Professional Development

The Learning and Organizational Development team supports Eastern employees in developing their skills and competencies through training, professional development, performance evaluations, and consulting partnerships. Our workshops, elearnings, webinars, toolkits, and customized consultations help improve performance while supporting EMU’s mission and vision.
 

 

  • Customized Solutions and Services Expand dropdown
    We offer a variety of training and performance improvement services. If you're interested in a customized workshop for your team, our skilled experts are ready to help bring your department to the next level. Please email us at [email protected] to make a formal request. 
  • Professional Development Model Expand dropdown

    To continually acquire work-related skills and abilities, we suggest following the 70-20-10 Model for learning and development:


    70% Experiences
    • The majority of learning should be experiential and happen through doing. Seek out and take on more demanding work assignments. This may include volunteering for challenging projects that stretch your skills or making recommendations for process improvements within your department.

    20% Social
    • Learning can also occur through peers, mentors, and subject matter experts. This may include networking, knowledge sharing, discussions such as think tanks or brainstorms, or mentorship. Social learning also includes shadowing others, either formally or informally. 

    10% Formal Learning
    • The smallest amount of learning is needed to happen through formal channels. Formal learning may include webinars, conferences, workshops, or elearning courses in the PageUp Learning Library. Throughout the year, the Learning and Organizational Development team offers formal learning opportunities designed to enhance employee skills. 

    Research by the Center for Creative Leadership shows that for learning to stick and for true behavior change to occur, we have to consider learning in several different ways, including how we learn. A good framework to follow to strike the right balance in your learning activities is the 70/20/10 Model.

  • SMART Goals Expand dropdown
    Goal setting is a purposeful and explicit process that starts with identifying a new objective, skill, or project you want to achieve. If we want to succeed, we need to set goals! Without goals we lack focus and direction. Goal setting not only allows us to take control of our work’s direction; it also provides us a benchmark for determining whether we are actually succeeding.
     
    When you set goals, you take control of your work’s direction. Goals provide you with focus. The decisions you make and actions you take should bring you closer to achieving those goals. Setting goals keeps you moving and feeling productive, while significantly benefitting you, your department, and EMU. When you set goals, you create a vision of what the future could look like.
     
    Meaningful and powerful goals are designed as SMART goals. To clearly define success, goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timebound.
     

    The SMART goal framework allows you to write goals that are clear, attainable, and meaningful. Having clarity in your goals makes your self-review and the manager review a simple process, because it’s clear to determine if the goal was achieved, or to what extent it was achieved. To learn more about SMART goals, watch the video: What are SMART goals?

    SMART goal framework

  • PageUp Expand dropdown

    PageUp serves as EMU's platform for several activities, including learning, performance, and succession planning. Visit the learning library to browse elearning courses, view the learning calendar to register for live webinars and in-person workshops, access your performance reviews, or your team's performance reviews. Additional resources on PageUp can be found on the PageUp Applicant Tracking and Talent Management page. 

  • EMU Competency Framework Expand dropdown

    Eastern's competency framework is designed to clearly establish what is required, expected, valued, and rewarded at EMU and creates a common language and understanding for what defines success at Eastern. Competencies are the combination of knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors that contribute to the success of individuals and organizations. Below are the competencies EMU has selected as most important for long-term success at our institution:


