https://uhr.rutgers.edu/future-of-work/fow-task-force-overview
Future of Work Task Force Overview
The Future of Work Task Force was charged with developing an inclusive process to help the university community collectively reflect on the last three years, and in some cases the remote work experiment, to determine our best path forward. The task force structure was designed to ensure university-wide representation with 12 working groups, 2 advisory groups including union representatives and faculty subject matter experts, and several subcommittees. All of these groups worked collaboratively to ensure we have the right people, policies, training, assessment tools, and technology in place to support short- and long-term strategies so that we can effectively:
- support the evolving needs of our community;
- enhance student and patient experiences;
- improve employee well-being;
- ensure the university remains competitive in this post-pandemic environment;
- and prepare our students for a newly envisioned world of work.
See President Holloway’s announcement regarding the Future of Work Task Force.
- Task Force Guiding Principles
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- Preserve and build on President Holloway’s value propositions of a beloved community, academic excellence, and strategic institutional clarity.
- Focus on the university’s core mission.
- Consider lessons learned and identify opportunities to enhance the workplace culture at Rutgers, The State University.
- Ensure equitable, transparent and fair processes and decision-making.
- Empower local decisions that create a balanced approach between organizational business needs and employee well-being.
- Provide several opportunities for input from faculty, staff and student employees at all levels across all campuses.
- Community Input Process
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The voices of our faculty, staff, and student employees across all campuses was critically important to the success of the Future of Work initiative. To ensure we provided opportunities for faculty, staff, and students at all levels across all campuses to participate, the task force established several mechanisms to gather input including:
- Distributing a FoW survey for faculty and staff
- Disseminating a separate survey for student employees
- Hosting virtual listening tour sessions
- Conducting 60 focus groups for faculty, staff, and students
- Creating an online Community Input Form to gather input from the university community
- Establishing a centralized Future of Work Task Force email address Futureofwork@rutgers.edu
- Launching this website, including Frequently Asked Questions
- Sending direct messages to employees and students to encourage engagement
- Producing a series of informative Rutgers Today stories
These efforts led to significant awareness of and participation in the Future of Work initiative, including 16,554 views of the landing page since the website launched in October of 2021; 8,239 surveys completed by faculty and staff; 2,210 surveys completed by student workers; over 150 ideas, comments, and suggestions received via the online Community Input Form; 1,592 faculty and staff attendees at virtual listening sessions; and over 200 participants in focus groups. Community input informed the recommendations in the Rutgers Future of Work report, which includes summaries of the key findings.
- Key Milestones
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- May 2021: FoW Task Force announced by President Jonathan Holloway
- July 2021: Working Group Chairs appointed
- August 2021: Task Force kickoff meeting
- September 2021: FoW Working Groups and Advisory Groups established
- October 2021: Future of Work website launched and surveys distributed
- November 2021: Survey for faculty and staff closed
- December 2021: Survey for students closed
- January 2022: Analysis of survey results (for faculty, staff, and student surveys)
- January 2022 – March 2022: Virtual Listening Tour dates announced
- May 2022: Task Force Report submitted to President Holloway
- September 2022: Launched FlexWork@RU and Caregiver Support Pilot Programs
- December 2022: Launched Is FlexWork@RU Working for You? Survey to students, faculty and staff
- March 2023: FoW Pulse Survey distributed to faculty and staff
- June 2023: Extended FlexWork@RU Pilot Program through August 31, 2024
- August 2023: Launch Presidential Employee Excellence Recognition Program
- FlexWork@RU Resources