Join a new online group to meet colleagues and break out of your work ‘silo’
May 23, 2014 •
In order to foster collaboration between departments and promote connections throughout UCOP, the Efficiency Review work group is sponsoring an online forum where staff can exchange ideas, share work and interact with the aim of improving OP’s overall efficiency.
The new forum, called UCOP Connect, will take the form of an interest group on LinkedIn. It will launch on Monday, June 2 and be open to all OP staff, wherever they may be based.
The idea of the group is to boost engagement and make it easier to reach colleagues in different parts of the organization. It’s meant to offer staff a less formal way to raise issues, ask for help, exchange information and break out of work “silos” that sometimes limit OP’s effectiveness.
UCOP Connect is the place to come to ask colleagues for help with a project, answer a question or discuss an article that catches your eye in, for example, the Chronicle of Higher Education. Looking to run an idea past a group of colleagues? Hoping for some Excel tips? Want to share a favorite neighborhood lunch spot? Got a job you need filled? Use UCOP Connect, that’s what it’s there for.
To participate, you must have a LinkedIn profile. But don’t worry if you don’t have one; there’s plenty of help available to get you up and running on LinkedIn. Even if you’ve never used social media before, you’ll have no trouble using the group.
A team of five people, charged by the Efficiency Review work group with setting up the group, will serve as the initial moderators of UCOP Connect. They’ll facilitate discussions, work to boost membership and, crucially, help those new to LinkedIn get familiar with how to use it. If you have any questions about the group or LinkedIn, please contact a member of the team:
- Siena Carter, systemwide talent acquisition program specialist
- Ginny Cox Delaney, center for operations excellence
- Candace Jones, senior application manager, web application services
- Chris Noble, managing editor, internal communications
- Karla Wood, program analyst, division of health sciences and services
The team will host promotion sessions in June to introduce staff to the group and LinkedIn. To encourage you to attend, the team will make a special offer to those who come to any of the promotion sessions.
Promotion sessions will be held as follows:
- June 4, 3 p.m., Franklin 5320
- June 12, 10 a.m., Franklin 5320
- June 16, 11 a.m., Franklin Lobby
And the team will hold drop-in training sessions, where you can learn to create a LinkedIn profile and get a hands on introduction to UCOP Connect.
Here are the dates for the sessions:
- June 11, 10 a.m. –noon, Franklin 7107 PC Training Room
- June 16. 1- 3 p.m., Franklin 7107 PC Training Room
- June 24, 2-4 p.m., Franklin 7107 PC Training Room
Great idea! Maybe carpooling can be included in the networking. I don’t need it (I bike to work), but I hear of the need from my colleagues commuting from Solano and Contra Costa Counties.
That’s a great idea, Chris! Another example of how the forum can be used.