In alphabetical order, accountability is the first value of the Office of Advancement.
I think accountability is demonstrated when someone does what they said they would do to the best of their ability; when people provide updates if it is not possible to fulfill a commitment, including how they will keep moving forward to fulfill that commitment; and when someone takes full ownership of the outcome of their actions or those of their delegates.
That is just my perspective.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines accountability as “the quality or state of being accountable.” Specifically, accountability is defined as “an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions.”
The Cambridge Dictionary defines accountability as “the fact of being responsible for what you do and able to give a satisfactory reason for it, or the degree to which this happens.”
This short video explains what accountability means in the context of a team.
You can find different explanations and a variety of videos online, but what does accountability mean to us? According to the recent survey about Values Statements for the Queen’s Office of Advancement, accountability is demonstrated when we honour our commitments to our community and to each other. It is evident when we take responsibility for our work and promptly correct mistakes to the greatest extent possible.
What does accountability mean to you? What are the behaviours that identify your commitment to accountability? And how have Advancement colleagues demonstrated to you that they are accountable?
Our Advancement values defined
Written by: Kate Bearse
Thank you all for participating in the Define phase of our values work by choosing which value statement resonated with you for each of our five values. The value statements for the first three values of the Office of Advancement based on our survey responses are listed below.
- Accountability - We honour our commitments to our community and to each other. We take responsibility for our work and promptly correct mistakes to the greatest extent possible.
- Collaboration - We work together across disciplines to create shared understandings, reach joint solutions, develop common purposes, and achieve our common goals of positively impacting the Queen’s community and the world.
- Inclusion - We work to achieve an inclusive community that values, respects, and celebrates the dignity and worth of every person, where everyone has equal access to opportunities and resources, and can contribute fully to the organization’s success.
Please take the time to read these value statements and think about how you live these values already.
More input is required to confirm the value statements for Integrity and Service. I look forward to revealing those statements in a future edition of ALTogether Now.
Validate our Advancement values
Written by: Kate Bearse
Welcome to the Validate phase of Advancement's Values!
Over the next five weeks, members of ALT will profile one of our five values in ALTogether Now. Each newsletter will include a call to action for Advancement staff to share a story or stories about an Advancement employee or group you believe exemplifies the value of the week. At the end of these five weeks, in our next phase, Socialize, we will (with permission) share stories or quotes from the stories submitted.
This week we are focusing on Accountability. Please submit as many stories or examples as you would like through the survey provided.
New software update
Written by: Rachel Deir and Josh Adler
Exciting news! iModules, Anthology, Encompass, email/events system – however you reference our new software – is gearing up to onboard users in early December.
Lots of activities will be taking place over the next month. The data integration with Advance will go live, email templates will be shared with our faculty partners, our new biographic update site will launch, and we will begin training the first cohort of email system users. We will contact faculties and units over the next few weeks to discuss onboarding in detail.
Two roles have been created to support our use of the email and events software, Encompass. Josh Adler, Email Marketing Manager, will oversee the email system and act as an important resource for teams who want to improve their email communications. Barb Lindsay, Application Business Analyst, will serve as the Encompass subject matter expert and support business stakeholders in using the system and associated data.
The Business Analysis team is also working to streamline communication preferences and develop faculty communication reports to support operational needs. They will be working closely with users throughout November to have mail codes and reporting ready for December 2020.
Once users are up and running on the email system, we will turn our attention to the events module. Watch for updates in early 2021!
If you have any questions, please contact Rachel.
Strategic investments
With six months of the fiscal year now completed, ALT reviewed the 2020-21 projections for the Office of Advancement budget last week and made some strategic investments.
As a result of staff vacancies and salary savings resulting from operational changes due to COVID-19, a surplus was projected in the 2019-20 budget. ALT decided this is a great opportunity to accelerate some one-time investments that will advance priorities in Forward, Together. These investments include:
- Developing the Queen’s alumni/donor persona and journey mapping to help generate more leads for fundraising
- Funds to pilot a new text platform for giving and alumni engagement for one year
- Building a digital platform to complement the refreshed Queen’s Alumni Review
- Developing a technology roadmap to guide Queen’s Advancement technology decisions for the next five years
- Investments in coaching, team building, and training resources to help support and build a high performing team
No one predicted a global pandemic when the budget for 2020-21 was set. Advancing these investments is nonetheless a positive outcome we can all celebrate this year.
Employee spotlight
The Employee Spotlight celebrates the arrival of our new staff by profiling responses they share through a fun and informal survey that will help us get to know them better. Be sure to review these profiles and use these fun facts and tidbits to find commonalities, embrace differences, and spark a conversation.
This week we welcome Cheyenne Litt to Advancement, in the position of Data Stewardship Specialist within Data Governance and Data Quality, Department of Advancement Services. Click here to learn more about Cheyenne, the many languages she has formally studied, and what she’s most looking forward to in her new role.
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 resume) must be submitted through CareerQ. For additional information on this posting, please reach out to either Katelyn, Carla, or the hiring manager for the position you are interested in.
Available Position:
| POSITION | UNIT AND DEPARTMENT | CLOSING DATE | GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Director, Alumni Strategy | Alumni Relations and Annual Giving | November 17, 2020 | 12 |
Fun fact
CFRC-FM Radio
CFRC is the university's own radio station, broadcasting a variety of alternative, non-commercial programming to Queen's, Kingston, and the surrounding area at FM 101.9. The station was the first radio broadcaster in Kingston and is one of the oldest in the country.
Its forerunner, an experimental station called 9BT run by the Queen's Wireless Club, came on the air on Oct. 7, 1922 with a summary of a football game between Queen's and the Hamilton Rowing Club. The station began broadcasting under its current call letters about a year later with the play-by-play of a Queen's-McGill game.
The letters CFRC are said to stand for "Canada's Famous Rugby Champions," a reference to Queen's Grey Cup-winning teams of the early 1920s (football was then called rugby or rugby-football). The station was a CBC affiliate between 1936 and 1942, and during that time served as Kingston's main electronic source of national and international news.