UC ANR has new online orientation guide

UC ANR has a new online orientation guide for new employees. It begins with a welcome video from VP Glenda Humiston and continues to a table of contents where new employees will find topics such as the ANR Mission and Vision, ANR Core Messages, History of ANR, ANR programs and unit overview videos, as well as personal responsibility, employee resources, and more. UC ANR continues to explore ways to orient our new employees beyond the annual New Employee Administrative and Programmatic Orientations.

UC Learning Center upgrade

Between July 7 and 14, the UC Learning Center website (lms.ucdavis.edu) will be down for an upgrade. Therefore, plan your compliance and other training with that schedule in mind. As new information is available from UCOP, we will send out a reminder announcement.

Lynda.com

ANR employees still have access to Lynda.com. Therefore, disregard any messages you may have received stating that our subscription is over. If you have not already created a personal account, please go the ANR Portal and under “My Links” click on Lynda.com Learning. This month's learning module recommendations are “Delivering Employee Feedback” with Todd Dewett and “The Benefits of Project management” with Richard Harrington. Check them out!

MSAP provides people managers new awareness

Last month Tina Jordan, Academic HR manager, and Karina Macias, UCCE nutrition program manager in Fresno County, attended the April 2017 Management Skills Assessment Program (MSAP) at the UCLA Conference Center at Lake Arrowhead. The goal of MSAP is to address skill gaps and grow competencies that will prepare people managers for future opportunities in their UC workplaces.

During the four-day program, Jordan and Macias participated in simulated UC management scenarios, received behavioral feedback from assessors, attended a career development workshop, and connected with UC systemwide colleagues. Before they arrived, they participated in pre-assessment components and will be involved post-program activities to continue their professional development.

As testimonials to their experience, Jordan said, “My MSAP experience was awesome! I was able to learn a lot about myself and what I project to my colleagues and managers. What I liked most about MSAP is how the program is customized for individual professional development. The feedback and resources I was given was personalized for me only. I thank ANR and everyone who supported me in this endeavor.”

Macias remarked, “MSAP was an insightful experience. I have become more confident in my strengths and more self-aware of my development areas. I look forward to using the skills and information I learned, in my continued professional growth.”

But MSAP would not happen without UC assessors and a big “THANK YOU” is due to Ann Senuta, director of ANR Publications. Senuta was assigned three MSAP assessees for whom she provided feedback and coaching during the program. Of her experience she said, “People who have taken part in the MSAP program say it's intense. It is! The process of identifying and evaluating your assessees' strengths and areas of development is a huge responsibility, but it's probably the most rewarding aspect of MSAP. I have so much respect for everyone who goes through MSAP—the assessees who want to discover how to improve their skills, the very organized coordinators, and most of all the other assessors from all over the UC system who work incredibly hard in those three and a half days to help guide the next generation of UC's managers and leaders.”

Become an assessor and help ANR serve this UC systemwide initiative for upward mobility. Academics can add the assessor service to their merit and promotion package. For information on how to become an assessor, contact Jodi Azulai at jlazulai@ucanr.edu.

The next MSAP will be held Oct. 9-12, 2017. See the next article to apply.

CALL FOR ANR APPLICANTS: Management Skills Assessment Program (MSAP)

If you or your people managers are ready for a leap in professional development, we encourage applying for the Management Skills Assessment Program (MSAP).

This program assesses the management skills of high-potential, early-career supervisors and managers for future leadership opportunities at the University of California. We strongly recommend discussing the program with supervisors and managers who exhibit potential for management development.

Applications are due July 10, 2017.

Eligibility requirements include:

• Full-time career status with a current, satisfactory (or better) performance evaluation
• Career Tracks job classification as a supervisor or manager

Participants will be selected based on an evaluation of the applicant's (1) career goals in management, (2) level of skills essential for performing management functions, and (3) demonstrated career path and/or strong commitment to management skill development.

ANR Learning & Development pays the $1,095 program fee plus transportation and other related travel costs.  

What to expect:

• A demanding program with assessees in activities from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.
• No time to check email or attend to work responsibilities.
• Eat with other assessees and share small condos. 

Application instructions and further information about the program are at http://msap.ucr.edu. Choose UC ANR (not UC Davis) in the application.

A UC ANR committee will review all applications and make the final selection.Completed applications must be submitted online at http://msap.ucr.edu by Monday, July 10, 2017 (Remember the website will shut down between July 7 and 14 for upgrade). As supervisor, you will also have a required portion in the submission for application consideration and commit to participate in the required post-program activities. 

For more information, contact Jodi Azulai, ANR Learning and Development coordinator, at jlazulai@ucanr.edu.

ANR Learning and Development

To position ANR as the premiere source of knowledge and science for agricultural and natural resources issues, it is vital that our people keep their knowledge and skills at peak performance. The ANR Learning and Development website offers an array of opportunities for employee learning and professional development that can help serve that goal. I strongly encourage employees to take full advantage of these resources as well as other opportunities to enhance their personal and professional growth. – Glenda Humiston, Vice President