Hi, my name is Suzy Nelson, and I'm the Vice President and Dean
of Student Life at MIT.
And in this video, I'm going to talk
about how my colleagues in the Division of Student Life
and I have engaged staff to help us address
climate issues in our division.
We looked at our 2016 staff quality of life survey
and we learned a lot about our strengths and areas
for improvement.
For strengths, around 75% or more of our staff
reported satisfaction with their job,
confidence in their ability to do their job,
and having support from their supervisor.
But on the other hand, fewer staff--
around 60%-- said they were satisfied with communication,
and clear direction from the leadership, and sense
of collaboration in our division,
and opportunities for professional development.
They also felt that the workplace was not
as fair, equitable, and free from bias.
And about one-third of our staff said
that they often felt overwhelmed by their work responsibilities.
So to enlist staff in helping us address these problems,
we created a staff engagement advisory board, which
is affectionately known as SEABoard.
SEABoard is advisory to me and the other managers
in the division, and the overarching goal
is to help make the Division of Student Life the best place
to work in MIT.
There's a Social Events and Well-being Committee,
there's a Professional Development Committee,
and there's also a Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
So some of our signature staff develop
events include the annual professional development
conference, a guide for overseeing an inclusive search
process, several social gatherings and well-being
initiatives, and a DSL read series where we were at a book
together and then we invite the author to campus for a talk.
To assess our progress, annually we've
developed a shorter survey that includes some of the items
from the staff quality of life survey,
and the good news is that we've really
improved in several areas.
In 2019, about 80% of our staff versus 60% in 2016
agreed that there was clear direction from leadership,
effective collaboration, and increased collaboration
with others.
And around 70% of staff in 2019 compared with 60% in 2016
said that there were more opportunities
for professional development, and the workplace
was fair, equitable, and free from bias.
So people power has made all the difference
in the Division of Student Life, and the people
who are involved in SEABoard are a combination
of managers and staff.
Managers have made this work a priority,
and they've given staff the time and the space
and the encouragement to take part in it.
And the staff are very enthusiastic,
and we've seen a real wellspring of creativity,
and it's had a far-reaching and positive impact on our staff
climate.
We're learning together now, we value each other's ideas,
and we're collaborating more in teams.
And what's most important, we're making our division
a better place to be and MIT a better place to work.