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Communication has been on my mind lately. 

This was undoubtedly fueled by the results of the employee engagement survey, to which 88 per cent of staff in the Office of Advancement responded. As I reported during our Jan. 19 engagement survey meeting, the aggregate results for Advancement demonstrated that we are a very engaged team (with all our results above zero). Satisfaction with communication within the Office of Advancement, however, is the area we scored the lowest. As well, while there were better results in December 2022 than the previous May, only 67 per cent of respondents to the Hybrid Working Pilot Survey agreed or strongly agreed that they receive sufficient communication about this pilot. Another 21 per cent somewhat agreed, but is that enough for such an important initiative?

All this to say, I hear you. The question is, now what? 

As you should all be aware – either through the employee engagement survey meeting Jan. 19 or from your managers – managers with direct reports across the Office of Advancement met on Friday, Feb. 3 to identify tactics targeted at improving communications within the Office of Advancement. These tactics will be built into our plans for 2023-24 so they are not lost. In the meantime, we all share responsibility for communication. So, the real question is, what am I going to do?

I would like to hear what is on your mind. And I would like to discuss issues in a way that was more organic when we worked together in-person. With that in mind, during the June all-staff gathering, I will make myself available to meet with small groups for open-ended discussions on topics you would like to explore. Groups will be made-up of eight individuals max. (including myself), to ensure everyone has an opportunity to be heard. During these small group meetings, you can ask questions or bring forward issues; and I may seek your input on some things that are on my mind as well. 

I have set aside time during the morning and at the end of the day on Wednesday, June 14, as well as time over the typical lunch period on Monday, June 12 (we can enjoy our brown-bag lunches together). If you are interested in participating, choose the time that works best for you and your schedule, and email Bianca Bruni so she can forward you a meeting invite. 

I have no idea if this will appeal to anyone. It is, however, something I am going to try, and if it fails, I will try something different. We all have something within our control that we can do to enhance communications; this is my tactic.

Next steps from the employee engagement survey

Managers from across Advancement met Friday, Feb. 3 to discuss the employee engagement survey results presented to all Advancement staff on Jan. 19. Specifically, managers spent two hours determining three actionable tactics for one of the three areas Advancement will focus on next year. As you will recall, the three areas we will focus on over the next year include two areas of challenge and one area of strength:

 Challenges 

1. Satisfaction with communication within the Office of Advancement
2. Receiving sufficient communication to complete your work / role effectively

Strength

1. Being treated with respect in your unit / team

Managers chose to tackle satisfaction with communication at the Feb. 3 meeting and used breakout sessions to brainstorm tactics. The tactics were then presented to the entire management team and managers voted for the following three tactics to improve communications satisfaction over the next year: 

1. Building a better central repository for information about what’s happening around Advancement
2. Bringing in an expert in creating a highly effective hybrid work environment to speak to all Advancement staff
3. Creating more opportunities for teams to interact in person to get to know each other better and to help build trust across functional areas 

 
Numbers 2 and 3 are a natural fit for our in-person time in June and there is more information about these two tactics in the article about Advancement Enhancement Day in this newsletter. Number 1 is more complex. Fortunately, a working group of managers has been meeting for several months to determine how to better share information across our teams. This group will share their recommendations with all the managers and the team will determine next steps to advance this tactic. Watch future ALTogether Now newsletters for more. 

Finally, I want to let you know that ALT has tasked the management team to work together to determine three actionable tactics for the other two areas outlined above – Job Communication and Respect. The managers will determine these tactics by the end of February. These will then become part of our 2023-2024 planning discussion in March. Stay tuned for more information in an upcoming newsletter.

Advancement Enhancement Day 

Advancement Enhancement Day (AED) is a beloved annual tradition of the Office of Advancement at Queen’s, a day for employees; organized by employees, which is what makes it so special. 

Each year, AED focuses on one or more of these three pillars:

• Personal wellness
• Professional development
• Team building

Based on an employee survey, AED 2022 focused on personal wellness and team building. 

AED 2023 will take place on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, and will be focused on team building because of current employee feedback from the employee engagement survey and the Hybrid-work Pilot Survey, as well as discussions managers had at the rapid improvement meeting held on Feb. 3.  

In fact, two of the three tactics managers agreed to implement in the Office of Advancement at their rapid improvement meeting were aimed at addressing staff satisfaction with communication: 

1. Bring an expert in building culture in a hybrid work environment to provide a keynote address. More information will follow about this speaker as planning unfolds.
2. Managers with direct reports will organize in-person opportunities for their teams to engage with at least one other team with which they need to build relationships. Teams will have three hours (either 1---4 pm or 9 am---12 noon) for these activities, which will be as varied as the needs of each pair of teams that gathers. The objective of this time is for teams to learn more about one another to build the trust and respect required in our day-to-day operations. Managers will have more information about how your team will use this time as their plans unfold.

