Change can feel uncomfortable, especially in volume. At its core, Transform IT requires change: changes to processes, teams, and office space. To help ease the university through these changes, the USS Implementation project team has created an Employee Engagement and Experience work stream to focus on the human aspects of Transform IT.
During broad restructuring programs such as Transform IT, it’s typical for employees to encounter change saturation and change collisions, which can result in staff disengagement, anxiety, confusion, stress, and fatigue. UO’s students and employees are the most important element of Transform IT. Anxious employees or confused students will not promote a successful transition. The Employee Engagement and Experience work stream, coached by Jill O’Dea, HR’s Learning and Development Manager, is focusing on helping university employees adapt to change and adopt new processes.
To track the success of this effort, the work stream will also develop metrics to monitor project adoption. Many of these measures will be quantitative, but the key metrics will focus on the qualitative outcomes.
The Employee Engagement and Experience work stream held its first meeting on Wednesday, July 31. The group meets monthly.