ASR Staff Engagement May 20th Survey

This week’s ASR Staff Engagement Survey 5/20/2021 examines planning and organizing throughout your workday. Thank you for continuing to share your stories and experiences.

The results of the last survey indicated that most respondents receive enough feedback at times, but not always (54.2%). When asked about preferred ways to receive feedback, there was a strong preference to talk directly to the person providing feedback (83.3%) versus receiving feedback via electronic communication (16.7%).

When asked about recent achievements, we had lots of great personal and professional accomplishments mentioned. Some of these included successfully onboarding a new team member, recording an EP, successfully implementing ECI, engagement with a donor representing OSF, and running 60 miles in a race just to name a few. We also had fantastic suggestions for go-to karaoke songs including Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper), I Walk the Line (Johnny Cash), Teenage Dirtbag (Wheatus), Girl on Fire (Alicia Keys), Love Shack (The B-52’s), and Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffett)!

Thanks all for your continued participation! It is very much appreciated. Make sure to check out the results from the last survey and additional information below.

May 6, 2021 survey results

Do you feel that you receive enough feedback about your work?

• 25% Yes
• 20.8% No
• 54.2% Sometimes

How do you prefer to receive feedback?

• 83.3% Talking to the person providing feedback (over Zoom or in-person when possible)
• 16.7% Via electronic communication (email, chat, etc.)

Check out “Tips for Offering Feedback to a Peer” by the Indeed Editorial Team to learn about the importance of feedback and how to give positive feedback to your peers.

What is a recent accomplishment (personal or professional) that you are proud of?

• Recording an EP over the last year
• Organizing and selling my house while transitioning to a new role at work
• Ran 60 miles in a race
• Leading through a challenging time
• Finishing my first novel
• Launching a new online form for students

“Why celebrating your accomplishments is critical to your success” by Melody Gambino discusses celebrating your accomplishments and why it’s important for your mental health and work performance.

What is (or would be) your go-to karaoke song?

• Rocket Man (Elton John)
• Living on a Prayer (Bon Jovi)
• Roxanne (The Police)
• Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)
• Tennessee Homesick Blues (Dolly Parton)

Take the “Make A Playlist And We'll Tell You What Song You Should Sing At Karaoke” quiz from BuzzFeed to find your perfect karaoke song!

Spring 2021 grade basis changes

Grade basis changes for Twin Cities undergraduate spring 2021 courses can now be requested through the newly launched Jadu form, which will automatically update the grade in PeopleSoft. Students have until 11:59 p.m. CST on May 24 to submit the online request form. This process will save Academic Support Resources hundreds of hours of manual processing time. Special thanks goes out to all who were involved in this process, as it truly was a cross-functional effort within ASR to make this possible.

End of fiscal year transactions

The end of the fiscal year is approaching next month. In order to have transactions posted this fiscal year, the following transaction types need to be completed before 4:30 p.m. on Monday, June 7, 2021:

• Travel Card transactions reconciled/submitted in ChromeRiver (including credits/refunds)
• Reimbursement requests submitted in ChromeRiver
• Requisition / Purchase Order requests (including UMarket)
• PO Change Order requests
• Invoices / Check requests
• PCard transactions reconciled in MyWallet (with email notification to Finance partner Jeremy Schwanz)

If you have any questions about reconciling expenses in ChromeRiver, please email asrcentral@umn.edu to get them entered and submitted.

Update from Sue

Final exams begin today along with commencement festivities. It is very different this year again for our students, faculty, and staff. Summer term is right around the corner. I must admit this academic year has flown by for me. I have learned a lot from many of you this year. I appreciate many of you providing information and support to those of us in ASR and beyond. Your attitudes have been great throughout every test of endurance that we’ve had to embrace willingly and not so willingly. Thank you so much.

This is my second to last News and Notes update. I have been reviewing all of the ASR accomplishments, and I am so impressed with the work over this past year. I was asked to narrow them down, and I really tried, but everything all of you have done is so important to me. All of you play a role in keeping this University running smoothly. This is very impressive, and you all deserve a pat on the back and a big thank you. I want all of the ASR accomplishments showcased this year. Thank you so much.

The ASR directors and others have been working on making the transition to a new director smooth. Stacey is excited to continue to work with the directors and all of you to support our initiatives and the success of our students. I am very confident that ASR will excel even more after I am gone. It will be exciting to watch you all continue to excel and make the U even greater.

