Running Head: TALENT MANAGEMENT PLAN

TALENT MANAGEMENT PLAN

Louis Arokiasamy
IDSL 865 – Leveraging Human Resources
Ferris State University
30 April 2019
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Introduction
The Office of International Education (OIE)—also known as the International Office—at

Ferris State University was formed in the Fall of 2018. The OIE was formed with the purpose of

bringing several functions that were spread across various departments on campus under the

purview of one office. Hence, international admissions, international recruiting, international

student service, immigration, study abroad, Intensive English Program, and global engagements

has been brought under the umbrella of OIE. The Office currently has a director and an assistant

director who are carrying out many of the functions of the Office with the help of clerical and

student workers. The Office desperately needs qualified Coordinators for the following

positions: Admissions, Recruiting, Student Service, Study Abroad, and Alumni Relations.

The OIE was recently placed in the Academic Affairs Division of the University, and the

OIE director now reports directly to the Provost. This new arrangement was welcomed by the

OIE staff with jubilation, when the Provost approved funding for the five full-time coordinator

positions. This will relieve the Director and the Assistant Director to do their jobs in providing

leadership and strategic planning. With Ferris losing domestic students over last five years, the

university president and the provost are now counting on the International Office to rev up

international recruiting. International students pay higher tuition—165% of the domestic tuition

rate. International tuition revenue will help make up for declining tuition revenue from domestic

students.

Soon after the Office of International Education was formed last year, the director invited

some experienced leaders on campus to develop the vision and values for the office. This is the

preliminary outcome from this meeting with campus leaders:

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OIE’s Vision

The Office of International Education will be a recognized leader in globalizing Ferris State

University through strategic partnerships, innovative approaches, and targeted engagements and

activities.

OIE’s Goals

 Accessible Study Abroad opportunities

 Sustainable growth of a diverse international student body
 National recognition for campus globalization efforts

OIE’s Values

 Student-centeredness
 Global-perspective
 Innovation
 Transparency
 Efficiency

Recruiting
Candidates for the five positions should have a master’s degree in a relevant field, or a

bachelor’s degree with two to five years of experience. All five positions will be advertised both

nationally and locally in the following channels:

 CareerBuilder.com
 Indeed.com
 Monster.com
 LinkedIn
 Facebook
 Twitter
 MLive (a Michigan website for jobs)
 The Chronicle
 Newspaper: the Pioneer, Grand Rapids Press, others
 Ferris State University web site
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In addition to venues above, the five positions will also be posted with NAFSA (association

for international educators) and contact all Master of International Education Programs in the US

to announce to students and alumni. Latinos in Higher Ed

Specific requirements

Admissions Coordinator: Experience with International student services which includes the

SEVIS Immigration System and working with a diverse population. Must be detail-oriented,

fluent with Microsoft Word, and be able to work effectively in a team environment.

Study Abroad Coordinator: Two years of experience working in a higher education or

international travel setting. Demonstrated effectiveness in intercultural communication both

orally and in writing to a diverse faculty, staff, students, and community. Understanding of

education abroad program development and implementation. Experience planning and executing

events. Budget management experience. Proficiency in a second language

Alumni Relations Coordinator: Two years of experience working in a higher education,

preferably in the international or alumni office. Experience in fundraising, a big plus.

Demonstrated effectiveness in intercultural communication.

Recruiting/Marketing Coordinator: Demonstrated experience developing marketing and e-

marketing plans. Demonstrated ability to successfully carry out projects by collaborating with a

team involved in planning, executing and providing support services. Demonstrated ability to

communicate with and relate positively and persuasively to people from a wide variety of

cultures. Professional experience working with a variety of social media tools. Demonstrated

experience with data collection and analysis. Experience studying, living, or working abroad.
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Student Service Coordinator: Two years of experience working in a higher education,

preferably in the international or alumni office. Experience in managing international

admissions, a big plus. Working knowledge of F & J Visas essential. Demonstrated ability to

work with students, problem-solving on issues such as housing and on-campus employment.