The rest of the day will feature other team-building activities and sign-up sessions, all with the focus of team building in mind.

As always, a day for employees organized by employees is not possible without a strong organizing committee. This is the official call to action for anyone willing to help. Please reach out to Bianca Bruni as soon as possible. The framework for AED 2023 may already be decided, but there is still opportunity for the organizing committee to have a real impact on the overall success of the day and to make AED as special as always.

Queen’s research presentation

The mission of Queen’s University is to offer an exceptional student experience, attract and cultivate excellence and leadership, and push the boundaries of knowledge through research. These activities are all in service to an inclusive, diverse, and sustainable society. 

One way advancement professionals can understand the impact that Queen’s is having on society is by understanding our research. To that end, the Vice-Principal (Research) will make a presentation to all Queen’s advancement professionals during our next all-staff gathering, on the morning of Wednesday, June 14. This will be an optional meeting. Keep your eyes peeled for a calendar invite from Bianca Bruni this week.

The Education Advisory Board

The Education Advisory Board works with more than 2,500 institutions to drive change through data-driven solutions. EAB partners with leaders and practitioners to accelerate progress and drive results across five major areas:

• Institutional Strategy
• Marketing and Enrolment
• Student Services
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Data and Analytics

Part of EAB, the provides best-practice research and analytics to help retain top fundraising talent, engage alumni, and increase philanthropic revenue.   

As an institutional member of EAB, member benefits for Queen’s staff include extensive research forums, resource hubs, white papers and reports, advancement marketing services, pipeline analytics, professional learning, and much more.

To obtain an EAB username and password, complete the following . Clicking the link takes you to the registration page through which you will be prompted to provide your location, institution name, and your personal information. You will also create a unique password. Click "submit" and you'll receive an email in Outlook containing a confirmation code and a link to login to the website. Please check your spam folder if the email containing the link doesn’t arrive in your inbox after several minutes.

2022 CASE insights on Philanthropy (Canada) summary benchmarking report

The summary report of the 2022 CASE Insights on Philanthropy (Canada) Survey was recently released. 

Formerly known as the CASE-CCAE Support of Education Survey, Canada, this summary provides an overview of the Queen’s 2021-22 fundraising results benchmarked against survey responses from Canadian institutions such as Queen’s, as well as responses from all survey participants.

Ask the ALT

This is a friendly reminder that the next Advancement Leadership Team (ALT) Q&A session will be at 11 am ET this Thursday, Feb. 23. 

For those who are new to Queen’s Advancement, the rules for these open Q&A sessions are as follows: attendance is optional, anyone can ask any member of the ALT any question on any topic, and there will be no pre-set agendas, so the Q&A session will last as long as attendees have questions. (The optional Zoom meeting already in your calendar is booked for up to 45 minutes.) 

We understand that some people may not be comfortable asking questions in front of a group. If you would prefer to , we are happy to provide that option. Bianca Bruni will manage these anonymous questions. Submitters will not be identified to Bianca through the survey, and she will ask the questions on your behalf at the ALT Q&A. 

The option to personally pose your question(s) at the meeting still exists. 

Please consider questions you would like the ALT to answer and either submit them via the anonymous survey by 4 pm today, Feb. 21, or come prepared to ask them Thursday. Members of the ALT look forward to the discussion, and we will do our best to answer your questions.

Upcoming change to multi-factor authentication 

Just a reminder that starting Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, there will be changes to multi-factor authentication (MFA) affecting access to Microsoft 365, SOLUS, PeopleSoft (Finance and HR), and other MFA-protected applications. At this time, those using the Microsoft Authenticator App as their second factor for MFA will no longer receive push notifications. Instead of clicking “Approve” on a push notification, you will be prompted to enter a series of numbers displayed on the device you are logging in with. The Queen’s VPN will not be affected by this change at this time. 

For additional information, please see QUIRC or visit the IT Services website. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please connect to your VPN and reach out to the.

Employee spotlight 

The Employee Spotlight celebrates the arrival of our new and existing staff by profiling responses they share through a fun and informal survey that will help us get to know them better. Be sure to review these profiles and use these fun facts and tidbits to find commonalities, embrace differences, and spark a conversation. 

This week, we spotlight Associate Vice-Principal, Development . Learn more about the best piece of advice she has received.