From the Desk Of . . .
Cathy
LaTourette, Associate Vice President of Human Resources Welcome to “The Source”—HR’s first communication
tool designed distinctly for PSU administrators and supervisors.
On any given day at PSU we have over 4,000 faculty and staff on campus,
with fewer than 400 in supervisory roles. We ask a great deal of
you to provide the direction, support, guidance, and leadership to
those in your units. We ask you to educate a diverse student body,
perform break-through research, manage day-to-day functional operations,
provide services, and deliver outcomes—all through your faculty
and staff, in other words, through your leadership and management
of others.
Serving in the
role of academic administrator or unit manager isn’t
easy. It involves a faceted skill set to be effective in creating
the kind of workplace environment your faculty and staff need to
thrive as professionals and individuals while contributing to the
goals of your unit and the university.
We know that human beings are complex and this complexity can present a wide variety of difficult and challenging issues, including technical work performance improvement, interpersonal or other types of behavior concerns, health and/or other personal
matters that arise, etc. Add increasing employment laws,
as well as university contractual and ethical compliance and there is more to think about. In an HR survey conducted in Summer 2005, you told us
that more help is needed in the area of supervisory training and
support with employee issues.
The Source is one of the strategies for meeting the articulated
needs of administrators and managers and is designed to enhance on-campus
supervisory resources about leading and managing people in the workplace.
You’ll find articles on management best practices, workforce
trends, and tips and techniques for effective leadership. The Source
represents a collaboration of the many people across campus who are
involved in providing “just-in-time” coaching and support
to leaders on people issues. This includes staff from the offices
of the President, OAA, AA/EO, OPDI, Ombuds, and Human Resources.
Our goal is to work together to deliver supportive ideas specific
to PSU and tools and resources through The Source that are in addition
to the day-to-day support each office already offers, making complex
employee challenges a little less difficult. We are committed to
serving you well and giving you useful information to administer
and supervise your employee resources.
Always feel free to comment and make suggestions by calling (x.
54930) or e-mailing (latourettec@pdx.edu). Enjoy!
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