Coordinating with various student associations to organize cultural events. Ability to organize

cultural-enrichment activities.

Employee On-Boarding/Development/Retention
Before the new hire starts work in his or her department, they will meet with HR which

takes the lead in providing new employee orientation. The orientation takes several days, and it

covers the whole gamut, everything from obtaining login account into the university network to

health and retirement benefits. In late summer, HR usually holds group orientations for new

employees starting in the fall. During the rest of the school year, it will provide orientations as

the need arises, even if it’s just one person joining Ferris in the middle of October. HR plays a

big role in onboarding new candidates, besides monitoring compliance matters. The HR

personnel will respond to inquiries promptly, and they try to be as helpful as possible to the new

hire.

After the new employee has gone through HR’s standard orientation, he/she will be

introduced to his/her department. At the OIE, the assistant director who is very knowledgeable

about every unit within the office, will work with the new hire during the first two weeks to ease

him or her into their job. The Assistant Director has compiled manuals for each coordinator’s

position. This is usually a big help for the new person. As the new person progresses in their

job, they are expected to update the manual as new practices or procedures are introduced.

These manuals are a repository of working knowledge for each unit. Besides being a reference
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manual, these manuals are tremendously helpful for keeping the unit functional in the event a

unit coordinator decides to quit for one reason or another. Hence, the Assistant Director invests

a good amount of time and energy in periodically auditing these manuals.

OIE takes professional development seriously for the development of its personnel and for

the advancement of the office. Hence, it sets aside funds in its annual budget for professional

development. The Director, the Assistant Director, and the Unit Coordinators attend local and

regional conferences to keep abreast with developments in the field.

University-wide, professional development at Ferris is handled by two entities: The Faculty

Center for Teaching and Learning, (FCTL for Faculty professional development) and the Staff

Center for Training and Development (SCTD for staff PD). Both centers provide workshops and

seminars etc. all year round. The workshops and seminars are well-publicized through the

University-wide News Bulletin that is emailed daily to every employee on campus. The OIE

encourages all staff members to available themselves to these PD opportunities by allowing them

to take time off to attend these sessions. Furthermore, all university employees are provided

tuition-waiver for up to nine credit hours of coursework. This waiver is only for courses taken at

Ferris, not at other institutions. The tuition-waivers are also transferrable to family members of

the employee.

The OIE organizes monthly potlucks, where all staff members participate. But the office

has also been inviting another office or two to join in the potluck. These potlucks not help build

camaraderie among fellow staff members but also among fellow university colleagues. This

collegiality not only helps us build relationships with our fellow colleagues across campus, but

also helps smoothen working relationships when we have to deal with other departments on
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campus. In an oblique way, these types of social events, including birthday celebrations and

Christmas parties, help build morale among the staff members. The OIE aims to foster a

collegial working atmosphere in order to motivate everyone to give their best in serving our

students.

Twice a year, the OIE organizes a mini “retreat,” all the staff meet at some place away from

the office—it can on be on-campus or off-campus. We even have had this retreats at a public

park when weather was nice. When funds were available, an outside expert was engaged to

carry out the team-building activities which would include how to communicate effectively.

During these occasions, the director takes opportunity to revisit our missions and goals, and they

provide an opportunity to suggest better ways to serve our students.

Succession Planning
Ferris State University as a whole does not have a carefully laid out succession plan.

However, this does not prevent each department from developing a plan. The OIE succession

plan will start with the director. The director will work very closely with the assistant director.

Whenever possible, the director will include the assistant director in his dealings with the upper

echelons of the university. For instance, although the Provost deals directly with the director,

sometimes, with the Provost’s permission, the assistant director will be included in high level

meetings so that the assistant director is not only managing all units of the office on a day-to-day

basis, but also has exposure to high level operations of the university. The aim of this practice is

that in the event the director has to leave his position, the OIE will continue to function

seamlessly.
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Next, once the coordinators are settled in their positions and thoroughly proficient in their area of

responsibility, cross training in another unit will begin. For instance, the Recruitment

Coordinator will be trained in some of the functions that the Admissions Coordinator carries out,

and vice versa. Similarly, the Student Services Coordinator can work with the Study Abroad

Coordinator in learning about each other’s work. This practice will have dual benefit: on the

one hand, it enhances the skill sets of the coordinators, and on the other, it prepares the office to

be nimble—if one of the coordinators choose to leave, service to the students will continue

uninterrupted.

