Category Archives: Professional Development

Conference Hacks: Tricks for Saving Time & Money

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Conference Hacks

Attending conferences is quite the expense and is easily seen as a luxury by many decision-makers at our prospective colleges and universities. After attending the most recent ACPA Convention, I kept a track of various tricks that I myself employed to save time and money during my stay.

1. HOTEL FLOOR PLACEMENT – Every time I stay at a hotel, I ask the front desk staff to do their best to place me on the lowest floor. If possible, I have them place me on a floor that doesn’t require the use of the elevator to get to where I need to go. This saves a lot of time waiting for the elevator, which can be tiresome especially when you are on a schedule to get to and from place to place. Getting a room near stairs in which you only have to go up or down one or two floors can save you a lot of time (and help you burn some calories in the process!)

2. GROCERY SHOPPING –  Having access to inexpensive and convenient food can be nearly impossible depending on the location of your conference. Many of the hotels and convention centers have a monopoly on the food market with expensive kiosks, franchises, or in-house restaurants. A small part of my soul died when I paid $3.00 for a can of Diet Coke at the Tampa Convention Center! I do my best to get around some of this by packing non-perishable snacks and other food items that will fit in my luggage (i.e., dried fruit, granola bars, candy, etc.)

Additionally, I do my best to make my way to a local grocery store and stock up on items that I can store in the hotel minifridge and / or buy a small Styrofoam cooler I can pack with ice from the hotel machine. Buying simple breakfast (i.e., yogurt, oatmeal, bagels) and lunch foods (i.e., lunch meat, fruits, salad components) can literally save you hundreds of dollars from eating every meal at the hotel or convention center. Granted, you may have to get dinner on your own, but over the course of a multi-day stay, this strategy will help you save money. I got away with eating Chobani yogurt, granola, and a banana for breakfast for three days at the ACPA convention, which probably saved me at least $45.00 or so.

3. TWITTER CROWDSOURCING – Twitter is a great resource to use to connect with colleagues to enhance your conference experience. Use the designated conference hashtag to connect with other conference attendees to share taxi rides, meet up for dinner, and even attend social events together (e.g., “Anyone interested in going to the hockey game tonight with me? #ACPA15.”) This is especially helpful if you are the only person from your institution and don’t want to be alone. Additionally, you can use Twitter to hook up with others at the conference to share work-related resources and collaborate on projects together.

4. PARKING & TRANSPORTATION – Scope out transportation and parking options prior to your leaving home. Using public transportation to and from the hotel can save you a lot of money because taxi service will be expensive if you are on a budget. Check out the bus or rail lines online for the city you are traveling to figure out the cost and timing of getting around. If driving your own, find the public parking decks close to the hotel ahead of time so you can be strategic in parking with a much cheaper option than using hotel valet or their in-house parking.

5. BAGGAGE – On a few occasions, I have packed flat, prepaid postage boxes in the bottom of my suitcase to pack with items to be sent home. Typically the airline will charge the basic bag fee for up to 50 lbs., but will whack you $100 or more for weight over that. If you know you are going to be receiving awards, books, tchotchkes from the trade show, handouts, and other weight-inducing items, it will definitely be cheaper to pack them in a box and send it. Normally you can leave the box at the hotel’s front desk, and they’ll make sure it gets picked up.

What are some other “conference hacks” that you have used to save time and money when attending regional and national conferences? Please share your thoughts below in the comments section and / or via Twitter by mentioning @studentlifeguru in your tweet. 

 

 

Overcoming Mobbing: A Recovery Guide for Workplace Aggression and Bullying (Book Review)

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Overcoming Mobbing

It is my contention that the workplace should be a place of collegiality, integrity, and respect. Unfortunately, as long as there are differences in agendas, opinions, personalities, and power there will always be conflicts at work. Some of these conflicts can become downright nasty and end up costing individuals their jobs, and more insidious, their health, well-being, and subsequently, the welfare of their families.

I came across a great resource when doing some research on workplace bullying that I thought would be helpful for Student Affairs professionals. Overcoming Mobbing: A Recovery Guide for Workplace Aggression and Bullying (2014: Oxford University Press) by Maureen Duffy and Len Sperry is a must read for those professionals dealing with or attempting to prevent organizational bullying. Duffy and Sperry define “mobbing” as “a destructive social process in which individuals, groups, or organizations target a person for ridicule, humiliation, and removal from the workplace.” Mobbing is different than bullying in that it occurs en mass involving multiple workers, administrators, and managers willing to participate in unethical communication that is both written and verbal. Bullying, on the other hand, occurs when one individual, such as a supervisor alone, targets an employee.

