Education
Southern Institute of Technology has adopted five organisational values developed by its own staff, following a consultation process involving more than 100 employees across its campuses and sites.
The values — Respect, Excellence, Collaboration, Communication and Hospitality — were identified through workshops and a survey that attracted 106 responses. Respect was identified by staff as the most important of the five.
Former international rugby referee and leadership facilitator Paddy O'Brien led the process. He said the approach was deliberate: staff had to define the values themselves rather than have them handed down.
"You can't just tell people, 'These are our values and you've got to live them'. They've got to be their values," O'Brien said.
"The whole process at SIT was about staff identifying what matters to them and what should guide the organisation going forward. Because they created them, they own them."
Despite participants coming from a wide range of roles and disciplines, O'Brien said there was strong alignment in the results.
"We all have a moral compass. We have expectations of behaviour at home, in our communities and in our workplaces. This process is really about bringing that together and agreeing on what matters most."
SIT Council Chair Rex Chapman said the values represented an important milestone for SIT as a standalone institution.
"I'm a very big believer in organisational culture. Unless you know what you stand for, identify your values and are true to them, as an organisation you'll never be able to achieve your mission," Chapman said.
SIT Events and Marketing Support Officer Grace Doherty took part in the values meetings. "I enjoyed speaking with colleagues across SIT and gaining a common ground of what SIT would like to include as its values," she said. "By allowing employees to have their say in the companies' values, SIT is creating a workplace culture that is open to feedback and learnings from its staff - a necessity for a tertiary institute."
SIT Chief Executive Bharat Guha said the values would provide an important foundation going forward.
"The values reflect the collective voice of our people. They were developed by staff, for staff, and that gives them credibility and meaning," Guha said.
"This year we've created a strong base for the future. We have our strategic plan, and we've now determined the values that will guide the organisation and help us hold each other accountable."
Guha said the challenge now was to embed the values across the institute. "Our challenge now is to embed them throughout the organisation, so they become part of our everyday actions and contribute to a stronger, more successful SIT."
The values will be incorporated into organisational development initiatives and future performance measures.