Throughout Spring term 2022, the OA Council hosted five listening sessions. The purpose of these listening sessions was to hear from OA’s about their lived work experiences, and listen to their challenges, concerns and accomplishments. The themes presented in these sessions will inform priorities for the OA Council in the next academic year.
The key themes we heard from OAs across campus were:
- Retention and recruitment: All divisions, units and teams are doing more with less. OAs have stepped up and this has taken a toll. The University should work to become nimbler in this area to recruit and retain top OA talent.
- OAs need to be recognized financially for taking on additional work to cover vacancies;
- Relatively lower salaries and the rising costs of living in the Eugene and Portland regions are causing OAs to consider employment elsewhere;
- Inability to take vacation, burnout and work balance are impacting OAs’ desire to remain in roles;
- Open OA positions are difficult to fill;
- A slow job offer process has caused the UO to lose competitive candidates; and
- A desire for tools and resources to effectively and proactively retain current employees, as well as to competitively recruit talented OAs.
- OAs would like cohesive and consistent policies to be implemented across campus. Without uniform application our OAs have experienced the following:
- Struggle to get hybrid work approved at the unit level (this takes on immediate relevance with Oregon22 upon us); and
- An experience of inequity within roles and teams, impacting inclusion and belonging.
- Professional development: OAs continue to grow and look to the future of their professional goals. Requests include:
- Clarity regarding the OA Job Family Framework; and
- Increased access to professional development opportunities