The process of ganging up includes such behaviors as the following: workplace conflict, people taking sides, unethical communication, other aggressive and abusive acts, involvement of management or administration, elimination of the target from the workplace, and post-elimination unethical communication. Mobbing is caused by a mix of individual, group, and organizational dynamics. An example of mobbing in Student Affairs can include colleagues ganging up on someone who is in line for promotion to a senior position in their department because those individuals do not want that person to assume that role. Tactics they use include spreading false information about their performance, befriending executive decision-makers and giving inaccurate and negative reports of that person, and purposely not inviting them to informal department meetings outside of normal work hours. As a result, they do not receive the promotion, begin to come under undue scrutiny from supervisors, and ultimately leave the institution because of the abuse.

Given the highly bureaucratic and politically-charged nature of higher education institutions, it only stands to reason that mobbing can and does occur within colleges and universities. Overcoming Mobbing: A Recovery Guide for Workplace Aggression and Bullying is a great primer that administrators in Student Affairs departments can use to facilitate discussion on how to create and nurture a “mobbing-free” environment. While it is unreasonable to think that colleges and universities are the bastions of collegiality and civility, we as Student Affairs administrators should ultimately work toward that goal, particularly as we serve as role models to our students.

What are some strategies that you feel should be used in order to create a “mobbing-free” workplace in Student Affairs?

The Things We Dread: Evaluations (Guest post by Sinclair P. Ceasar)

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Staff Evaluations

You both sit down to the table for a chat. Well, it’s more formal than a chat. Your employee looks at you with wide eyes. At present, they are more attentive than they are at staff meetings, and you feel pressure to say everything with a smile – even if the information is negative at times. Why do we have to go through this? Aren’t they self-aware enough to know how they’re doing at their own job? You refocus your attention on the mid-year evaluation before you and begin.

Evaluations Can Be an Ordeal

Many of us are gearing up for mid-year evaluations with our supervisors, our staff members, and ourselves. We tell ourselves we won’t get lost in the rubrics and number valuations, but at some point we trip up during the evaluation process especially when we appraise our own employees. For me, most the anxiety around assessing my staff stems from me not wanting to hurt feelings or turn staff off from the work they do. At the end of the day, I’ve hired competent individuals who work to improve the lives of students. Alas, those same individuals are imperfect and need coaching, mentoring, and feedback.

Feedback with a Purpose

At some point in my career, I decided to view one-on-one meetings as opportunities for improvement and relationship building, rather than just simple check-ins with my staff. Reframing my meetings changed my line of questioning. I became more interested in the life of my employees outside of work. I wanted to know about how their interpersonal relationships were with their teammates. And I questioned their thought processes when reviewing situations they’d dealt with since our last meeting. I wanted to affirm their decision making skills and let them know where they could improve as well. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric said to “make every meeting an appraisal.” Sure, I could have a staff that dreads criticism each time they enter my office. Or, I could have a team that values my perspectives because they know my intentions are to build and strengthen instead of belittle and weaken.

By the time we reach evaluation season, my staff is knowledgeable about their progress and areas of growth. The formal appraisal meeting becomes a space to exclusively converse about what they need to do to take their positions to the next level. We focus on actionable steps and end the meeting with goals and deadlines. The result: we have an account of their progress, written steps to better performance, and an entire evaluation packet to help me keep them accountable throughout the next half of the semester.

Putting it All Together

Here are 3 ways you can kick up your staff evaluations and make them less scary and more meaningful:

1. Show them how what they do matters – One section of my evaluation focused on interpersonal relationships. This section contained phrases like: staff member effectively communicates with others and staff member updates supervisor in a timely fashion. On the surface, these could seem like basic outcomes to measure, but I went beyond simply saying how well my employee did in those areas, and I came prepared with examples for each line of feedback I wrote. I also had an overall explanation of why we evaluated employees on interpersonal relationships in the first place and how it connected with our departmental goals. You want to know why your boss wants you to do something, and your staff wants to know the importantance and impact of their jobs.

2. Nothing should be a surprise- Your mid-year evaluations may be anxiety filled no matter what you do, but none of the feedback you provide should blindside your staff. Do yourself a favor and take 5-10 minutes during each one-on-one meeting to provide an informal appraisal. It will make your mid-year evaluation run smoothly, and you and your staff member will be on the same page.

3. Make the numbers work for you – We used a numbering system at one of my institutions in the way that “1” meant you were weak in an area and “5” meant you excelled. Once, I told my staff that no one would get above a “3” because they were all new, and it wasn’t realistic to have an exceptional staff member at that point. This was a huge mistake. I received backlash from staff members who felt this wasn’t fair and expressed how they excelled in some areas. Word to the wise: make sure the number system make sense, is objective, and is used fairly.

I’m curious to know what your best practices are.

Does your staff find evaluations to be refreshing and helpful? What changes have you made to your process in the past years? What are some challenges you face as a supervisor when it comes to appraising your staff? Please feel free to comment below.

Sinclair P. Ceasar has six years of experience with Residence Life, New Student Orientation, First Year Programming, and Service Learning. He is currently an Assistant Director of Residence Life at Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland, and enjoys dancing, running 5K’s, and being a foodie in his leisure time. Follow him on twitter @sceasar1020.

* Graphic courtesy of Sigurd Decroos