Creating Ongoing Returns on Investment

The New Zealand tertiary education system is set up in such a way that anyone and everyone can have access to higher education.  Along with assisting people to enter the education system the Government also gift students with extra money for living and everyday expenses.

So given that the Government are investing so much time and money into the sector - they (quite rightly) expect a return on their investment.  Legislation was introduced in 2010 that says that students can access a maximum of 7 years funding assistance and that if any student fails more than 50% of their studies in a given time period they become ineligible to recieve help in the future.

The problem is that there are plenty of students who will fail their study but ought not to be penalised for having tried.  So what has happened is a shift in the thinking and approach of educators to their students.  Where previously tutors may have thought "You know what? Tough.  The student didn't come to class and so they failed.  Not my problem".

Don't get me wrong 98% of tutors take a healthy interest in their students and will often go well beyond the call of duty to assist their learners.  What is happening now is that behavior of assistance is being internalsied and reinforced by management as a central pillar of the classroom and teaching culture.

So we seek to create a culture of caring for those whom we don't see quite so often due to all sorts of circumstances.  Part time students, mums, dads, people without transport, people have been told they are dumb.

At the same time we are undergoing a "brand" review to freshen up the way we project ourselves into the community about who we are and what we do.  My sincere hope is that the two walk hand in hand.

Ultimately community and care of each other is what we are all about.  The way we look at each other within our 'four walls' is just as important as the message that we broadcast to others outside of our organisation.

What we are seeking to provide to the Government, to the students and to the community is an ongoing return on investment.  An investment that will eventually not only raise GDP, living stndards and quality of life but also instill confidence and mana in the learners.

We do this through support, through manaakitanga and through trusting in each other.

The week in review - lessons from reflection

What a week that one was!  May I never have one quite the same again please.

• Monday - submit CV.  Then submit CV again just in case the first email didn't go through.  Amazingly the first email didn't go through so sending the same email from a different address was a lifesaver. 

  Lesson - always have a plan b/plan c.

• Tuesday - Christchurch earthquake.  Members of my team had older children caught up in the drama along with project team members that I know.  A day of stress, worry and ultimately disaster for Christchurch.

  Lesson - you never know when or where a crisis may appear.  You as a manager have to lead, understand and be flexible with your team.

• Wednesday - Marketing workshop.  A very interesting session whereby the group reflcted in the marketing practices of our organisation - both good and bad.  Congratulations to Rob who somehow managed to hold the workshop together and had some very good ideas.

  Lesson - if you don't have something constructive to say, don't say anything at all.

• Thursday - head down, bum up.  Thursday was intense.  Trying to catch up on missed work due to the extended workshop of the day before.

  Lesson - meetings chew up time.  Plan ahead, delegate and avoid meetings with little reward or outcome.  Don't do meetings for the sake of doing meetings.

• Friday - customer service 101.  Two hours spent with students arranging courses for 2011.  Two more hours spent on following up students who either aren't turning up or we think will struggle in 2011.  (Time well spent indeed!)  Then to finish the week - two emails.  One apology and two good news emails.

  Lesson - time spent on people is always a valuable use of your time; and always try to end the week on a good note.  If you have had issues with a co-worker then try and fix them before you leave for the weekend.  Reinforce positive events that have happened and fix up any molehill issues before they blow out to be mountain sized issues.

I wonder what next week will hold?

Educational Management

We are preparing to undergo a new style audit that the Ministry of Education (New Zealand) have put in place for all educators that teach post Secondary school.

The main emphasis and thrust behind this audit is the ability to reflect.  In the traditional system of auditing  the paperwork was checked and we try to laud how good we are while simultaneously hide anything we aren't good at.

Under the new system the evaluators want to see

• How well do we understand what we do - that is teach,
• How we do know how we are doing,
• How are we improving.

I think these questions are really self audit questions that every manager and employee should ask themselves about their position within the company and in their relationship with the customer.

I have captured the three main reflection questions in a different way.  Try answering these questions and see what answers you get -

1. What do you do to help our students learn/customers spend/ clients succeed?
2. How do you know how well it works?  What are the results?  What evidence do you have?
3. What are you doing to improve it?

(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/venndiagram/4445273071/)

Human Capital Management

PeopleStreme.com have made this awesome video and posted it onto You Tube.  I have put it here and will add my contribution further down the page.

What value do you place on your work?  What value is placed on you?  Do you rate yourself or not?

Conversely - What value do you place on others work?  What value do you place on others?  How do you measure that value and is that measure relevant or accurate?