    Ethics & Values
    • Adheres to an appropriate (for the setting) and effective set of core values and beliefs during good and bad times
    • Acts in line with those values
    • Rewards the right values and disapproves of others
    • Practices what they preach
    Problem Solving
    • Uses rigorous logic and methods to solve difficult problems with effective solutions
    • Probes all fruitful sources for answers
    • Can see hidden problems
    • Is excellent at honest analysis
    • Looks beyond the obvious and doesn't stop at the first answers
    Self-Development
    • Is personally committed to and actively works to continuously improve him/herself
    • Understands that different situations and levels may call for different skills and approaches
    • Works to deploy strengths
    • Works on compensating for weakness and limits
    Managing Diversity
    • Manages all kinds and classes of people equitably
    • Deals effectively with all races, nationalities, cultures, disabilities, ages and both sexes
    • Hires variety and diversity without regard to class
    • Supports equal and fair treatment and opportunity for all
    Action Oriented
    • Enjoys working hard
    • Is action oriented and full of energy for the things they see as challenging
    • Not fearful of acting with a minimum of planning
    • Seizes more opportunities than others
    Service Orientation
    • Meets and exceeds the expectations and requirements of internal and external constituents/stakeholders by engaging in work practices that are aligned with high standards of service (Eagle Service Standards)
    • Responds in a timely manner to stakeholder requests and needs
    • Develops creative solutions to address stakeholder challenges with a focus on continuous improvement and problem-solving
    • Actively listens and collects pertinent information while working towards resolutions
    • Follows up with constituents proactively
    • Uses stakeholder interactions, experiences, and best practices to inform improvements to services and processes
    • Consistently acts with the needs of their stakeholders in mind and establishes/maintains effective relationships with constituents to develop mutual trust and respect
    • Routinely assesses and improves service delivery as the needs of stakeholders evolve
    • Provides feedback to stakeholders in a positive and constructive manner
  • Staff Performance Cycle Expand dropdown

    EMU's staff participates in an annual performance review process. This process is managed through PageUp. The performance lifecycle provides an opportunity to set meaningful and intentional performance goals, look back at the year and highlight past accomplishments, receive and provide ongoing feedback, and celebrate success.

     
     
    Additional resources on PageUp can be found on the PageUp Applicant Tracking and Talent Management page. 

     

    There are 6 steps in the performance cycle at EMU, highlighted in the image below.

    Performance lifecycle process at EMU

    1. Goal Setting: Employees should collaborate with their supervisor on setting SMART goals for the year that are aligned with university and divisional strategies, while also considering the institution's mission, vision, and values. SMART goals should be discussed, agreed to, and submitted by the employee in PageUp. 

    2. Manager Reviews Goals: Supervisors will review employee goals that have been submitted to them in PageUp. Make any necessary updates prior to approving them. If you make any changes to employee goals, please alert them of the changes, as they will not receive a notification from PageUp that you have updated their goals. 

    For the majority of the year, employees will focus on achieving their approved goals. Set aside time each month to reflect on progress, determine next steps, and seek regular feedback from your supervisor. 

    3. Self-Review: The self-review is an important opportunity to reflect on your accomplishments, areas for improvement, and contributions to EMU over the past year. Your self-review is a vital component of your overall performance evaluation, and your input is essential. Completion of your self-review will allow for your manager to review your contributions and facilitate a discussion with you about success, opportunities, and ultimately, goals for the upcoming year. 

    4. Supervisor Review: Managers will complete an evaluation of the employee's performance. This step is critical to providing meaningful feedback to employees, identifying areas for improvement, and ensuring that our institution retains top talent. EMU values your leadership and support in helping EMU achieve these goals. 

    5: Review Discussion: Once the supervisor has completed the performance evaluation, they will schedule a review discussion. This conversation is a chance for employees and managers to have a productive dialogue about the employee's performance and career development goals. These discussions are also an important component of employee development, as we want to ensure that each employee has a clear understanding of their performance and the opportunities for growth and advancement within the organization. 

    6. Employee Acknowledges Review: As the last step, employees will acknowledge that they and their leader met to discuss their annual performance review by logging into PageUp and moving the review forward. Your performance review provides valuable feedback on your work and progress over the past year, and we want to ensure that you have reviewed it and have the opportunity to provide any final comments. If you desire, you have the opportunity to add any final thoughts to your review at this time. While not required, please do so prior to moving your review forward, as moving your review forward will complete the performance cycle. 

    Complete! We value your contributions to EMU and appreciate your commitment to your work. Thank you for your cooperation and timely completion of the performance process each year. 

 

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