UM News

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (October 20, 2015) – More than a year after the University of Miami launched an effort to change the culture of its workplace, the ongoing initiative has entered one of its most important phases, as faculty and staff across the institution take a series of training sessions designed to improve their service, leadership, and employee-coaching skills.

More than 3,400 employees will undergo New Day and Leadership Skills training this semester as part of UM’s ambitious “Building a Better U Together” culture transformation initiative. The training sessions, which include three different modules, address everything from the University’s core values of diversity, integrity, responsibility, excellence, compassion, creativity, and teamwork—or DIRECCT—to its service standards of safety, caring, responsiveness, and professionalism.

Culture coaches, who are actually UM employees, and representatives from the Disney Institute, which is assisting the University in implementing its culture transformation initiative, conduct the training sessions, which are designed to help faculty and staff carry out the University’s common purpose of transforming lives through teaching, research, and service.

The New Day training sessions, which are scheduled through ULearn, can be “extremely effective if faculty and staff walk in with an open mind,” said Patty Swift, assistant director of business and marketing at UM’s Herbert Wellness Center, who, as a culture coach, has facilitated the New Day for Leaders training session. “These sessions not only allow employees to learn about this important initiative first-hand but also to voice their thoughts and ideas and to hear what others around the University are thinking and feeling.”

The sessions, said culture coach Tonya Sautier, executive director of business operations at the School of Communication, will “show how significant this endeavor is and that the leadership is committed to the journey. They will also ensure that consistent messages are being delivered regarding how we move forward.”

The leadership Sautier speaks of is UM’s Culture Leadership Team, which, with guidance from Disney, launched “Building a Better U Together” in the spring of 2014, starting with focus groups and online employee surveys that identified concerns and issues the University needed to address.

UM then established “Work Teams” that made recommendations on areas that needed improving—from screening and hiring practices, to employee training and recognition, to service delivery. Now, the “New Day” training is the vehicle through which UM is implementing change across the University.

Eli Stephan, senior manager of facilities and operations in Facilities Management, said he’s been using strategies he learned in the “New Day for Leaders, Coaching and Recognition for Service” training session every day. “The ‘coaching’ model is fantastic,” he said. “It explains every step of the coaching process, painting a clear picture for both the leader and team member. Recognizing our teams for what they do and tying the recognition to how each of us transforms lives is something I’ve strived to do.”

Marco Gonzalez, financial analyst in Auxiliary Services, said the training session he took was beneficial because it allowed him to “step away from my job and gather with coworkers outside of my silo to go over our common purpose.”

School of Education Dean Isaac Prilleltensky, a member of UM’s Culture Leadership Team, said the training sessions should benefit all who take them. “We should never assume that all of us were born leaders,” he explained. “We have over 2,200 leaders at the University in charge of small and large teams, and hopefully the trainings will make us all better administrators, facilitators, and leaders.”

Joe Natoli, senior vice president for business and finance and chief financial officer who’s been a Culture Leadership Team member from the start of the initiative, said the “Building a Better U” campaign is fundamental to UM’s success.

“The University is engaged in three business lines that will become more competitive every year—education, research, and clinical care,” he explained. “Future success will depend on our people. We can and should be the most sought after employer in South Florida, where the most talented people come to achieve their career ambitions and have fun doing so. That’s within our grasp. We need to surround ourselves with people who aren’t satisfied with just another career, but rather are enthusiastic about the opportunity to transform the lives of the people they encounter—students, patients, and colleagues. A winning culture, where people know they will be valued and treated fairly, will provide substantive advantage in the marketplace.”

In his Town Hall address, UM President Julio Frenk pointed to the University’s obligation to serve as a model for the values of the larger society of which the University is a part. “This is why I am so enthusiastic with the culture transformation initiative,” said Frenk. “I hope in my listening exercises to dig deeper into these themes.”

In a healthy culture, every individual feels valued and adds value, said Prilleltensky. “By creating a culture in which everyone feels respected and appreciated, we can increase the value that each one of us can contribute to the University,” he said. “Our people are the best asset we have. We have amazing students, faculty, and staff. To optimize how we work together, we need to create a value-based, purpose-driven culture. We need a call to action that unites all of us. People feel like they matter when they contribute to a cause larger than themselves. This is why, in collaboration with many groups at the University, we came up with the common purpose: At the U, we transform lives through teaching, research, and service.”

To learn more about UM’s “Building a Better U” culture transformation initiative, visit miami.edu/umculture.