Talking Stick - May/June 2008 - 88

Conversations Keeping Staff Happy and Returning Staff turnover at both the area director and resident assistant levels is high in housing. How do you stem it? Participating in this conversation are D’aun Green, senior associate managing director at Texas Tech University in Lubbock; Regina Tirella, assistant director of housing and dining at the University of Colorado in Boulder; Jeff Furlone, assistant director of housing at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire; and Tracey Mason-Innes, residence life programmer at University College of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. D’aun Green: ‘Tis the season for recruitment and selection. As I am interviewing candidates and answering their questions, I have an opportunity to ponder the two-sided coin of staff recruitment and retention. On the one hand, it is important to bring new staff into our organizations as a means of revitalization and apprenticeship. On the other, it is important to reward our current staff for a job well done and to encourage those who need new challenges to test their wings and ﬂy out of the nest. This process seems to be a bit more challenging than in past years. The incentives for institutional loyalty no longer hold meaning for our current students and staff. I wonder if this is generationally motivated or just a sign of the times. I would be interested in hearing your perspectives and what others do to recruit and retain qualiﬁed students and professionals in your various organizations. Regina Tirella: At Colorado University in Boulder, our RA return rate is (at opening in August) about 60-65 percent. We usually have about 75-80 percent say they are returning by midMarch, but they drop off for various reasons. One of the reasons we are able to retain staff is that we ask for feedback frequently and listen to what they say. For instance, we are moving to an online course for a portion of June/July training in order to cut the actual training days shorter which was of course requested by the RAs. They also wanted more ﬂexibility with their meal plan options, so we were able to work with dining to provide this. 88 Talking Stick We do exit interviews with the RAs that leave our system. The vast majority leave either due to graduation or to pursue another activity, such as study abroad. Also, the relationship with their HD is key to an RA’s experience, and I think we do a good job of hiring HDs who connect well with RAs. One other thought is that we developed a RAC (Resident Advisor Council). This group meets weekly and is composed of RAs from across campus. They discuss what they like and don’t like about the job, and we address the concerns that come out of here. One concern that surfaced had to do with RAs being roomed with an overcapacity student in the beginning of the year. As for professional staff, our location in Boulder really helps retain most staff. Our average HD stays three years, with some staying many more. The climate and city of Boulder are appealing to many. Although it isn’t the most diverse place, Denver is a short 25-minute drive away which helps. We also tell our professional staff that they “write their own ticket” for the experience they will get when they are here. There are so many departmental and university committees and experiences that we open up to anyone interested in them. The number one complaint we have from HDs is that they have to pay for their own meal plan. Although it is at a drastically reduced rate, it still comes out of their paycheck. This hasn’t deterred anyone (that I know of) from taking the job here, but we do hear that comment frequently from candidates during interviews.

Talking Stick - May/June 2008

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