Townhall presentation addresses employee engagement and ICE
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Online Editor
An “Engage and Listen” survey was held earlier this year, and its results were discussed during an online-only, town hall style presentation held in August during the college’s “Service Week.” A small part of the hour-long town hall, it nonetheless addressed the results of the survey of staff and faculty as well as concerns that were raised.
The session included a taped introduction from Chancellor Pittman, who was not in attendance for the presentation. Main takeaways from the survey included the positive reactions to changes in HR, but responses throughout noted the need for better communication and transparency.
Jennifer Arvin, the college’s executive director of marketing and communications, led this particular section of the presentation.
“One of the categories was the leadership disconnect,” Arvin said. “People feeling that there’s not true two way communication between leaders and employees. Some of the ideas about how to improve upon that is having monthly campus leadership meetings… Skip level engagement was another suggestion, and that is where leaders meet with not just their direct reports, but also other staff that might be more front-line, that don’t report directly to the leader. And then a desire to be inclusive in the planning and decision making.”
Arvin also addressed other issues that recurred throughout the responses: fragmented communication, inefficient processes, structural silos and cross departmental collaboration. Specific slides from the presentation can be viewed below.
STLCC and ICE
Other topics unrelated to the Engage and Listen results included a discussion of ICE during an interactive Q&A portion of the session.
Mark Swadner, the college’s CFO, addressed this matter briefly, directing people watching with specific questions to College Police Chief Alfred Aktins.
“Well, first, I want to say that we comply with our police [and] comply with all laws whether they’re federal or state,” Swadner said. “[With] that being said, we’re not in the immigration lane, and that we would take our lead from somebody else.” He continued, “But understand that we’re here to create a good environment for all, whether it’s our staff or students, to be able to, you know, learn without interruption and also without the oversight. However, we do comply with federal and state law and cooperate with those agencies that require a cooperation.”
