NYU Wagner
Background:
New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service offers graduate
programs in Public and Nonprofit Management & Policy, Health Policy & Management and
Urban Planning. It has risen faster than any other school of its type in the US News and World
report rankings – from 26 to 6 in 12 years. As a school that prepares students to develop
policies and manage institutions that address issues of critical public importance, it aspires to
model what it teaches and to be an extraordinarily well managed school.
Goal:
Wagner surveyed staff in the spring of 2011 to learn more about their experience of working at
the school, identifying successes as well as areas needing further attention and support. The
survey revealed that an overwhelming majority of the staff understood Wagner’s vision,
mission and goals, among other encouraging results. However, the survey identified areas ripe
for improvement, particularly in areas of communication and receptiveness to employee
concerns.
The goal for NYU Wagner’s HQ initiative was to enhance the positive experiences, address the
challenges, and provide a common framework on which the team could build a more fulfilling
work environment that would in turn lead to the higher collective performance they seek.
While the school considered other partners to address these concerns, it ultimately sought HQ
as a partner because HQ’s philosophy resonated with their experiences in organizational
development, and because of positive feedback from the NYU School of Law, also an HQ client.
Action:
Because Wagner had already done significant work around understanding their needs, HQ was
able to launch off of the survey results to develop a training curriculum that would make sense
for Wagner. The HQ team conducted initial discovery phone calls to review the results of
Wagner’s survey and consider the issues the team faced. With Wagner’s challenges in mind, the
HQ team prepared full-day workshops for the Wagner staff focused on teamwork. The
workshops took place on four different days at HQ’s headquarters, starting with a full day for
the leadership team followed by full-day workshops during which the entire staff rotated in
deliberately mixed groups that represented a full range of functions.
Each workshop was an immersion into the USHG culture with content adapted to the team
level, focusing on how to build a sense of common purpose so that the team is enabled in
providing service that is both consistent and caring. Managing Director Susan Salgado explains,
“The dynamics of students and faculty as ‘customers’ to an administrative team are really
challenging. We designed content to focus on building a stronger team who can work together
in providing hospitality AND service, and who can cope with the challenges of balancing a
teaching mission with a customer-service mentality.”
About the experience of working with HQ, the dean stated, “An initial benefit was that HQ
training was valuable and accessible for all levels of our organization. We were especially
pleased that staff could go through HQ training together, rather than singling out senior
leadership. Everyone who went through the experience came back hugely enthusiastic, finding
ways to connect the training both to their work at Wagner and their lives outside the school.
HQ was also very responsive and addressed all of our logistical and program requests and
inquiries in a timely and accommodating manner. The follow-up from HQ has been remarkably
helpful as well.”
Results:
Wagner conducted a follow-up staff survey in April 2012, one year later, with remarkable
results. Here are some highlights from the survey:
Question
I understand the vision, mission, and goals of
Wagner.
I am motivated to see Wagner succeed.
My perspective is welcomed in the workplace.
I have open and honest communication with my
manager.
Wagner is a workplace that is receptive to
employee concerns.
I know I can depend on other members of my team.
Agree/2011
91%
Agree/2012
97%
Point Change
6%
89%
70%
68%
100%
91%
92%
11%
21%
24%
48%
73%
25%
84%
93%
9%
Dean Schall attributes the improvements in significant part to Wagner’s HQ experience.
Individual comments in the survey further highlighted HQ’s role as a key factor in improving
trust, while staff members noted that the decision to work with HQ, “illustrated Wagner’s
commitment to taking care of staff and being receptive to employees’ concerns.”
Asked “What would you tell a trusted friend or colleague about your work with HQ?” Dean
Schall answered: “Two words: hire them. We continue to extol the power of HQ as readily
applicable to almost any professional setting, from universities to nonprofit organizations to
hospitals to businesses large and small. Although the HQ training was only one day, the impact
has reverberated since.”
www.hospitalityq.com