IT Leadership Team Meeting Sparks Discussion on Fostering Engagement Across the IT Community

At the April IT Leadership Team meeting, IT Leadership Council members shared how they meet the varied expectations of students, faculty, and staff across campus. The panel was followed by a brainstorming session with meeting participants on ways to increase engagement and foster a sense of One IT at Yale.

IT Leadership Council Panel Discussion

IT Leadership Council members, whose tenure at Yale ranged from 9 months to 25 years, are passionate about the work they are doing to support the Yale community. One member—Ray McKeon, IT Director at the School of the Environment—noted that he feels “deeply connected to the mission of the school and enjoys supporting students and faculty who are making a difference in the world.”

As the discussion continued, key themes emerged about how the group:

• Meets service expectations, by providing a range of white-glove support (phone calls, texts, or desk visits) to self-help support (ServiceNow tickets, IT Help Desk calls, and more). Areas like the School of Management, School of Architecture, and Health Sciences are more reliant on high-touch, and areas like Poorvu Center, Yale University Libraries, and School of the Environment provide more of a blended approach. Over his 25 years at SOM, Ken Wieler has observed that “the community is very vocal about what they need.”
• Prefers to support clients, with unanimous agreement that they like one-on-one time with clients. However, the group also agreed that providing quick and efficient support means utilizing the tools and resources available, including the Help Desk. For some units on campus, including SOM, it’s also important that their services meet or exceed those of peer institutions. Wieler remarked that SOM is “competing to be the best provider of IT against business schools that often have much larger IT teams.”
• Works effectively with clients, with the group agreeing that early collaboration is among the top ways to “ensure a better end result,” according to Pilar Abuin (who stood in for Lucas Swineford on behalf of the Poorvu Center). In addition to early collaboration, Vincent Guerrero thinks it’s important to feel like you “have a stake in the project” and McKeon added that communication helps to reinforce “the benefits of a given change.”
• Navigates silos, which weren’t considered to be problematic among this group. They focus on collaborating and communicating to “build bridges rather than trying to break down silos,” as Abuin stated. However, some also noted that they have tried introducing new collaboration methods, such as through Teams, and people weren’t ready for it. As these tools have evolved, they are looking forward to revisiting this approach.
• Supports faculty, with listening rising to the top of the list of recommendations. They suggested that IT practitioners give faculty space to express their needs, resist the urge to immediately problem-solve, and help them think their process through.

Chuck Thompson, the IT Council member who facilitated the discussion, summarized the group’s key takeaway: “engage early and engage often.”

Engagement Brainstorming Session Highlights

The panel discussion was followed by a brainstorming session with all IT LT meeting participants, who were asked four questions to strengthen their experience of One IT at Yale:

• What is the IT community at Yale to you?
• How well do you feel connected to the IT community at Yale?
• What does One IT at Yale mean to you?
• What ideas do you have for furthering One IT at Yale?

Highlights of their suggestions included:

• Offering an annual One IT conference, including behind-the-scenes tours of interesting spaces at Yale (particularly those utilizing new/emerging technologies), discussions about upcoming IT initiatives and intersections, and actionable steps to keep the momentum going.
• Providing opportunities to gain new IT skills and knowledge, offered by IT practitioners across campus, with highlights of what was learned shared broadly.
• Organizing structured opportunities for all IT practitioners to come together.
• Celebrating successes and finding ways to celebrate the work happening across IT.

John Barden thanked the group for their engagement, ideas, and commitment to One IT.

Ask John

Are we making progress on One IT, and what can those who are a little more removed, what can we do to help?
We need to foster thoughtful collaboration, as we have done during today’s meeting, to provide a more seamless experience for everyone. Let’s keep the collaboration going.

The next IT Leadership Team meeting takes place on Wednesday, May 31, from 9-10:30 a.m.