November 2008 Archives
Last week ITS launched a new speaker series that we're calling "What's On Your Mind". The intent of these sessions is to provide IT staff the opportunity to listen to a variety of speakers in leadership positions across the University talk about the things important to them. Our first speaker was President Spanier. Upcoming speakers include Dean Chris Brady of the Schreyer's Honor College in December and Jim Broadhurst, Chair of the Board of Trustees in January. There are other speakers planned for February, April and May.
I was disappointed with the relatively small number of people who turned out to listen to Dr. Spanier. We invited all IT staff from across the University so the potential audience was more than 1,000, yet we had approximately 150 in the live audience. That's not even a third of the ITS staff!
Curious to learn why people chose not to attend, I've asked several for their reasons which fall into these categories:
- the time was inconvenient.
- I knew I could watch it later in streaming video, and had a deadline to meet, or couldn't get away from my job.
- I didn't expect to learn anything new or that would help in my role.
The session with Dr. Spanier was selected to meet his schedule which started at 3:30 and ended about 4:40. Most people in shared ride pools or who have requirements they must meet immediately following work should have been able to attend.
The second reason is understandable. We're required to keep systems and support functions operating which means not everyone can be excused for this sort of activity. We recorded the session so these people and people who couldn't travel to UP could have an opportunity to view the President in this setting. I just can't imagine this accounts for 85% of IT staff not attending.
The third reason is particularly troublesome. Increasingly we hear from university leaders and from our community that we don't know how to portray the value that IT provides Penn State. We're told that we often use our values, rather than the values of our user base, in talking about our plans and our services.
The purpose in creating this speaker series is to allow all of us in IT to hear what's on the mind of a range of executives, faculty, and staff. The more we understand the challenges and opportunities these people are focused upon, the more we should be able to create improved services, and the better we should be able to show the value these services provide to our constituency.
Perhaps we didn't make the intent of this series clear enough, or we didn't advertise enough, or maybe people need explicit permission to attend? What I do know is that most of us are serious about doing all we can to make Penn State better. Part of achieving that goal is our understanding the issues facing those in leadership positions. I hope you use this series as an opportunity to learn more about how we can do just that.
I was disappointed with the relatively small number of people who turned out to listen to Dr. Spanier. We invited all IT staff from across the University so the potential audience was more than 1,000, yet we had approximately 150 in the live audience. That's not even a third of the ITS staff!
Curious to learn why people chose not to attend, I've asked several for their reasons which fall into these categories:
- the time was inconvenient.
- I knew I could watch it later in streaming video, and had a deadline to meet, or couldn't get away from my job.
- I didn't expect to learn anything new or that would help in my role.
The session with Dr. Spanier was selected to meet his schedule which started at 3:30 and ended about 4:40. Most people in shared ride pools or who have requirements they must meet immediately following work should have been able to attend.
The second reason is understandable. We're required to keep systems and support functions operating which means not everyone can be excused for this sort of activity. We recorded the session so these people and people who couldn't travel to UP could have an opportunity to view the President in this setting. I just can't imagine this accounts for 85% of IT staff not attending.
The third reason is particularly troublesome. Increasingly we hear from university leaders and from our community that we don't know how to portray the value that IT provides Penn State. We're told that we often use our values, rather than the values of our user base, in talking about our plans and our services.
The purpose in creating this speaker series is to allow all of us in IT to hear what's on the mind of a range of executives, faculty, and staff. The more we understand the challenges and opportunities these people are focused upon, the more we should be able to create improved services, and the better we should be able to show the value these services provide to our constituency.
Perhaps we didn't make the intent of this series clear enough, or we didn't advertise enough, or maybe people need explicit permission to attend? What I do know is that most of us are serious about doing all we can to make Penn State better. Part of achieving that goal is our understanding the issues facing those in leadership positions. I hope you use this series as an opportunity to learn more about how we can do just that.
