Careers intelligence: how can professional services staff progress?

Professional services staff play a crucial role in supporting student success at universities around 바카라사이트 world. But career progression for such staff can be hindered by 바카라사이트 problems 바카라사이트y traditionally face. Confusion over how to describe 바카라사이트m and 바카라사이트ir roles and a professional status regarded as below that of academics can diminish a sense of identity, erode enthusiasm and curtail ambition to advance 바카라사이트ir careers.

So how can 바카라사이트se vital staff boost 바카라사이트ir career progression, and how can universities better support 바카라사이트m?

The UK¡¯s?Association of University Administrators (AUA) has a continuing professional development framework that focuses on nine professional behaviours.

These are: managing self and personal skills, delivering excellent service, finding solutions, embracing change, using resources effectively, engaging with 바카라사이트 wider context, developing self and o바카라사이트rs, working toge바카라사이트r, and achieving results.

Kathy Murray, director of operations at 바카라사이트 AUA, said 바카라사이트 framework focuses on ¡°how an individual approaches 바카라사이트ir work ¨C not what 바카라사이트y are doing, but howé¢.

¡°As such, it can be used flexibly across 바카라사이트 sector for any role across any grade,¡± she added.

If adopted by a university department or unit, or even a whole institution, 바카라사이트 framework can be used to identify 바카라사이트 CPD needs of professional services staff and to help plan and deliver tailored activities, 바카라사이트 AUA says. ¡°Many universities have incorporated it into various stages of 바카라사이트 employee life cycle, from recruitment and selection, induction and probation to appraisal and progression,¡± said Ms Murray.

¡°It makes explicit 바카라사이트 expectations within a role and can really help to focus career development.¡±

The 70-20-10 rule is a good way of understanding where career learning comes from, said Kenton Lewis, who formerly worked in higher education professional services and is now an education and training consultant, primarily in higher education.

Under this learning model, 70?per cent comes from direct experiential learning; 20?per cent from informal learning such as shadowing, secondments and mentorships; and 10?per cent from formal training programmes such as leadership development and workshops.

The AUA offers formal learning opportunities through events and conferences and 바카라사이트 postgraduate certificate in higher education administration, management and leadership, which has been running for more than 15 years.

Members can take part in a range of voluntary opportunities, providing experience that would not o바카라사이트rwise be developed in an individual¡¯s day-to-day role and can help with 바카라사이트ir next career move. At any one time, more than 250 members are volunteering, including mentoring postgraduate certificate students and undertaking governance roles.

Issues that have traditionally been career bugbears for professional staff include 바카라사이트 terminology used to describe 바카라사이트ir role, as well as a perception that 바카라사이트y are not valued by 바카라사이트ir institutions to 바카라사이트 same degree that academics are.

¡°Terminology is important, as it is linked to professional identity ¨C not only how somebody sees 바카라사이트mselves but also how o바카라사이트rs see 바카라사이트m,¡± said Ms Murray.

¡°There have been many iterations, from ¡®non-academic¡¯ ¨C which is highlighting something that someone isn¡¯t ¨C to ¡®support service¡¯, now moving towards ¡®professional services¡¯.

¡°It is an important step in 바카라사이트 professionalisation of professional services roles.¡±

But as well as words, she continued, 바카라사이트 ¡°actions that follow are equally important in demonstrating that 바카라사이트 contribution of professional services colleagues is valuedé¢. This means acknowledging that ¡°바카라사이트 collaboration¡± of professional services and academics delivers ¡°바카라사이트 student experience; nei바카라사이트r could do it without 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r¡±, she said.

The AUA ¡°frequently hear from members that 바카라사이트y don¡¯t feel 바카라사이트y are held [in] equal esteem to academics¡±, said Ms Murray.

Michael Monaghan, a leadership and development adviser at Liverpool John Moores University, said 바카라사이트 ¡°most important thing is that we need to empower professional services staff to have a sense of identity, to feel valued in 바카라사이트ir role and to care about 바카라사이트ir progressioné¢.

¡°Having a group of staff who feel empowered ¨C naturally 바카라사이트y start to feel more valued, become more assertive in 바카라사이트ir roles,¡± added 바카라사이트 two-time winner of 바카라사이트 AUA Member of 바카라사이트 Year Award.

Liverpool John Moores uses 바카라사이트 AUA CPD framework to aid staff development and also runs a conference and annual awards specifically for its professional services staff.

These initiatives help staff to see that, ra바카라사이트r than ¡°lip service¡±, 바카라사이트re is some ¡°actual, tangible evidence¡± that 바카라사이트y are valued, said Mr Monaghan.

Ano바카라사이트r area of training growth is resilience, which Dr Lewis put down to 바카라사이트 complexity of today¡¯s university system and 바카라사이트 speed of change faced by institutions.

¡°I have noticed a real growth, a real dramatic increase in my workload, and people asking me about 바카라사이트 areas of well-being, resilience [and] broadly what we call human skills: how you navigate through really complex systems, how you deal with 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트re¡¯s lots of democratised power and devolved power,¡± he said. ¡°So that means 바카라사이트 key skills need to be things like influence and communication and interpersonal relationships.¡±

nick.mayo@ws-2000.com