One Stop website upgrade

What is happening?

The One Stop Website Upgrade project is officially underway! I am Sara Cokl, the new project & change manager for the One Stop Upgrade project. As a former UMN student services professional and recent technical project manager, I am thrilled to return to the University to manage this crucial project.

It has been 5 years since the last time the One Stop website has undergone a transformation. In that time, technology and our students’ needs have evolved. In order to start the One Stop Upgrade on the right foot, we want to ensure we are considering our student user experience and conducting the necessary research to update the website’s content strategy.

Once this research is completed and the ASR Communications team has developed an updated content strategy, the work of moving all the existing One Stop content for all campuses onto the upgraded content management system will begin. This preparation and heavy lifting will take time, so we have a projected launch date of summer 2022 for the updated One Stop website.

How to stay updated

I know first-hand what a critical tool the One Stop website is for UMN students and staff. I will be developing a communication strategy to ensure stakeholders are not only updated on progress, but also have the opportunity to contribute.

Over the next several weeks, I may be reaching out to some of you to request some time on meeting agendas. That being said, I am sure there are working groups that I am not aware of, so please feel free to reach out (saracokl@umn.edu) and tell me about your group and what their interest in the One Stop upgrade would be. Then, together we can determine the best way to engage group members.

Mental Wellness in the Workplace

Mental Health Month

May is Mental Health month. ASR’s Mental Wellness in the Workplace Committee works to provide resources for staff and to create an environment that promotes positive mental health. We want to highlight some of the mental health topics and resources available to you and invite you to take a look at those that may be of interest.

• Visit Mental Wellness at Work on the ASR intranet to see some University and State resources available to you as well as links to resource folders that the committee has been compiling.
• Search for the tag “mental wellness” in the News & Notes blog to reference previous articles shared via the newsletter.
• Mental wellness resources are also being shared via the ASR Slack Channel #health.

Throughout the month (and beyond), consider opportunities you have to reflect, engage, and create a safe space for talking about mental health and mental wellness.

Some options:

• Engage with NAMI’s “You are not alone” campaign
• Take part in one of NAMI’s many free online mental health classes for May and June
• Promote mental wellness in your working group and/or unit
• Make your own mental health a priority

ASR Staff Engagement May 6th Survey

This week’s ASR Staff Engagement Survey 5/6/2021 examines feedback and recognition. Thank you for continuing to share your stories and experiences.

The results of the last survey indicated that many are feeling a significant amount of stress right now. On a scale from 1 (not stressed) to 5 (very stressed), most respondents chose ‘4’ (41.4%) followed by ‘3’ (31%) and ‘5’ (13.8%). Regarding psychological symptoms of stress, if you chose ‘forgetful’ that is indeed the ‘best’ answer. Although, stress can manifest itself in several different ways. We had lots of great replies concerning how we cope with stress, including taking long walks, reading a good book, talking through things with others, taking naps, meditating, and gardening.

Finally, we had lots of fun responses when asked what superpower you would choose. Some of the most common responses included flying, time travel, teleportation, invisibility, and super speed. Thanks all for your continued participation! It is very much appreciated. The results from the last survey and additional articles and information are available below.

April 22, 2021 survey results

On a scale from 1 (not stressed) to 5 (very stressed), how stressed have you been feeling lately?

• 13.8% 5
• 41.4% 4
• 31% 3
• 10.3% 2
• 3.4% 1

Check out Rob Cook’s Ted Talk “The cost of workplace stress -- and how to reduce it,” which discusses the impacts of stress in the workplace and methods on how to reduce it.

Psychological symptoms of stress include anxious, irritable, overwhelmed, and _____?

• Regretful
• Superior
• Interested
• Forgetful

What is Stress has lots of great information and resources on stress and how to manage it.

How do you typically cope with stress?

• Take the dogs for a walk
• Reading in a quiet space
• Talk to family or friends
• Meditate, walk and get plenty of sleep
• Snuggle with my cat or dog

Check out “25 Quick Ways to Reduce Stress” to learn about some quick ways (five minutes or less) to reduce stress.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

• Moving objects with my mind
• Teleportation!
• Shapeshifting
• Invisibility
• The power to fly
• Time travel

For those interested, Andrea Letamendi’s “Capes, cowls and courage: the psychological power of superheroes” is another great Ted Talk discussing how embracing your interests can be like becoming a superhero.