Career Navigation Series: GPS for our rapidly changing work environment

by Dave Jones
August 04, 2011

'STRESS AND RESILIENCE'

The Academic and Staff Assistance is offering a new program called “Stress and Resilience," open to all employees. Five sessions had been planned, but ASAP canceled the first one, July 20, and scaled back the rest of the schedule, due to low enrollment. Now, only one session is scheduled: 1:30 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24, in the Hamilton Room at the Heitman Staff Learning Center. Online enrollment (search for “stress”).

Read more about efforts in the UC system to assist employees who are feeling stressed during these tough times, in this article from Our University.

SHARED SERVICE CENTER TOWN HALL

Key decisions are due to be announced Thursday, Sept. 8, on the following:

The services that will be provided by the shared service center, or SSC, and by division, department and central units.
The SSC organizational design and staffing-resource requirements.
The SSC service delivery model, service metrics and training requirements.

The announcements are scheduled for a town hall meeting from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in 123 Sciences Lecture Hall. A live webcast is planned; look for the link on the UC Davis home page the morning of the town hall.

The organizers said Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi will lead the town hall, and that Vice Chancellor John Meyer (Administrative and Resource Management) and Associate Vice Chancellor Karen Hull (Human Resources) also will make presentations.

In the next best thing to GPS, the Davis campus is launching the Career Navigation Series to help with all the twists and turns in the university’s rapidly changing work environment.

Downsizing, reorganizations, administrative clusters, the shared service center — your job may be changing or moving or going away.

“Now is the time for people to say, ‘OK, I need to assess where I am and where I want to go,” said Carina Celesia Moore, director of Staff Development and Professional Services, which is presenting the series in partnership with the Organizational Excellence initiative.

She noted how the Career Navigation Series affords UC Davis “a way to tap into staff talent all across our campus,” while at the same time offering employees the means to be self reliant in managing their careers.

In encouraging people to sign up, SDPS states the following in the online description for the Career Navigation Series: “Do you know how to leverage your talent, competencies and transferable skills for opportunities in your current job or a new position? Do you want to be more enthusiastic about your work?”

The Career Navigation Series aims to help, in six areas. You can attend however many classes as you want. Enrollment is open to all staff, regardless of whether your unit may be affected by the shared service center or any of the other changes. See enrollment details below.

Some of the classes may sound familiar: the Career Management Academy, and resume and interview clinics, for example. These are proven winners at Staff Development and Professional Services.

“But, in the Career Navigation Series, we are customizing these programs for this time of great transition,” Celesia Moore said.

Other classes include “Telling Your Story,” to help you talk about yourself with persuasive confidence; and “Job Search — UC Davis and Beyond,” about maximizing your employment options.

The word “beyond” in the latter title is not meant to suggest that you need to look for work elsewhere.

'Experience UC Davis'

In fact, Celesia Moore said, there may be plenty of prospects right here at UC Davis — prospects with which you may not be familiar. “Our campus is large and diverse, and you may not have had the opportunity to work in other areas during your career here,” she said. And yet, she added, there is likely something else out there that piques your interest and speaks to your talents.

This is the idea behind another part of the Career Navigation Series, a program called “Experience UC Davis.”

The Career Navigation Series flier describes “Experience UC Davis” as follows: “Sometimes getting to know other colleges, divisions or departments can make all the difference in how you navigate your career.”

This segment begins with about 90 minutes of homework, with participants asked to go online to explore something new — a division or department of their choosing. “This is a way for people to get out of their cubicles, even if it’s just virtual, to learn about other parts of our university,” Celesia Moore said.

Then, all the participants will come together for a three-hour session, where — in breakout groups — each participant will share the findings of his or her online research.

“Maybe you’ll never go to work for the unit that you researched,” Celesia Moore said, “but you will hear other people talk about lots of other units, and maybe one of those will be just right for you.”

“Experience UC Davis” will conclude with a panel of experts from around the campus, presenting more information on how to experience UC Davis in new ways.

Each segment of the Career Navigation Series is being offered three or four times, to start with, except for “Experience UC Davis,” which is so far scheduled only one time but in a large venue to accommodate more people.

The other classes are limited in size, to provide more individualized attention, Celesia Moore said.

‘The right thing to do’

The Career Navigation Series follows on the heels of the recently completed shared services certificate series: Preparing for Success in a New Service Model.
Celesia Moore described the participation as “really heartening”: 98 employees earned their certificates by completing all seven parts, and 280 employees attended one or more segments.

All of the participants received release time to attend, indicating that their supervisors are solidly behind employees in their career exploration, Celesia Moore said.

“This is a strong statement that UC Davis wants to be part of your career management,” she said. “Our supervisors know that it’s the right thing to do.”

In planning the Career Navigation Series, Celesia Moore interviewed a wide range of people — from top administrators to front-line staff — to ensure she was hitting all the right marks with the program development.

She talked with officials from Human Resources and the Organizational Excellence Initiative (which includes the shared service center), managers, consultants, people who attended the shared service center certificate series, and people who may be interested in the new series.

Celesia Moore restated an old maxim: “Times of great change are also times of great opportunity,” and added:

“If a person wants to take advantage, then the Career Navigation Series is a wonderful opportunity to make that happen.”