Recap of July 29 Hybrid IT Town Hall

On July 29, John Barden welcomed team members back for the first hybrid Yale IT Town Hall, held at Marsh Lecture Hall and live-streamed to staff members at home. The agenda included an overview of what to expect with IT’s return to campus, an update against the strategic plan, and a look ahead at future goals. The event concluded with a Q&A session. 

A recording of the event is available until September 2 for those who were unable to attend. 

IT’s Return to Campus

Sandra Germenis, Associate CIO, Campus Technology Services, initiated the discussion around Yale IT’s return and focused on the following topics:

• Offices will look different than how you left them.
• Socializing will happen in-person and online (in IT Conversations, for example).
• Meetings will be different due to the hybrid environment, including the realization that conference room equipment needs may have shifted and we now need to consider Hybrid Zoom etiquette.
• Don’t worry—you will have help as you return, both through online resources such as the Workplace Guidance page and Hybrid Technology Resources provided by IT.

Ted Hanss, Health Sciences Chief Information Officer, then spoke on IT’s future-state planning efforts, and the need to be on campus to help develop a future plan. He shared that a committee has been formed (co-led by Ted and Sandra) to support Yale IT and explore questions such as:

• What will be the long-term trade-offs?
• How will we know what we need?
• How will our spaces bring enjoyment? …keep us healthy?
• How can we reimagine our collaboration and creative spaces?

Ted also mentioned that the committee will be capturing feedback and conducting pilots to map out a longer-term model for IT.

Update Against Strategic Plan

Highlights from John’s overview of the Strategic Plan included a look back and a look ahead, as follows:

• An initial assessment was conducted in March 2017 to identify observations and themes with the expectation to begin a 5-year journey to health focusing on governance, IT leadership, operational practices and culture.
• As part of this journey, IT determined that effective delivery requires an emphasis on collaboration and shared accountability across all foundational areas and that IT is an enabler of much of what we do as a research university.
• The FY18-22 strategy hinged on three strategic anchors, established by IT colleagues, including One IT at Yale, Service Quality, and Workplace of Choice. These priorities ensured that IT established clarity of purpose and enabled empowered action.
• The framework for FY23-28 will be reset in recognition of the stabilization of foundational practices, which allow for new choices.
• John then reviewed progress toward Yale IT’s d389c97bd6fc42a4b961f5ae3a2bd127@thread.tacv2&groupId=f7d76f95-e011-43c0-837e-a7460d5197d1">balanced scorecard goals for FY20-22, which are sponsored by IT senior leaders and led by managers and staff.
• Highlighted successes from the last few years have included:
  • Refining IT Governance, to ensure alignment with strategies and derive maximum value from IT investments. Each chair aids in defining the 3-year road map of services in their respective areas, among other contributions.
  • Establishing a strong IT leadership team—with 9 of 11 team members being new to their role since 2017 and building out the IT Leadership Council, which represents distributed IT leaders.
  • Ensuring organizational health, including 9 active workplace survey programs and 26 DEIT initiatives which have resulted in 40% underrepresented hiring in 2020, 2+ deep succession planning in all major areas, evolving job family redesign, and more.
  • Rationalizing investments, including cross-divisional collaboration, clarifying total costs, and more. 
• John also reflected on several FY23-28 observations and opportunities across areas including Academic IT, Research IT, Clinical IT, Cultural Heritage IT, Administrative IT, and Foundational IT. 

The Path Ahead

John concluded by sharing three key points for the future:

• Yale IT is making enormous progress, and the progress is having a positive impact.
• FY22 goals represent the anticipated completion of the current strategic plan.
• Our process is beginning to establish parameters for our FY23-28 strategy.

Q&A Session

What is the plan for flexible schedules and remote work for Distributed Support Providers (DSPs) within ITS? We understand the need for on-site work, but we have proven we can function and excel remotely and preserve the customer service of yale and Yale ITS.

I do not have a great answer for that right now, whether it’s DSPs or otherwise. Generally, we have a lot to figure out on flexible work. There are groups, like the DSPs, who have been hammering through most of this COVID-19 period. Currently, we are experiencing one of the busiest times [the University] has ever seen. We have to figure out how to find a balance and equity across that; I realize that not all groups are equally affected by who has to be on campus up to this point. That is about to shift as we are bringing people back to campus now. 

Sandra Germenis: 

The other aspect is that our contractual arrangement with Local 34 binds us, and we need to make sure that we comply with the agreements that are still being decided with them. Certainly, we cannot ignore the lessons learned from the last 18 months and don’t intend to go back to everything as it was before, but we need some guidance from [the Union] on what we can and cannot do.

Will the current Delta variant of COVID-19 impact or delay the return to campus?

The Delta variant is already impacting how we think about the potential on-campus restrictions, controls, and compensating ways we are dealing with the variant. I don’t have a perfect answer because things are still changing. People are very carefully watching everything from the wastewater in New Haven, concerned whether or not we will get to a tipping point where we have to go back to a higher status level. We are working toward trying to get our students and faculty back on campus for the fall. How we prioritize their return versus the staff return also enters into that picture. Right now, the plan remains as-is. We have not decided to slow or materially change our return schedule at this point. That could change. I don’t know. It could change tomorrow, in a month, or six months - I don’t know. Right now, we are continuing to think about the same plan we put forward a few months back. Next week, we will start with a group of about 60 [returning], continuing with blocks of around 60 IT professionals between now and September 16 on a three-day-a-week schedule. We will continue to watch what changes in terms of the public health guidelines and adjust accordingly.*

*An update on the return plan was recently shared by John Barden on August 10. 

The CDC recently added some new guidance for children K-12 and vaccinated individuals. Do you have an update on how that might impact us?

I do not have an update yet. The public health team probably contributed to the CDC guidelines and is well aware of the proposed changes being interpreted state by state and business by business. At this point, they have signaled no change, but this does not mean [the recommendations] will not change over the next few days or weeks.

Someone shared that there is an “unspoken” equity issue with non-IT Managerial and Professional (M&P) staff not working remotely at all. Has any thought been given to this structurally?

I am not aware of the details enough to comment or respond to this. Please send more detailed information via our “Ask John” (anonymous) survey, and I will look into it. 

[Received via “Ask John”] I’ve heard that a reason for staff to return to campus is related toward the role Yale staff and Yale itself plays into the economy of New Haven. Is this an official motivator for the staff return to campus, and if so, does Yale intend to further change the way that it supports the New Haven community (taxes, etc.?). If we as staff members have questions about this that cannot be answered by IT, who should we contact?

There are many considerations factoring into our desire for returning to campus. Yes, part of that motivation is our community. We are the largest employer in New Haven and our employees being in and around town add to the vibrancy and sustainability of our community every bit as much as those who live in the city add to the character of the University. This is one of many factors being taken into consideration as we determine our future ways of working. As to the broader question, Yale University values its relationship with the City of New Haven and is are committed to working together to build an even stronger city. 

Learn more about Yale’s economic impact, COVID-19 Community Resources, and more on the Office Of New Haven Affairs website.