagement Survey. The UC ANR Engagement Survey results and an executive summary are posted on UC ANR Staff Assembly website, under the CUCSA tab. They said a webinar and a virtual town hall will be held in the coming months to share more information from the survey with UC ANR staff.
Jan Corlett, chief of staff to Vice President Humiston, was present for the entire SA Ambassador meeting. Corlett shared the UC ANR organizational chart and chain of command. She highlighted the responsibilities ANR has as the primary branch of the University of California to serve, educate and inform California families, businesses and public organizations.
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The Staff Advisor to the Regents, LaWana Richmond, and the Staff Advisor-designate, Jason Valdry, spent a day at the UC ANR building in Davis April 20 to reach out to UC ANR's early-career professionals, take questions at an all-staff meeting and meet with UC ANR leadership.
