The Genera)on Gap: Recrui)ng and developing early career professional staff in higher educa)on – issues and solu)ons for the individual, ins)tu)on and the sector
Helen Cooke Assistant Research & Enterprise Manager The Open University, UK Carroll Graham Ins:tute Manager University of Technology Sydney, Australia
AUA Annual Conference, NoCngham, April 2011
Overview of the session • Objec:ves: ▫ Understand the factors that might make a career in higher educa:on an aMrac:ve op:on to young professionals ▫ Provide an overview of possible solu:ons for developing and suppor:ng professional staff in the early stages of their career ▫ Understand the aCtudes and behaviours of different genera:ons and the impact of this on workforce planning in higher educa:on
• AUA Competency frameworks covered ▫ Developing self and others ▫ Providing direc:on ▫ Finding innova:ve solu:ons
From one side of the world... • Background • AUA Travel Award 2010 ▫ The recruitment and development of trainee managers in Higher Educa:on: A compara:ve study between the UK and Australia
• Building a network ▫ 57 contacts in nine Australian ins:tu:ons + ATEM* • Lessons learnt ▫ Buy or “grow your own” staff? ▫ Recogni:on of professional staff in HE • Personal reflec:ons ▫ www.open.ac.uk/blogs/auatravel2010
* Associa:on of Ter:ary Educa:on Management (ATEM)
...to the other... • Manager of Early Career Professionals (ECPs) ▫ 14 years in HE ▫ 11 years managing early career professionals • How it links into my doctoral study ▫ Concerned by the lack of career opportuni:es for ECPs ▫ Concerned by the lack of research, understanding of what we do • ATEM ▫ connects, supports and challenges individuals and ins:tu:ons to recognise and advance the professionalism of ter:ary educa:on management in Australia and New Zealand
...whilst sharing common ground • Defini:ons of professional staff in HE • Changing demographics of the higher educa:on workforce • The changing roles and iden::es of professional managers ▫ Generalist vs Specialist ▫ Administra:on vs Management • The role of ‘blended professionals’ (Whitchurch, 2009) ▫ UK, Australia and United States • AMrac:ng staff to professional roles in higher educa:on • Role of professional bodies (par:cularly AUA and ATEM) • Succession planning • Understanding career mo:va:ons of different genera:ons
What’s in a name…? • Categorisa:on of genera:ons is by no means clear cut • By date?
Date of birth* Genera)on ‘label’ Age in 2011
Born between 1922 and 1945 The Veterans 66 – 89
Born between 1946 and 1953 Baby Boomers 58 -‐ 65
Born between 1954 and 1964 Genera:on Jones 47 – 57
Born between 1965 and 1980 Genera:on X (GenX) 31 – 46
Born between 1981 and 1995 Genera:on Y (GenY) 16 – 30
Born between 1995 and today Genera:on Z (GenZ) Under 16
* Adapted from Johnson Controls, www.oxygenz.com
Early career professionals (aka GenY)
hMp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqOXT6c0ECM&feature=player_detailpage#t=340s (5:39)
Age ain’t nothin’ but a number… • Some argue that individuals should be categorised by the behaviours they exhibit rather than the year they were born • Role of media tools in ‘defining’ a genera:on ▫ “If we want to define people by categories, it should be by behaviors because this is something each of us chooses“*
• The media we use reflects the space we live in
* Margaret Weigel, Harvard / MIT (www.margaretweigel.com)
So, are you ready for...?
Ques:ons 1. Do you have your own personal web page? (1 point) 2. Have you made a web page for someone else? (2 points) 3. Do you use Instant Messaging to ‘speak’ to your friends? (1 point) 4. Do you text your friends? (2 points) 5. Do you watch videos on YouTube? (1 point) 6. Do you create and upload your own videos to the Internet?
(2 points) 7. Have you paid for and downloaded music from the Internet?
(1 point) 8. Do you know where you can download free (but illegal) music from
the Internet? (2 points) 9. Do you blog for professional reasons? (1 point)
Ques:ons (cont) 10. Do you blog as a way to keep a personal online diary? (2 points) 11. Have you visited MySpace at least five :mes? (1 point) 12. Do you communicate with friends on Facebook? (2 points) 13. Do you use email to communicate with your parents? (1 point) 14. Do you text or IM to communicate with your parents? (2 points) 15. Do you take photos with your phone? (1 point) 16. Do you share your photos from your phone with your friends?
(2 points) 17. Do you Tweet? (2 points) 18. Do you own a touch-‐screen mobile phone? (1 point) 19. Do you own an iPad (or similar)? (2 points) 20. Do you have an account set up on LinkedIn? (1 point)
And the winner is.....???
0 -‐ 6 point Baby Boomer
7 -‐ 12 points Genera)on Jones
13 – 18 points Genera)on X
19 – 25 points Genera)on Y
26 points or above Genera)on Z
Discussion • In small groups, discuss how you found the results of the ac:vity: ▫ Were you surprised with the genera:on you ended up in?? ▫ How does this compare with the category that your birth year puts you in?
• And how does this manifest itself in the workplace? ▫ Do you (as managers) no:ce a different in the aCtude/behaviour of staff from different genera:ons? ▫ What is no:ceable about Genera:on Y and Z colleagues in your workplace? ▫ What do managers need to do to get the most out of Gen Y staff?
