To: Wellesley College Administrative Staff
From: Sarah Staley, Director of Talent Management and Development, and Megan Núñez, Nan Walsh Schow ’54 and Howard B. Schow Professor in the Physical and Natural Sciences, Professor of Chemistry, Dean of Faculty Affairs
Re: Invitation To Shape the Future of Work at Wellesley
Date: March 17, 2021
As the Strategic Planning Process kicked-off in 2019, an article entitled “The Future of Work in America” was shared with the community highlighting the importance of lifelong learning, flexibility and supporting workers, technological change, and inclusive growth. While we could never have predicted the scale of the challenges with which we have been presented at the onset of this decade, each of us faced this pandemic year by working in new, more innovative and inclusive ways. Some of these new ways of working have served as emergency measures that we will be glad to leave behind, but others have opened opportunities that could improve our lives and the College going forward. In the coming months, the College will approve a strategic plan designed to be responsive to a changing world, emphasizing the importance of inclusion, community, and governance. With those key concepts in mind we are embarking on a process to re-envision the future of work at Wellesley in the years ahead, and we invite you to join in this collective process.
Our study of organizational learning and transformation suggests three steps for implementing a new workplace design: aspiring, designing, and piloting. Therefore, our first request is to ask you to join us as we think aspirationally about the needs and wants of our Wellesley workforce for a productive and responsive future. As President Johnson shared in her recent announcement on this topic, we want to learn about innovations that enhance participation in an inclusive community, promote employee wellness, and streamline processes. We hope you will consider participating in any/all of the following ways.
We invite you to the following focus groups taking place between March 29 and April 23. Please use this Google form to volunteer to register to attend.
Topic: Work-Life Balance, Flexibility, Wellness, and the “Ideal” Workplace
- Monday, March 29 from 4 to 5 p.m.
- Wednesday, March 31, from 12 to 1 p.m.
Topic: Professional Growth in an Inclusive Community
- Tuesday, April 6, from 9 to 10 a.m.
- Friday, April 9, from 12 to 1 p.m.
Topic: The Wellesley Workplace Interfacing with the World
- Monday, April 12, from 12 to 1 p.m.
- Wednesday, April 14, from 12 to 1 p.m.
Topic: Technological Change and the Future of Teaching and Learning
- Friday, April 23, from 12 to 1 p.m. (this session is primarily for faculty)
In May, we will use ideas surfaced by the focus groups to craft to a short survey for all employees, including both faculty and staff, to better understand the breadth of experiences in the areas noted above and to gather your thoughts for our return to on-campus work.
Finally, after forming a community aspiration for the future of work, the next phases will be to design and pilot approaches to the employee experience in preparation for the coming academic year. This work will primarily take place between May and August, and we welcome volunteers who would like to play an active role in this process. We are looking for volunteers who collectively bring diverse skills in relation to strategy, structure, people, process, and technology. More specifically, we are looking for change agents who are dedicated to building inclusive communities and attentive to the well-being of their colleagues and students. We are asking for innovators with an understanding of how communication and technology can improve organizational performance. We are seeking process-oriented participants with expertise in resource management, decision-making, and planning.
Please use this Google form to volunteer to attend a focus group, to participate in designing and planning to pilot this initiative, or to assist with survey design. We look forward to engaging with as many of you as possible as we take on this important and potentially transformational work.
