April 2021 WACUBO News
President’s Message: Ruth’s Ruminations
Happy Spring! I hope you and your institutions are having a productive term and are beginning to see some hope for a covid-reduced future. As the vaccine rolls out within our states, there is a feeling of getting back to something more normal. But don’t let your guard down—we still have a way to go with Covid-19 prevention.
WACUBO committees are very busy planning the Business Partner Web Series, other workshops, and the Virtual Annual Conference. By providing an institution rate to attend May 24–26, we currently have about 1,800 individuals signed up to participate in the conference. The planning committees are working out logistics to make this an exciting opportunity for all.
I also want to thank Katy Rees and the Women’s Leadership Forum planning team for an excellent event.
We continue with our monthly Happy Hours. The March meeting focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, beautifully led by Carina Celesia Moore and others from the DEI Committee. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed getting to know each other. Please join us at the next one, April 20, 5 PM PT.
I expect your campuses are talking about Fall Term. As we plan for a more “conventional” term at New Mexico State University, we are planning for what this means. What kind of safety protections will be in place in the classrooms (masks, social distancing distance?), how do we better use the outdoors, how can we use the stimulus funds, and what will be our technology needs in/out of the classrooms?
Many are also asking what it will mean for work functions. Will everyone return to campus and do what they used to do? I expect we’ll see a variety of approaches, including staggered schedules, routinized telework, some functions remaining fully off campus, and opportunities to re-look at space.
McKinsey Global Institute is studying this and recently published “The Future of Work after Covid-19”. Here are some interesting findings:
- Hybrid/remote work will continue for about 25% of workers, up to 3 days a week or more—the flexibility has proven workable and desirable
- There will continue to be more delivery of items (supplies, e-commerce, food)
- Investment is needed in technology/automation
- Speedy worker redeployment is needed and recruiting and retraining will be based on skills and experience over academic degrees
- Work will need to be done to maintain a cohesive culture and develop practices and programs to keep employees connected and on a career path
- We must also focus on diversity and inclusion for hiring and retention
- Labor demand will shift to STEM and Health fields, away from office support, customer service and food service
- Leisure travel will be revived, but business travel will not, as virtual conferences and meetings have proved viable, and less costly
Another finding was that negotiations, critical business decisions, brainstorming sessions, providing sensitive feedback, etc. are not as effective remotely and we will need to adapt.
We’ve done an amazing job of pivoting to working and learning remotely and now want to seize the best of it while transitioning to a more conventional approach to work and learning.
You’ll hear more from us at WACUBO in the coming weeks; stay tuned!
Ruth
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