Reflections on Ops pulse-check survey results by

jmelcon — 2024-09-20 17:59:30 UTC

Goals vs work

2024-09-23 20:06:30 UTC

I wonder if folks don't know (or know they know) what's in between big goals ("advancing racial equity") and work groups with specific objectives. Is there anything beyond the commitments in our RE statement?

Depends

2024-09-23 20:11:31 UTC

The vagueness of this statement might be the issue. Is leadership an Advisor, team lead, ET member? And what is the issue?

Often waiting to be prioritized

2024-09-23 20:13:43 UTC

Our department receives good partnership overtures from Programs but often the actual responses/help is delayed, and the message subtly or otherwise can be that our work is less of a priority than theirs. Also not sure why Programs has always been so stressed about workload with every level of staffing possible since my time here.

There are a lot of workgroup with vague report outs and no clear metrics - I think it's hard for staff, ops in particular, to see the results/output. This is likely a perception issue

2024-09-24 17:21:38 UTC

If there is a lack of understanding about what racial equity is/means this could explain a lower score

2024-09-24 17:22:22 UTC

I'm not sure about the cause for the drop, though this is a hard one to score a 5. You're either satisfied (score 3-4, depending on how you view the likert scale) or your not (1-2)

2024-09-24 17:25:56 UTC

Moving Parts

2024-09-24 17:38:18 UTC

There are many moving parts involved in our Racial Equity work within the organization. It may be beneficial to narrow our focus to just a few key areas. By doing this, we can better understand our direction and define success in achieving our goals.

Ops vs programs

2024-09-24 23:40:34 UTC

Ops and programs seem to sit in a different place in RE journey, knowledge, and day to day work. Program staff is more involved in the work via various committees etc. Ops team is in a different place where they only know what is shared out. Also, the work should be shared equitably knowing that not everyone is involved in the work equally.

2024-09-25 00:00:48 UTC

What does a work lead or leader think is a good recognition? Sometimes there is not a path upward in a position, how do you keep the staff engaged and feeling like they are coming to work with a purpose? How often does an advisor ask an advisee about what success looks like to him/her? It may not be about material recognition, it could be learning, growth, work life balance, consistency, no consistency etc. It is about shaping the work to an individual and using their strengths vs. molding people into preset criteria.

Depends also

2024-09-25 22:23:02 UTC

I feel comfortable raising issues with my advisor, but that's it, especially with how leadership has handled the departures, hiring freeze, and other workplace issues. I also think we need to shift the question to go beyond racial equity because issues at Irvine go beyond racial equity. We went from acknowledging that there are workload issues so we hired people to not hiring even when folks left behind struggle with the workload or adjusting to their new set of responsibilities/teams.

Maybe there should an open-ended question about this in the survey so folks can define what they mean by recognition

2024-09-25 23:07:34 UTC

For some staff, maybe recognition includes getting gifts, celebration lunches for anniversaries and birthdays, or being acknowledged in all-staff meetings. For some, recognition might be feeling like their opinions are respected or that the amount of work they do is acknowledged/not undervalued.

The racial equity goals seem really complex and some of it doesn't seem relevant. What do we really need to know as an Ops team member?

2024-09-27 16:55:20 UTC

If every staff is asked how they want to be recognized, and if it's being followed, the score should not be low. Maybe, it needs to be re-verified by the advisors, to clarify any confusion.

2024-09-27 17:54:32 UTC

Maybe there should be another retreat for Ops and Programs staff together to get to know each other's work. So maybe that can help understand where everyone is coming from.

2024-09-27 18:02:33 UTC

2024-09-27 18:17:16 UTC

We've gathered a lot of information on our progress toward our RE goals so far. However, it's equally important to focus on the completed projects, reflecting on what went well and where there were challenges. We can encourage everyone to share openly about their experiences, particularly regarding learning capacity, as newer team members might feel pressure to keep up with the current pace.

2024-09-27 18:28:31 UTC

I understand it for the foundation as a whole from a high level, but I don't understand how this work applies to my role. What is concretely expected of me after doing this work? What specific behaviors or problems within operations is this work attempting to solve? Where does it apply for those who aren't advisors and aren't responsible for hiring or vendor decisions?

2024-09-27 18:33:35 UTC

The vast majority of our staff are wonderful to work with. But it's clear my time and role aren't valued by some individuals in Programs and Investments.

It might be a timing issue. Maybe for now since it's a moving target, there's always going to be ambiguity until everyone is on the same page, in terms of their self-study. And also, as we learn more of the Foundation's RE projects/changes that will NOT just have an impact on how we do our grants but also on how RE projects/changes can internally impact our staffs and their work, clarity and understanding will follow.

2024-09-27 19:02:02 UTC