Trust, Stability, Compassion and Hope: A Human Resources Framework

For President Satterlee, the words trust, stability, compassion and hope required a fairly specific recipe. 

The first two words required open and transparent communication, something employees felt was lacking with the previous administration. He instituted a campaign that encouraged faculty, staff and students to submit ideas via email — any idea was welcomed. Later, he instituted Coffee With Kevin, an opportunity to come, chat, and ask questions about anything. These types of forums aren’t uncommon in a workplace environment, but sometimes they can be an echo chamber- it was vital that President Satterlee follow through with answers or a response to concerns, and, for the most part, he did. 

It was also important to Satterlee that his communications to his employees reach them. This became especially apparent when two years into his tenure, the University moved all operations online due to COVID-19. During this time, the University sent out 127 emails to faculty, staff and students in an effort to keep people informed. After some research into click rates and engagement from employees, President Satterlee found that people seemed more willing to listen if his message was delivered via video, so he made sure his most important messages were delivered that way (including his retirement announcement years later). He continued Coffee With Kevin online as well, with a brief attempt at a personalized approach with Cooking with Kevin, where he answered employee questions while making cinnamon rolls. 

The last two words of President Satterlee’s mantra, Compassion and Hope, were especially shown during this time. Satterlee, like most University leadership at the time, had the unenviable task of balancing wildly different political and health views, and navigating that difficult landscape with compassion was key. With the help of his communications and human resources teams, every email with questions and concerns was answered. The marketing office was directed to make upbeat, hopeful communication via social media to ensure that students and employees knew the campus was not closed, just temporarily remote. 

When bad news was delivered, President Satterlee instructed his employees to deliver it with honesty and transparency, but compassion. With budgets already tight, the state asked for the budget to be tightened further in 2020, and furloughs became necessary. The news was delivered via video and email, with a large FAQ page detailing the process, individualized letters to employees detailing their furlough requirements, and choices in how they would prefer to spread out their pay reductions. The news was delivered with both numbers and compassion, catering to his audience’s need both for academic, logical justification and a sense of caring. The comments under his budget video were telling. 

President Satterlee’s ability to cater his message and his actions to his audience showed a strong preference for the Human Resources Framework, but his ability to tell a story and create a persona also helped him in the political framework as well. In the next installment, we’ll look at how President Satterlee used his political expertise to help pave the way to a more stable institution.