VOICES Activities, Proposals and Wins

Career Development
The team has been the advising on the drafting of the “business case” for providing comprehensive career services for all U-M staff. Rationale includes both enhanced productivity of staff, and setting the bar for other institutions to match.  They have also collected considerable information about existing career development offerings and needs.

Faculty and Staff Communication
In November, the team hosted a faculty/staff workshop led by Professor Jane Dutton on “Building High-Quality Connections.”  The presentation was videotaped and will be shaped for wider use on campus.  The group is also working with HR to create more effective “onboarding” for new staff, to integrate them smoothly into the work of a top-tier research and teaching institution.

Health and Wellness
Members contributed to the campus-wide survey that is part of the Michigan Healthy Community Initiative and met with U-M Chief Health Officer Dr. Robert Winfield to discuss employee concerns regarding health care issues.  The team also provides input to Michigan Healthy Community, MFit and other campus units about how to better promote physical activity, healthy eating habits, and mental well-being in the workplace.

Parking and Transportation
The network drafted a business case with proposals for improving parking for off-shift employees and look forward to the construction of the campus’s first heated bus shelter.  The off-shift parking proposal was accepted by the Health System in October 2007, and will be implemented in the Taubman Parking Structure where it will provide approximately 100 additional parking opportunities for staff whose shifts start between 10:00 am & 1:30 pm. They Parking and Transportation team continues to work closely with the Parking & Transportation department in order to stay updated on changes such as the new Zipcar program (see http://www.parking.umich.edu/#103006 ).

Recognition and Performance Management
The network team is completing its summary of recognition and performance management tools to be available to any campus unit.  It will include sections on Goal Setting, Coaching and Mentoring, Evaluation and Feedback, and Rewards and Recognition, and covers why the process is needed (ROI), who should be involved, successful examples both internal and external, and pitfalls to avoid.

Rewards and Benefits
The Rewards and Benefits team is investigating whether the dependent children scholarship programs offered at U-M Dearborn and U-M Flint might be made available to U-M Ann Arbor staff.  They are also working with the Mcard department seeking additional vendor discounts for U-M employees.  A Benefits sub-team worked with the Benefits Office to provide Open Enrollment information on DVD.

Updated October 2007