A step toward a new CRM

Over the course of the next few months, a number of your Advancement colleagues will be engaged in a series of intensive exercises in support of our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system exploration. Advancement will be working closely with Queen’s Information Technology Services (ITS) and their consulting firm, Alithya, to prepare a request for proposal with a target to be in market for the end of May/early June.  

Beginning this week, a small team will begin work on mapping the journey, or the story of engagements, with alumni and donors. Parallel to this exercise, colleagues in ITM will continue to develop an initial list of key business requirements that outline the functionality required by our new database of record to support core business activities. This list of requirements will be shared amongst our Advancement team for further refinement in the next two to three weeks.    

Records and Information Management Awareness Month

By: Cheyenne Litt, Data Stewardship Specialist

It is April once again and that means it is now Records and Information Management (RIM) Awareness Month! 

This initiative was originally started in 1995 by ARMA, an organization that promotes and advocates for information management professionals. Their goal for the initiative is, as they so kindly put, “to bring greater awareness and recognition to those practitioners who are superheroes to the profession!” 

Records and information management is becoming even more critical as we shift to more permanent remote and hybrid work styles. Ensuring the continued quality and security of our data in these new environments has never been more important.

So, the Data Governance and Data Quality (DGDQ) team is looking to promote our own records-management practices here at the Office of Advancement with small activities to get you thinking about the records you use during your work.

Since April is very busy for Advancement, we will be celebrating RIM Awareness Month during the month of June! For four weeks starting on Monday, May 30, DGDQ will run a different five-minute activity that promotes awareness of records and information management, including proper storage practices and retention requirements. You will even have a chance to win some fantastic prizes!

During that time, activity details will be released each Monday via ALTogether Now and QUIRC. The prize winners will be announced the week of June 27.

So, start reflecting on your own RIM practices, and keep an eye out for the May 30 issue of ALTogether Now!

Driving Development at the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA)

By: Doverin Konda-Foley, Senior Prospect Management Analyst 

This summer in Atlanta, Georgia, Carlye Brash and I will present at the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA) Prospect Development Conference on the topic of Understanding Communication Styles to Drive Development. The presentation will broadly cover the enhancements we are implementing through the Driving Development initiative and the critical role that communication and understanding human behaviour play in that process. 

The challenges and opportunities presented to us from this experience will be discussed, as well as key lessons learned. We will be focusing on how using a mix of different communication strategies (video recordings, unit meetings, one-on-one sessions, etc.) will be necessary to meet the varied learning needs of our colleagues, as well as our own communication strengths and weaknesses and how we have managed to make the most of them. Finally, we will address the effects of working remotely on this process, and how Advancement’s remote-first approach helped smooth the course. 

If you’re interested in hearing more about our presentation, or wish to contribute ideas, please feel free to reach out to Doverin Konda-Foley. We’d love to hear from you.

Session title: Understanding Communication Styles to Drive Development

Session date: Friday, July 29, 2022 (9:15 am - 10:15 pm)

Jobs with Advancement

We need your recruitment help. Know great talent that would be a good addition to our team? If so, please promote the vacancies below with your networks and let’s find some amazing new team members.

Applications (including a cover letter and résumé) must be submitted through CareerQ. For additional information on this posting, please reach out to either Carla Ferreira Rodrigues or the hiring manager for the position you are interested in.