How to Keep HR Strategies Flexible

Article by Dino Ferrare, VP of Human Resources and Information Technology

Human Resources departments have to constantly ebb and flow with the ever-growing list of considerations and guidelines, both in the office and remotely. As the world rapidly changes, we must remain flexible.

The pandemic amplified the importance of interpersonal communication. High-performing organizations have always been driven by thoughtful and timely communication between employees, especially between supervisors and employees. However, without in-person contact in the office, communication needs between employees became increasingly significant for our remote and hybrid workforce.

For nearly 49 years, Fielding Graduate University has maintained a successful distributed-learning educational model. While that structure has changed over time, we are committed to expanding our presence and visibility in the virtual space for everyone: students, faculty, staff, alums, and other stakeholders. The pandemic forced us to focus even more on virtual communication, technology, and other online strategies.

A vital part of the Fielding educational experience is our in-person sessions and events, which several programs require. Perhaps the biggest challenge Fielding had to overcome was using available technology to engage our students and the Fielding community in a virtual space for events that had been conducted exclusively in person for decades.

Every employee was forced to work harder at maintaining a feeling of connection in electronic communication. It is much more challenging to express shades of emotion and meaning in those spaces, especially when providing feedback and direction, both on-camera and off.

The most significant need was for HR to expand its role as the campus safety leader. At smaller colleges and universities without a Safety Department, HR is responsible for the workplace safety matters included in its mandated Workplace Safety Plan. We had to create an entirely new COVID Safety Plan and consistently update it per CDC and governmental guidelines.

We also found creative ways to conduct the recruitment, screening, and new employee orientation processes, hosting Zoom interviews and meetings versus the usual on-site events. Our HR team didn’t do this alone – we had plenty of help from multiple departments and individuals.

Since the inception of the pandemic, we have maintained a high sense of workplace flexibility, including allowing 90 percent of our workforce to remain remote. This approach eliminates the daily commute for the vast majority of our staff, allows for more productivity, and increases overall individual and collective workplace happiness.

Through successes and missteps, we’ve identified four values-based strategies that were the prerequisites to implementing a more flexible work environment:

Hire the right people.

Your ability to trust employees to do the right thing begins with hiring people that you know embrace your organization’s values. That’s not to diminish the importance of the minimum knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience required to fill a position with a competent employee. Screening applicants who cannot articulate why they want to work at Fielding is the most crucial part of our recruitment process.

Retain good people by investing as much as possible in employee professional development.

When you demonstrate a genuine interest in aligning people’s professional development aspirations with the organization’s need to increase their knowledge, skills, and abilities in their current roles, they are more likely to stick around as they prepare themselves to grow into new roles. Over time, the quality of these interactions forges a high degree of mutual trust.

Trust the wisdom of your leadership team.

Fielding’s team of directors is the best example I have seen of how years spent forming, storming, and norming lead to exemplary collaboration and effective performance. We know we can trust them to lead their departments not only by modeling the way, but also by listening to their employees’ voices to inform operational decisions.

Trust the experience of staff on the front lines.

We found that everyone felt that they were much more productive when working from home and that their presence at home allowed them to do more for and with their families – and for themselves. We will continue supporting our staff in our work-from-home model by providing them with the improved tools and technology they requested.

These strategies showcase Fielding’s contribution to social and ecological justice by eliminating all unnecessary commuting. This brings us full circle to hiring the right people based on their alignment with the organization’s values. As we say at Fielding: Change the World – Start with Yours.

In the future, the most important goals for HR are to continue adding diverse, talented staff who believe in and support Fielding’s vision, mission, and values. We aspire to continue to co-create an inclusive work environment in which employees feel valued, seen, and heard so they learn, grow, produce high-quality work, and interact with like-minded and like-hearted colleagues.

There is no question that Fielding will face more and greater challenges, as that is the trend in higher education. We will continue to give our faculty and staff many good reasons to stay with us — and no reasons to leave.