Collegewide Staff Council Retreat

Absent: Deborah Donohue (OSC)

Lorraine Whipple updated Staff Council representatives on the following issues:

Web Page - Priscilla Yamin has made a lot of progress on the Web site, but the site is not yet completed.

Brochure - Becky Hopkins is finalizing the brochure.

Calendar & Scheduling Committee - Catherine Cutlip has resigned from the College. In response to that announcement, Tonya Bulat volunteered to replace Catherine on the Calendar & Scheduling Committee.

Osceola Staff Council - Deborah Donohue has notified Lorraine of her need to step down as Chair of the Osceola Staff Council.

After reviewing the agenda for the morning, Lorraine asked Joanna Branham to kick-off the retreat with a discussion of the book, IDEASHIP How to get ideas flowing in your workplace, written by Jack Foster. Each council member was asked to list three ideas that caught his/her attention from the book. In turn, members broke into two groups to determine the three top ideas among each group. Those three ideas were then discussed and shared among the entire group, with special emphasis on how those ideas might be applied to the Staff Councils.

Following the discussion of IDEASHIP, Council members divided up to discuss the following two questions:

1. How can Staff Councils involve more staff, both at the Campus & College levels?

2. How can Staff Councils generate more visibility, both at the Campus & College levels?

The ideas from each group were shared and discussed (see attachments). Lorraine suggested that each Staff Council select two or three ideas from the list to focus on within their respective campus councils. The leadership strengths and needs of each Council will be a significant factor as to which ideas are chosen.

Dr. Louise Pitts, Special Assistant for the Learning-Centered Initiative, joined Council members to discuss the College Assembly on September 16, 2003. Dr. Pitts reviewed the tentative schedule and asked for input relating to two time periods, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, that will target Career Service employees. Because of the broad diversity of education and scope of job responsibilities within the Career Service employee group, it was recommended that a keynote speaker be brought in to fill the morning session. Dr. Pitts will verify if funding is available to bring in an outside speaker, as well as to obtain approval that the Career Services employees do not have to break into discussion sessions similar to those of Faculty and Professional staff.

The Collegewide Staff Council was charged with planning the one-hour session following lunch. A planning meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, August 5, on the East Campus for that purpose..

How Can Staff Councils Involve More Staff,

Both at the Campus & College Levels?

Ideas

$ Send reminders prior to meetings with tentative agenda

$ Hold meetings at most convenient time for most people

$ If you have food, people will come.

$ Sponsor special topic meetings, i.e.:

$ Health Issues

$ Safety Issues

$ Child Safety

$ CPR Certification

$ Supervisor support and encouragement to participate

$ Utilize e-mail for:

$ Surveys

$ News

$ Open door policy for career staff

$ Learning day activities geared toward Career Service employees

$ Fun activities like door prizes

$ Develop fund raising ideas to help pay for door prizes, activities, etc.

$ Invite committee representatives to report on their committee participation at meetings

$ Brainstorm within the individual Councils for opportunities to utilize staff

$ Develop duties and delegate assignments to other, non-officer career staff members, i.e.:

$ birthday cards or e-mails, employment anniversary notes, newsletters, etc.

$ List accomplishments of Staff Councils on the website, i.e.:

$ resolutions to issues, status of issues, etc.

How Can Staff Councils Generate More Visibility,

Both at the Campus & College Levels?

Ideas

$ Use e-mail for:

$ Meeting information

$ Communicating about fund raisers

$ Announce completion and location of Staff Council Website

$ T-shirts

$ Button/Pins

$ Staff Council Meeting for all Career Service employees

$ Develop connections outside of work, i.e.:

$ Picnics

$ Utilize Staff Council for College functions, i.e.:

$ Annual Ice Cream Social

$ Annual Service Awards Dinner

$ Planning of events

$ Assist in registration process on day of event

$ Use fun ideas to make the processes of events and drawings fun, i.e.:

$ Scavenger Hunt

$ Clues

$ Post baby pictures for guessing Awho@

$ Mingle Mondays

$ Can be done during lunch hour or breaks.

$ Can include lunch, snacks, or dessert depending on time of day

$ Depending on campus size, can be done by entire campus, or departments

$ Newsletter

$ send by e-mail to all staff as an attachment

$ for staff w/o e-mail, be sure to place copies in mailboxes and breakrooms

$ Acknowledge birthdays

$ Cards or via e-mail

$ Website

$ Include grapevine pictures/description of what recipients did to earn an award

$ Fund raisers

$ Annual event, i.e. walkathon, to raise money for a pre-determined cause

$ Sponsored by Staff Councils by include all employees

$ Pet Adoption Day

$ New Employee Orientation at campus level