UNE staff are enthusiastically supporting “open, honest and positive” conversations around new ways of working together.
A series of small-group online conversations offered in partnership with Acumen Global Partners were fully subscribed this week and an extra conversation was added to accommodate more participants.
UNE is working with Acumen Global Partners to develop and embed a shared set of enabling behaviours across the institution, critical to a workplace that is safe, enjoyable and productive. This includes dedicated sessions with UNE’s executive and senior leaders and People and Culture staff.
The first small-group sessions were co-hosted by UNE convenors who had received coaching and resources from Acumen. The convenors introduced a range of behaviours, centred on taking responsibility for our actions, and being attentive, curious and respectful of fellow staff.
Ruth Bartlett-Taylor, Residential Services Specialist with UNE’s residential colleges, said it was fantastic to meet people who care deeply about UNE and are equally committed to making it a better place to work.
“Improving our workplace culture is not up to an external company, but up to all of us,” Ruth said. “I like the focus on individual responsibility, on helping ourselves and those in our teams whose wellbeing and resilience has been impacted.
“Some of the behaviours introduced really resonated, especially the need to be more courageous about sharing my own point of view. One of the key takeaways for me was learning to stop and take a moment during stressful situations; to think about how I am going to react before getting upset or angry and sending that email.”
Both Ruth and UNE alumni and Council member David van Aanholt, another participant, were heartened to learn how much influence a small number of people can have in a large organisation like ours.
“In our experience, there is a significant shift in culture when 17-20% of the organisation engages and experiments with new approaches,” said Acumen partner Robert McVicar. “This represents a tipping point, where the effectiveness of the change becomes apparent and more people become willing to explore new ways of behaving and treating each other, and experience the benefits themselves.”
David said he volunteered to take part to try to understand UNE better.
“Culture is the lifeblood of any organisation, and it was fantastic that staff felt comfortable and safe to be honest,” he said. “The hurt some people are feeling is real and it has been exacerbated by broader changes we have experienced in society.
“I was reminded that I am a person of privilege. That I need to be more conscious and respectful of the fact that people come to work differently. You don’t know what’s happening in their private lives or in their other workplace interactions. Putting ourselves in the position of others is a way to support their healing.”
The Chair of UNE Council’s Finance and Infrastructure Committee said he learnt other valuable lessons on moderating conversations to afford all people a voice, “not just the noisy ones”.
“This process is open, honest and positive, and it’s for everyone; from the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor right through the entire organisation,” David said. “We must all act the way we want others to act. Every meeting needs to be an exemplar of how we treat each other. We can all put our hands up to effect change.”
Associate Professor in English, Dr Elizabeth Hale, signed up to the program because she thought it offered the chance to learn some new workplace skills. And she was not disappointed.
“The conversations offer a space to reflect on our experiences, and to learn more about how others are thinking about things,” Elizabeth said. “I enjoyed meeting staff from across the university and learning about how things operate in different spaces.”
About 6% of UNE employees engaged in this first round of conversations to explore ways they can support cultural change.
“It’s normal in any grass-roots movement for the initial wave to be small, for there to be naysayers and pockets of resistance,” Robert said. “However, the strong engagement at UNE to date gives us cause for hope. Those who are participating are committed to helping create environments in which people can speak openly, share different perspectives and listen to each other.”
The second round of conversations begin on 18 November. Until then, the “early adopters” will be looking to apply what they are learning through a small “safe-to-fail” experiment or activity.
Acumen welcomes expressions of interest from UNE staff who would like to join a future round as either a convenor or participant. Contact bfilleul@acumenglobalpartners.com for more information.