Submitted by Kelly Torrico, ACC Employee Relations Officer

In the first few months since officially joining the ACC family, I have been making my way around the district to meet employees and get a better feel for each campus culture. It has been refreshing to see so many smiling faces and positive attitudes from employees making a huge impact on our community daily. These campus visits, along with supporting employees and supervisors on a daily basis with concerns, have allowed me to identify some trends. 

Identifying Top Concerns

For the college to be in a better position to address and remedy concerns, it’s important to experience campus culture firsthand as well as analyze data collected about the direct support provided to individual employees. 

The data shown below was collected from June 2022 through September 2022. This shows us a good snapshot of employee concerns during that time period. The intent in sharing initial data collected is to review the top issues from all employees and supervisors and emphasize current opportunities for learning about best practices that may address concerns. 

Chart 1

Chart 2

NOTE: ”Benefits or Accommodations” - This issue encompasses cases where an employee is not satisfied or in agreement with supervisor/departmental management of a benefit or accommodation; for example, an employee complaining that a supervisor did not grant them vacation of telework privileges due to performance issues.

First Steps Towards Remedies

If these areas of concern resonate with you as an individual or because you think someone you manage could benefit from development in one of these areas, I have a recommendation.

Our wonderful partners in HR Professional Development and Evaluations put together a workshop series in partnership with Deer Oaks to provide additional training programs for employees. There are sessions available this semester that directly relate to the top issues identified.

All Staff

Four Steps to Resolving Conflict and Restoring Relationships
Friday, December 2
1:30-2:30 p.m.
This session is online. We have unlimited slots. You can find the session description and steps to register through Deer Oaks in Workday.

Supervisors

How to Respond Effectively to Difficult Employees
Friday, November 18
1:30-2:30 p.m.
This session is online. We have unlimited slots. You can find the session description and steps to register through Deer Oaks in Workday.

Case Studies in Effective Leadership Coaching
Friday, January 13, 2023
1:30-2:30 p.m.
This session is online. We have unlimited slots. You can find the session description and steps to register through Deer Oaks in Workday.

How to Effectively Supervise a Remote Work Team
Friday, February 3, 2023
1:30-2:30 p.m.
This session is online. We have unlimited slots. You can find the session description and steps to register through Deer Oaks in Workday.

Please reach out to Inelia Caimanque at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Taking Action

While the data highlighted above concentrates on the concerns within some areas at the college, we know that there are an overwhelming number of reasons that make ACC a fantastic place to work. As we begin formulating suggestions for policy, procedure, or best practices changes, it will be critical to keep the wonderful things about ACC front of mind to model proposed changes. 

In the coming semester, employees can expect an opportunity to share directly what they like most about working at ACC and what engages them most. When this is available, I encourage every employee to share their experience.