Employee Engagement

Owned by Chelsea Cannon
Last updated: Apr 24, 2024 by Cindy Hanson

Committees

UCL employee committees provide an opportunity for you to get involved in something you are passionate about and help make a difference for the UCL community. Some committees have specific goals in mind and will disband once those are achieved, while others are ongoing. 

Each committee is run by a chair (or co-chairs) and sponsored by a member of the leadership team. The leadership member works to facilitate communication between staff and leadership. 

If you are interested in joining any of the committees, check the UCL Knowledge Base: UCL Committees for more information, including current chair and members. 

Employee Engagement Committee 

The Employee Engagement Committee acts as a resource, advocate, and representative for the employees of UCL. This committee’s role is to identify staff needs through informal and formal channels, brainstorm ideas on how to best address these needs, and make recommendations to UCL Leadership on how to implement these ideas. 

The goal is to provide staff with an opportunity to engage in open conversations that foster positive relationships between staff, encourage a productive workplace, and recognize the great work we all do every day. This helps ensure that UCL is a workplace that lives up to its mission, values, and commitment to employees. 

There is a private channel on Teams for members of the Employee Engagement Advisory Committee to communicate with each other outside of regularly scheduled meetings. 

For current Committee Chair and list of members – contact either Executive Assistant or email ucl-ops@utah.edu  

Leadership Sponsor: Director of Operations & Finance 

Function of the Members 

  • Chair: The chair serves as the primary liaison between the committee and the leadership team. The chair also sets meetings and meeting agendas to keep the committee moving toward its stated goals. 

  • Human Resources Representative: The HR representative for UCL is available to this committee as a resource to help determine when our recommendations may intersect with HR policies. Thus, this is an advisor role and not a contributor role. 

  • Executive Assistant: The Executive Assistant to the Dean serves on this committee as they generally know what is going on at all levels of UCL. The Executive Assistant is also the chair of the Party Planning Committee, allowing these two committees to collaborate where it makes sense. 

  • Members: This committee seeks members from all UCL programs for full representation. Members are responsible for creating space for positive conversations, contemplating new ideas, and bringing forth information and opinions that can help make decisions. 

Meeting Frequency 

  • This committee has regularly scheduled meetings at least once per month. When time-sensitive projects require attention, more meetings will be scheduled. 

Emergency Response Committee 

This committee discusses issues related to UCL’s preparation for all emergency events. It works on processes to ensure the welfare of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors during disasters. The committee members act as UCL’s representatives to the U’s Emergency Management Team. 

 For current Committee Chair and list of members – contact either Executive Assistant or email ucl-ops@utah.edu  

Function of the Members 

  • Chair: The chair serves as the primary liaison between the committee, UCL’s leadership team, and the U’s Emergency Management Team. The chair also sets meetings and meeting agendas to keep the committee moving toward its stated goals. 

  • Members: This committee seeks members from all UCL programs for full representation. Members will serve as UCL’s emergency response coordinators and assist with plans to evacuate our building and account for people during a crisis 

Meeting Frequency 

  • This committee meets twice annually with the potential for more meetings as needed. 

Party Planning Committee 

This committee is responsible for planning, coordinating, and facilitating all UCL activities and events. This includes social BBQs, holiday parties, and the All-Hands meeting, among others. Activities and events the Party Planning Committee comes up with must be approved by the leadership team before moving forward. They also work within a given budget from the employee morale funds. 

There is a private channel on Teams for members of the Party Planning Committee to communicate with each other outside of regularly scheduled meetings. 

For current Committee Chair and list of members – contact either Executive Assistant or email ucl-ops@utah.edu  

Function of the Members 

  • Chair: The chair serves as the primary liaison between the committee and the leadership team. The chair also sets meetings and meeting agendas to keep the committee moving towards its stated goals. 

  • Members: This committee is open to all UCL staff members. Members bring their ideas to the table for all UCL events and work together to formulate a plan. They are responsible for obtaining all event-related supplies as well as setting up and tearing down events as their schedules permit. 

Meeting Frequency 

  • This committee meets multiple times per year as needed. As events get closer, the party planning committee meets more often to ensure everything is ready to go. 

The Green Team 

This committee works toward ways for UCL to better align with the U’s Sustainability Office and its vision to “create a culture of responsibility by integrating the values of sustainability in all facets of the University of Utah.”   

The Green Office by the Sustainability Office allows offices and departments to engage in the mission of sustainability by evaluating and changing everyday office practices, such as energy used, supplies purchased, and training offered. Through the Green Office, the Sustainability Office provides tools, support, and guidance so we can collectively reduce the U’s impact. 

Our committee also aims to: 

  • Connect UCL to Sustainability work across campus;  

  • Reinforce principles of sustainability and an environmentally focused culture throughout UCL;  

  • Improve the sustainability of UCL programs and offices;  

  • Strive for environmental justice and inclusive excellence within our UCL and beyond.  

For current Committee Chair and list of members – contact either Executive Assistant or email ucl-ops@utah.edu  

Function of the Members 

  • Chair: The chair serves as the primary liaison between the committee and the leadership team. The chair also sets meetings and meeting agendas to keep the committee moving towards its stated goals. 

  • Members: This committee is open to all UCL staff members. Members are responsible for creating space for positive conversations, contemplating new ideas, and bringing forth information and opinions that can help make decisions. They will also personally implement any new policies enacted by the committee and serve as an example for others within UCL. 

Meeting Frequency 

  • This committee meets monthly. 

Other Engagement Opportunities/Activities

Lunch Bunch (currently on pause) 

Getting to know your colleagues can be difficult when we work in multiple locations and with hybrid schedules. Lunch bunch is an opportunity to have lunch with coworkers that you might not know very well. It breaks you out of your team and provides you with the opportunity to create new work relationships. 

How it works: the administrative assistant maintains a list of participants. Each month, they randomize the list and put people into groups of three or four. Those groups then figure out a time for them to go out/stay in/or meet virtually, for lunch one time that month. 

If you want to join or need to pause your participation, contact the administrative assistant. 

Summer BBQs  

UCL (University Connected Learning) owns a BBQ grill that lives in the dock storage at 540 Arapeen. Staff members are invited to use the grill for impromptu gatherings whenever the weather allows. Occasional BBQs are planned by UCL leadership with some ingredients provided. 

Recognition

At UCL (University Connected Learning), we like to recognize people in the way they prefer to be appreciated. We may ask new employees to assess their language of appreciation or ask you how you like to treat yourself. What is most important is that you know how much we appreciate the work that you do and the humanity that you bring to your work. Two of the ways we express our appreciation are described here. 

Cheers for Peers 

Cheers for Peers on Microsoft Teams is a tool for employees to recognize their coworkers when they go above and beyond. Employees are encouraged to recognize each other when they feel appropriate; there are no guidelines on when you recognize someone. 

You may even relay the good things you hear from outside UCL about a co-worker. You can even tell the stories that you are hearing from our customers and students. 

UCL Annual Staff Awards
UCL is lucky to have stellar employees that go above and beyond in their work.  In recognition of that work, we have created 4 categories of annual staff awards.  At the end of the calendar year, staff will receive an email asking for nominations of co-workers for their contributions to UCL in the following categories.  

  • Collaboration 

  • Customer Service  

  • Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion 

  • Innovation 

Leadership reviews the nominations and determines the winner in each category. The winners receive a $250 award and may select a gift card from Positively U or a tangible gift from Amazon.