Peter Hayashida, M.B.A., CFRE’s Post

Terrific piece in Inside Higher Ed today. Higher education veteran Laurie Fenlason offers timely reminders of the importance of diligent staff stewardship. Over my career, I've enjoyed fulfilling relationships with almost all of the non-staff members I encountered as part of campus communities. But sometimes, I was forcefully reminded that as a staff member, I took a back seat in importance to #faculty and #students, in that order. I didn't quarrel with the basic model - the teacher/learner intersection defines an educational setting - but when the back seat isn't even in the car, that's a problem. In the absence of #tenure, staff live in a vastly different world. Ignoring their needs leads to costly #turnover, loss of institutional memory, and added burden or frustration for faculty members and students alike. The solution isn't complicated. If we treat competent, loyal, committed staff members as essential to the institution's success, we give employees reasons to stay, grow, and lead. It's easy to comfort ourselves by believing staff stay because they're lucky to have a paycheck and, often, great benefits. On the advancement side of the house, this hasn't been true for decades; we've struggled to find and keep strong #talent. Read Laurie's thoughtful essay and consider how we can all contribute to supporting #staff and creating the sense of #belonging that supports #excellence, #retention, and #engagement.