HE -‐ a good career choice for GenY? • AMributes of Genera:on Y: ▫ Savvy when it comes to money and savings ▫ Believe in work-‐life balance ▫ Don’t expect to stay in a job – or even career – for very long ▫ Flexibility ▫ Mul:taskers ▫ Mo:vated by challenge and a collabora:ve environment ▫ Want to be heard and valued ▫ Need regular recogni:on ▫ Want to work somewhere fun • Structured training schemes can provide some level of guidance and an opportunity to “try out” different roles
What are the implica:ons… • …for individuals? ▫ Higher educa:on as a career choice, not an “accident” • …for ins:tu:ons? ▫ Research into workforce planning has started to focus on the unique aCtudes and behaviours of different genera:ons with regard to long term career plans ▫ Need appropriate personal development opportuni:es • …for the sector? ▫ The role of professional bodies (AUA and ATEM) ▫ Lack of career advice about working in HE – jobs are ‘invisible’ to poten:al applicants (graduates and/or early career staff) ▫ Recogni:on of professional careers in HE
Solu:on 1: Management Trainee Schemes • UK ▫ LiMle is known about the personal mo:va:ons and ambi:ons of professional staff in the early stages of a management career in the sector ▫ More formal schemes, no common structure • Australia ▫ No specific schemes in opera:on ▫ Alterna:ve opportuni:es, ins:tu:on-‐specific ▫ Mainly work-‐study opportuni:es for current students ▫ Universi:es need to invest in the professional development of staff, par:cularly those in the early stages of their career, to ensure con:nued success for the sector (Graham, 2009)
Recommenda)on Responsibility 1. There should be an emphasis on long term career development and opportuni:es to reflect on learning and experience gained. This could, for example, be mapped against the AUA’s CPD framework.
Individual Ins:tu:on
2. Schemes should not be more than 2 years. Ins:tu:on
3. Placements should be 6-‐9 months and across more than one faculty/unit with a central HR contact point for support. More senior professional staff should have a greater understanding of the competencies required and beMer posi:oned to iden:fy those that need to be developed.
Ins:tu:on
4. Iden:fy a senior manager ‘champion’ in the host ins:tu:on.
Ins:tu:on
Recommenda)on (cont) Responsibility 5. On the job training should be mixed with formal qualifica:ons.
Ins:tu:on Professional Bodies
6. Support for secondments/work placements should be encouraged.
Ins:tu:on Professional Bodies
7. Schemes should involve a con:nuing programme of higher educa:on awareness opportuni:es to prevent trainees becoming ‘ins:tu:onalised’.
Ins:tu:on Professional Bodies
8. Consider how to promote professional roles in higher educa:on to students, graduates or those external to the sector (for example a Special Interest Group or AUA booklet on careers in higher educa:on).
Professional Bodies
Solu:on 2: Professional Development porxolios
Dossier Porxolio • Self-‐review • Detailed or mandated record of aMainments • For selec:on or promo:onal purposes • Used for: ▫ Establishment of standards ▫ Precise specifica:on of competence levels
Smith & Tillema, 2003
Training Porxolio
Smith & Tillema, 2003
• Self-‐evalua:on • Required collec:on of artefacts collected during learning • Highlights the core professional knowledge, skills or competencies acquired • Mainly outcomes-‐oriented and forma:ve • Used for: ▫ Providing feedback ▫ Learning ▫ Improvement
Reflec:ve Porxolio
Smith & Tillema, 2003
• Self-‐appraisal • A purposeful and personal collec:on of work • Provides evidence of growth and accomplishments • Outcomes oriented and mainly summa:ve • Used for: ▫ Promo:on and admission ▫ Demonstra:ng best prac:ces or key competencies that meet certain criteria
Personal Development Porxolio
Smith & Tillema, 2003
• Self-‐assessment • Reflec:ve account of professional growth • Long-‐term forma:ve process • Gives value to individual’s ac:vi:es • Used for refining or restructuring professional growth
Balancing Sustained Porxolio Use • Mandatory porxolios ▫ Likely to be done ▫ Formal self-‐review ▫ Less beneficial for professional development
• Voluntary porxolios ▫ Less likely to be maintained ▫ Informal self-‐assessment ▫ More beneficial for professional development
• Mentor or coach ▫ Provides direc:on ▫ Listens and provides feedback
Smith & Tillema, 2003
Conclusions • Recogni:on of management in the sector as a “professional” and valued career op:on • Need to aMract and retain the best candidates for taking higher educa:on forward, par:cularly in such challenging :mes • Changing demographics of HE workforce • Need to understand that the workplace will change as a result of different mo:va:ons/behaviours of genera:ons • Ins:tu:ons must be able to adapt
Because before we know it....
Genera:on Z will have arrived! • Born since 1995 (ie. currently under 16) • Also known as the Digital Genera:on, Digital Na:ves, Genera:on “I”, Net Genera:on, iGenera:on • Children of the youngest Baby Boomers , Genera:on X and the early Genera:on Y adults • Gen Z will become university students in the next 3 years • AMributes of Genera:on Z*: ▫ Will not be team players ▫ Will be more self-‐directed ▫ Will process informa:on at lightening speed ▫ Will be smarter ▫ Will revolu:onise educa:on
* http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/07/27/what-work-will-be-like-for-generation-z/
Preparing for Genera:on Z
hMp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3i0bEjv2ts&feature=player_detailpage
Ques:ons?
Helen Cooke [email protected] www.open.ac.uk/blogs/auatravel2010
Carroll Graham [email protected] www.higheredprofessionals.info
