10/19/2020
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Good Monday afternoon MTAS,
I hope that you had a pleasant weekend. If you watched the UT vs. KY ballgame, then pleasant may not be the word you’d use, unless you’re a Kentucky fan. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the couple of days away from work and are revitalized for the upcoming week ahead.
Last week the IPS leadership team met. As usual, we received a report from the strategic planning committees. I’d like you to recall what the goals and projects are; and I’d like to thank our particular staff members for representing the agency so well on these various committees. I did not include the entire committee membership – just our representatives. So, a huge THANKS go to Rick, Cyndy, Lisa, Justin, Johanna, Yolanda, Chris, Abb, Elisha, John G., Angie, and Steve W.!
| Goal: IPS funding will meet expanding customer needs 6/1/2022 |
| Micro-goal | Leader | Team Members/Recommendations | Status |
| Ensure long term financial viability by 7/1/2020 | Gail White | Rick Whitehead | Complete 7-13-17 |
| Prepare development plan by 6/30/17 | Steve Thompson | Complete 8-1-17 | |
| Implement an Institute wide development strategy by 7/1/2022 | Steve Thompson | Leadership Team | Complete 8-1-17 |
| Phase 2: Increase non appropriation revenue by at least 5% annually by 7/1/2022 | Chuck Shoopman Don Green (Phase 1) | Rick Whitehead | Complete 12-13-18 |
| Goal: Deliver best-in-class customer focused education and technical assistance |
| Micro-goal | Leader | Team Members/ Recommendations | Status |
| Utilize a learning management system that meets customer needs by 2017 | Scott Gordy | Cyndy Edmonds, Lisa Shipley | Complete 8-31-17 |
| Each grand division will have state of the art education facilities by 2020 | Abb Oglesby | Cyndy Edmonds, Justin O’Hara (Knox only) | Active |
| Deliver the highest quality training and technical assistance. | Emily Miller | Johanna Owenby | Active |
| Subject matter experts are highly effective instructors and consultants based on annual performance evaluations | Jeff Lindsey | Operational: Yolanda Dillard, | Complete 4-19-18 Operational |
| IPS agencies effectively collaborate to solve state wide problems | TBD | Leadership Team | Dec 2019 but stumbling |
| Goal: Develop a diverse and highly skilled workforce who embody the values of integrity, accountability and professionalism |
| Micro-goal | Leader | Team Members/ Recommendations | Status |
| Establish professional development guidelines for the institute by June 2017 | Macel Ely | Abb Oglesby, Elisha Hodge | Complete 7-13-17 |
| Evaluate the APR process and report recommendations by 2020 | Chris Shults | N/A | January 2020 |
| Develop a succession plan for all key positions by 2020 | Tomi Rogers | John Grubbs | Complete 7-16-19 |
| By 2022, Increase the number of diverse hires to better reflect the demographics of Tennessee and create and sustain a climate within IPS where employees know that equity and inclusivity are valued | Elisha Hodge | Angie Carrier, Steve Wyatt | Complete 3-12-19 Operational |
| Develop a career path for IPS job positions by 2019 | TBD | Include Julie from UTHR, Tomi | Fall 2020 |
| Goal: Communicate the impact, value and story of IPS |
| Micro-goal | Leader | Team Members/ Recommendations | Status |
| Consistent website look and feel across agencies (June 2017) | Susan Robertson | Francis Adams-O’Brien, Lisa Shipley | Complete 7-13-17 |
| Establish an overall external and system-wide marketing strategy | Susan Robertson | Frances Adams-O’Brien | Complete 10-18-18 Operational |
| *Getting the right message to the right people” through effective storytelling | Folded into overall strategy goal | Susan Robertson | Active |
| Influence customer perception of IPS value | Folded into overall strategy goal | Communications Team | Active |
| Grow customer engagement via digital platforms (website, social media, email marketing, digital remarketing) (2020) | Hannah Holder | Frances Adams-O’Brien | Active |
As always, I’ve been paying close attention to the COVID numbers. I am aware that the trend is headed in the wrong direction right now. Please keep your guard up. Wear your masks, maintain your physical distance from others, wash your hands often for a duration of 20 seconds each time, and if you don’t feel well – stay home. This is a good time to remind you also that UT is requiring employees to get a flu shot and record such (or record your exemption) here. The Catch Up this morning also reminded you to complete the required employee self-check daily. If you need that link again, click here.
Another reminder I want to share with you is the UT policy compliance training available through K@te. Login to K@te using the faculty and staff button, and the training should appear as “Your Training in Progress” in a box on the right side of the screen. It’s all bundled for you to make this as easy as possible. A bonus this year on the cybersecurity training is the ability to “test out” of the training if you successfully answer the questions for each module.
One more reminder is that the Campus Chest campaign is ongoing. I’d really love to be able to say that MTAS had 100% participation – will you please help me with this? To get to the pledge portal, click here. If you have questions, Armintha is our coordinator extraordinaire.
Onto celebrations… last Friday was National Boss’ Day. I hope you took a moment to express your thanks to your supervisor. If not, hey, it’s never too late! Your leadership team works hard for you and grapples with difficult issues on a daily basis. If they make it look easy, then it’s a testament to their skills.
Finally, thank you to all of you who are testing the new Concur travel system. You are making suggestions and asking questions that will positively impact the travel accounting system for the entire UT system, and by the way, will make the job easier for us too. It’s a hassle to work through the kinks, and I appreciate you for taking on the frustrations you encounter. This is one of those times that some short term pains should provide for some long term smooth sailing.
Be well MTAS,
Margaret