In the office retreats mentioned earlier, the director shows an interest in the aspirations of

the Coordinators and other staff members. What staff members express is taken in consideration

by the director and the assistant director when they engage long-term planning. They will

identify where the aspirations of the staff and the needs of the office are. By doing so, the

director and assistant director cultivate talents in the office by sending them for more training or

by giving them greater responsibilities.

Evaluation
A formal performance evaluation is carried once year by the Assistant director. Informal

evaluation takes place periodically throughout the year. The following is standard instrument

that Ferris uses campus-wide.

Employee Self-Assessment Performance Evaluation – Ferris

Administrative & Administrative Support Employees

Type of Review: Annual Partial Year Employee Name:

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Banner ID: Supervisor Name:

Position Title: Division: Department:

Core Expectations
Collaboration & What are some specific examples where you have demonstrated Collaboration
Teamwork and Teamwork during this evaluation year?

 Focuses on building partnerships

 Demonstrates ability to get along with
others, is respectful of co-workers, and
internal/external constituents/customers
 Seeks feedback and demonstrates the
ability to listen and adapt to new ideas and
solutions
Diversity What are some specific examples of how you have
Commitment demonstrated Diversity Commitment?
 Demonstrates knowledge of
Employee Dignity Policy and
Equal Opportunity
 Shows respect and sensitivity for
cultural differences
 Promotes and acts in accordance
with a harassment-free
environment
 Understands EEO and AA plans

Ethics & What are some specific examples of how you have
Integrity demonstrated Ethics and Integrity?
 Considers ethical issues and fairness in
decision making and actions
 Demonstrates appropriate
disclosures and honesty
 Follows through on commitments
and takes responsibility for actions

Excellence What are some specific examples of how you have

demonstrated Excellence?
 Displays commitment to excellence by
working thoroughly and accurately
 Seeks continuous improvement
opportunities
 Monitors own work to ensure quality
 Demonstrates knowledge, skills and
abilities
Learning & What are some specific examples of how you have
Innovation demonstrated Learning and Innovation?
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 Demonstrates a commitment to life-long

learning
 Generates suggestions for improving work
 Uses innovation to propose solutions
 Initiates actions to research improvements

Opportunity & Problem Solving What are some specific examples of how
you have demonstrated Opportunity
and Problem Solving?
 Identifies problems in a timely manner
 Gathers and analyzes information skillfully
 Works well in groups and individually to develop alternatives

For Administrative Employees who supervise non-student employees ONLY

Fiscal Responsibility, Process Improvement/ Sustainability What are some specific examples of how
you have demonstrated Fiscal
Responsibility, Process
Improvement/Sustainability?

 Acts with fiscal accountability

 Seeks strategies to improve internal processes
 Supports sustainability initiatives

Supervisory and Coaching What are some specific examples of how

you have demonstrated Supervisory and
Coaching?
 Identifies employees’ strengths/weaknesses and provides example-
driven feedback to enhance individual and team performance
 Provides performance feedback
 Provides direction and monitors compliance
 Promotes fair, equitable and respectful environment
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Planning
What specific progress have you made on last year’s goals?

What are your goals for the coming year?

Conclusion
The Office International Education is one of the enterprising on campus. Many of the

departments at Ferris are very tradition-bound and staid. The OIE aspires to be nimble. For

instance, one of its goals is to seek national recognition for campus globalization efforts. This

goal doesn’t stem from vanity. The purpose of pursuing such a goal is to encourage the entire

staff to work towards a greater goal. In the process, we not only build solidarity, team spirit, but

also strive to do our best for our students and the campus as a whole.