The Emerson Matching Project

Dear colleagues,

I continue to adjust to this new routine and manage my fears and concerns for myself, my family, friends, community and the world. We have yet to fully realize the impact of this pandemic and I am moved every day at how the Emerson community comes together and supports one another. I hope you too are finding ways to reach out for support and a place where you can be courageous, be vulnerable and show fear, concern and optimism from time to time. 

In Brene Brown’s book, Daring Greatly; How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent and Lead, vulnerability is defined as uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure. Dr Brown says that vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy and creativity. I invite you to be courageous and vulnerable with me during this time of uncertainty.

It has been almost three weeks of remote work and I know that we are all getting more familiar with Zoom, navigating meetings with children around, animals making themselves known in the background and our colleagues having a window into our lives that may engender warmth or discomfort or both. As we identify new ways of working I want to share with you a new project called Emerson Matching Project.

Challenge Facing Us:

The Emerson Matching Project seeks to operationalize the matching of available work/projects and available talent during this time of physical distance. Many are working remotely; however, not all jobs are fully conducive to remote work. We have been creative and nimble in identifying projects in order to achieve continuity of employment and compensation for all staff. This project is an opportunity to connect operational needs with the talents of individual Emerson employees who may have availability and be able to advance some long-awaited projects.

How will it Work?

Through this project, you can use your unique skills to assist areas in the College with a need. Projects may include the creation of documents, videos, auditing information, data clean-up, troubleshooting technological issues, project management, phone calls, etc. 

We want this to be a time when you are empowered to be productive and utilize your skills in a fulfilling way, as well as further your connection with other areas of the Emerson community.

Next Steps

• We are reaching out to the community to inform them about this effort. 
• Staff who have availability given the current situation, are asked to complete a form and share it with Human Resources. Skills Form.
• Departments with small or large projects are asked to complete a worksheet and provide Human Resources with a description of the project(s) and a contact person. Project Form
• The list of projects will be circulated to staff interested in assisting. Staff members will be asked to review the project list, identify what looks interesting and matches their unique skill set and contact the project lead.
• The list of available staff and their unique skills, will be circulated to the project leads, and asked to contact the individual(s) who appears to be a good match for the project.
• The department and the individual can then talk and decide if it is a good match. 
• All time will be recorded and charged as usual, regardless of the department/project.
• Overtime is not allowed.

This is a great opportunity to learn about other areas of the college and utilize your skills to their full potential. It is an opportunity to learn, grow and contribute to an existing need.

We hope you take advantage of this new and exciting opportunity to learn about other areas of the college and build upon your skills! If you have any questions, please contact Janet Pohli – janet_pohli@emerson.edu

Best,
Shari Stier
Senior Associate Vice President, Human Resources