Here are a few facts of life as far as organisation's go -

• Size matters.  The bigger the organisation the less they know about you.  What happens is the more layers in an organisation the more removed you will be from the central services.
• Front Line Managers matter! The relationship between you and your direct manager is always the most important relationship you will have.  This is true if you are the cleaner all the way through to if you are a Director of the Board.  You must work with your boss!
• The HR Department matters!  Admitted in most organisations the only time you most people will interact with HR is when they are hired or if they are fired.  But it doesn't have to be that way!  Go out of yur way to meet the staff and make sure they remember who you are (for the right reasons of course).  It pays to make friends and keep them for as long as you can.
• The skills and abilities of your staff matter!  Update them!  Watch your staff.  Learn from them.  Be open to having your staff tell you where they think what sklls they need to work on and develop.  If you disagree you can help steer them in a better direction.  Create an audit or questionaire to work through at appraisal time to help lead and guide your discussions about where peoples skills are at.
• Coaching matters!  The best time to coach someone is when they are reflecting and considering their performance.  If your manager doesn'tdo this for you - tell them or look for another manager.

PunkRockHR posted a great piece on employee engagement a few days ago which ties in nicely with this post.  Head over there and check it out - WARNING: it will provoke a response.

People who are paid to do work will do a better job when they feel valued, understood and have the freedom to do what they have to in a way that makes sense to them (while adding value to the organisation).

Quaterly Performance Review

The first three months of 2010 have passed already. So now is a good time time to go back and review the goals and objectives that I set for for the year and assess - where am I up to in my progress?

My original resolutions and focus areas can be summarised as follows -

1. Compliance.
2. Excellence.
3. Teamwork.

So how do I rate my progression so far this year?

Compliance -A; Excellence - B+; Teamwork - B+.

(Note - I usually rate myself a bit harder than I should so I am happy with the results to date.)

• Compliance is the single biggest area that needed working on. And I feel that I am succeeding in that. Compliance is defined as - following instructions, adhering to regulations and making sure others are aware and also comply with the guidelines set out for the organisation.
• Excellence is coming along nicely and it's always easier to a task properly or the best of our ability when it is something we care about and get some fulfillment out of.
• Teamwork is going well. This year has been odd because the 'team' I manage has changed. I now have seperate two areas to focus on. In order to look after both I have had to let go of who I thought was most important (staff) for others who are just as important but take up far more of my time (students).

As far as my personal goals go - I am well on my way to getting to where I want to be. By July I will have completed half my goals for the year which will line me up nicely for finishing the year that I thought I would at the beginning of the year.

"We have no control of the locations of our dreams, we do however control the steps and paths we take on our way to get there." (Me).

How are your goals going so far this year? Are you achieving? What area's do you think you need to spend a bit more time on before you make your next appraisal?

Think Yourself Happy

What you think and what you think about yourself are the two most vital keys in determining your success.

My 2010 resolution moves along the lines of positivity and the building of self confidence.

How am I doing it?

1. Daily affirmations. One I am using at the moment is the affirmation card from Zig Ziglar.


2. Reading positive books.


3. Listening to positive and confidence building podcasts. Check out the "My Thought Coach" podcast on iTunes. It has some fantastic thoughts lessons for everyone to learn.


4. Not being so sensitive to the words of others. I am working through learning how to figure out which criticism's are valid, which aren't and then dealing with them correctly.


5. Self reflection. Not so much a diary but rather a critical reflection tool for reviewing events throughout the day - those that went well against those that didn't. Then creating a plan for moving forward the next day or finding a way to strengthen any areas that need it.


6. Talking positively. Being careful about what I say and trying to avoid words or statements that are negative, slanderous or just a waste of time saying.

It is going to be a good year - this year!

Know Thy Self

One key method for ensuring you are progressing as a manager and a person is to engage in reflection time. Yes, this does include some soul searching but not necessarily in a spiritual way.

One great method is to spend the last 10 minutes of every day writing down your thoughts under the following categories -

1. What went well today?


2. What didn't go so well?


3. What could I have done differently?


4. What will I do differently tomorrow?


5. What do I need to accomplish tomorrow?


6. What do I need to finish the number of days I have left this week?

By reflecting and improving on the little areas in life then you are well able to make adjustments that will work better into the future.

"If we don't change our direction we're likely to end up where we are headed". Chinese proverb.

"The self aware person is able to gain an accurate and appropriate perspective on events in their life, and instinctively brings simmering feelings into awareness. The self-aware person is a positive person, and recognizes that there are only ever 'positive people' or 'negative people' in life, business or sport" (Lead to succeed - Craig Lewis).