U Talent Connection coordinator Rosie Barry.
Retaining talented U staff
U Talent Connection provides a bridge between U hiring units and employees
By Lori Ann Vicich
From Brief, August 31, 2005
Reshaping the University of Minnesota through the strategic positioning process means major change that will impact employees in affected colleges. During the coming transitions, the Office of Human Resources (OHR) has three goals.
- Maximize career opportunities for and development of staff.
- Minimize involuntary staff reductions in affected colleges.
- Promote staff ability and agility in line with the newly focused academic directions and administrative structures.
Office of Human Resources strategic
positioning guiding principles
-Respect faculty and staff rights and responsibilities.
-Ensure faculty and staff input in the process.
-Align support structures with strategy.
-Staff those support structures accordingly.
-Jointly scrutinize hiring in affected colleges.
-Provide opportunities for continued University employment for
affected college staff members.
-Inform faculty and staff of programs and services.
To view the full text, see HR Strategic
Positioning Guiding Principles.
To achieve these goals, a new program called the University Talent Connection (UTC) has been launched. UTC is a bridge to connect hiring units and employees within the U system. Using Employee Career Enrichment Program (ECEP) counselors and workshops coupled with central tracking of available positions, UTC is designed to help academic professional and administrative (P&A) and civil service staff members connect--early in the process--to University employment opportunities.
UTC offers:
- individual consulting with people in affected units, with dedicated office hours on the Twin Cities campus in both Minneapolis and St. Paul
- a full range of counseling services
- specialized workshops on career search topics--resume-writing, interviewing, and networking are available to units affected, including those on the St. Paul campus
- connections with human resources managers, directors, and professionals to identify appropriate position openings
- connections with the U of M Job Center to obtain job openings
- a newly-created database to look for matches, as well as Employee Career Enrichment counselors seeking out job matches
Workshops available to
transitioning staff members
*Change and Your Career
*Exploring Work Options at the University
*Networking at the U of M
*Improving Your Interview Skills
*Writing an Effective Resume
*Recognizing Your Work Skills and Potential
*Supervising During Change
Register for workshops at www.umn.edu/ohr/ecep.
P&A and civil service staff members interested in the University Talent Connection and any faculty or staff member interested in the Employee Career Enrichment Program should contact Rosie Barry at barry023@umn.edu or 612-626-1004.
For more information
For more information about the University Talent Connection and human resource issues related to strategic positioning, see Human Resources and Strategic Positioning, www.umn.edu/ohr/strategic, and look for the UTC link.
Lori Ann Vicich is the communications director for the Office of Human Resources.