The first and most important action here is to determine what exactly do we mean when we say high-quality employees. Are we referring to their initial educational level, their level of experience reletive to the position, their attitude, their work history, etc. What do we see as the most important factors that define a high-quality employee at the point of highering them? Then we can determine how to attract them and how successful we are at doing so.
Do we ask search committees to evaluate their selection? In other words, when an employment offer is made, was it to an applicant that the committee was really excited about, or was it made to someone who was mediocre but the best of who applied? Committee satisfaction with applicants might be one measure we could begin collecting and using.
Also, we could use data from the PACE survey, as well as retention rates.
I also think we should address diversity of our employees here too. How about a measure where we attempt to have diversity of employees reflect diversity of our students/community?
High-quality may not always mean the highest level of education. Sometimes we need to remember that experience and dedication mean a great deal in the areas in which we serve.
Separate measures for attract and retain. We can certainly do retention numbers, but how would they be related to "high quality"? How do we measure that?
Agree with the comment about experience and dedication - a person can have an outstanding track record over a decade of teaching, but may still have slightly different background than the highest level of education or all the right courses from their college degrees. So, diversity reflecting background in terms of students/community and diversity in terms of educational background should be reasonably taken into consideration.
I agree. Attract and retain are two different things. I think we would need to evaluate our HR office and procedures first (ie. we don't allow for people to apply online, how soon do we communicate with potential employees that we received their information for the position s/he applied for and detail the process of selection) I have had friends apply to MCC and then start asking me questions about where the college is in the process. Not my area. We can look at salary rates and comparable benefit packages to see how we compare to other similar institutions in our area. Also, looking more closely at the annual review and having it tied to real measures and goals for both the employee and the departments would make that process more significant and useful. Having nothing tied to the annual review (ie. stipend for great work, pay increases, day off, employees/department goals, etc.) really makes the review seem like it is "just an exercise" because we have to do it rather than a useful tool in retention and success efforts of employees.
The first and most important action here is to determine what exactly do we mean when we say high-quality employees. Are we referring to their initial educational level, their level of experience reletive to the position, their attitude, their work history, etc. What do we see as the most important factors that define a high-quality employee at the point of highering them? Then we can determine how to attract them and how successful we are at doing so.
ReplyDeleteDo we ask search committees to evaluate their selection? In other words, when an employment offer is made, was it to an applicant that the committee was really excited about, or was it made to someone who was mediocre but the best of who applied? Committee satisfaction with applicants might be one measure we could begin collecting and using.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we could use data from the PACE survey, as well as retention rates.
I also think we should address diversity of our employees here too. How about a measure where we attempt to have diversity of employees reflect diversity of our students/community?
ReplyDeleteHigh-quality may not always mean the highest level of education. Sometimes we need to remember that experience and dedication mean a great deal in the areas in which we serve.
ReplyDeleteSeparate measures for attract and retain. We can certainly do retention numbers, but how would they be related to "high quality"? How do we measure that?
ReplyDeleteAgree with the comment about experience and dedication - a person can have an outstanding track record over a decade of teaching, but may still have slightly different background than the highest level of education or all the right courses from their college degrees. So, diversity reflecting background in terms of students/community and diversity in terms of educational background should be reasonably taken into consideration.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Attract and retain are two different things. I think we would need to evaluate our HR office and procedures first (ie. we don't allow for people to apply online, how soon do we communicate with potential employees that we received their information for the position s/he applied for and detail the process of selection) I have had friends apply to MCC and then start asking me questions about where the college is in the process. Not my area. We can look at salary rates and comparable benefit packages to see how we compare to other similar institutions in our area. Also, looking more closely at the annual review and having it tied to real measures and goals for both the employee and the departments would make that process more significant and useful. Having nothing tied to the annual review (ie. stipend for great work, pay increases, day off, employees/department goals, etc.) really makes the review seem like it is "just an exercise" because we have to do it rather than a useful tool in retention and success efforts of employees.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of employees being evaluated on written, measurable goals--and being rewarded for meeting or exceeding them.
ReplyDelete