When two dozen employees from the University of Manitoba visited McGill last fall, they were paired with McGill counterparts based on role overlap as part of a job shadowing exercise. One pair – described as “kindred spirits” by fellow participants – found so much in common in their passions and challenges at work that they lost track of time and forgot to report back for the group debrief!
As they shadowed their McGill counterparts throughout the day, UofM staff caught a glimpse of the systems and processes we use here. “Staff from Manitoba appreciated learning some new ways of doing things and sharing experiences,” said Sandra Woloschuk, Associate Director, Learning and Organizational Development, at UofM. “We face some of the same challenges and opportunities, so staff have said how valuable it was to be able to talk to colleagues who do the same job” somewhere else.
The University of Manitoba’s Support Staff Learning Exchange (SSLE) is an employee-funded initiative through which a group of UofM staff travel each year to another North American university to share work experiences, discuss the services offered at both institutions, and learn from each other’s best practices.
The SSLE reflects the spirit of My Healthy Workplace’s Spotlight Initiatives and Learning Communities, which provide opportunities to share ideas with colleagues and the administration in support of professional development and continued growth and improvement at the workplace. The Learning Communities program brings together groups of McGill employees to examine important themes in the workplace and make proposals to improve them.
Joan Soares, Senior Advisor in Organizational Development, considers this job shadowing an enriching experience for everyone involved. “Not only did we get to showcase some of our programs; we also learned about their wonderful initiatives,” Soares explained. “It was a job shadowing exercise on steroids because this experience was multiplied 25 times over in many different areas of the University!”
A successful job shadowing exercise requires a good match, as well as the support of the employees’ managers – factors that this visit benefitted from thanks to the collaboration of McGill’s network of HR Advisors who worked diligently to find the best matches in their areas, and the McGill managers who understood the value of their employees’ participation.
Job shadowing with a counterpart at another Montreal university, in another area of McGill, or with a colleague in your own area can be equally beneficial. If you are interested in exploring job shadowing opportunities for yourself or your team, we encourage you to initiate the conversation with your supervisor or direct reports, or to reach out to od.hr [at] mcgill.ca (subject: Question%20on%20Job%20Shadowing) (Organizational Development )for advice.