On Oct. 22, All Staff Council and Human Resources teamed up to host the first of its kind virtual town hall. We estimate approximately 200 employees caught some or all of the event. Thank you to everyone who attended. For anyone who missed it, you can access the recording here.

The agenda and speaking points were built around the questions submitted to ASC in the weeks preceding the event. If you submitted one or more questions, thank you! ASC was thrilled to receive dozens of questions addressing a range of subjects. Unsurprisingly, we received the most questions about staff compensation. Consequently, the bulk of the town hall time was spent on this topic. There was also keen interest in paid leave practices; remote work; performance management; employee morale, engagement, and retention; benefits; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. None of these is an easy topic to discuss. We are very appreciative of the thoughtful and respectful questions, ideas, and suggestions offered throughout the event.

We continue discussing how to best follow-up on the insight both HR and ASC walked away with after the town hall. That is arguably a mark of a successful discussion: those facilitating were left with a lot of new ideas, a more informed perspective, and a clearer appreciation of what employees are wanting and needing from them. We thank you for that.

One of the questions we have is whether we should facilitate such an event again? If you attended all or part of the town hall, or watched the recording, please offer event feedback here. This short, three-question survey will only take you a minute to complete, but it will provide us with important information going forward.

Please know that you do not need to wait for an event to engage All Staff Council or Drake Human Resources. If you have an idea or concern you would like to share with ASC, simply use this link to reach us. Drake HR is also here for you. You can reach HR any time at drakehr@drake.edu.

Thank you again for your time, generosity of spirit, and tremendous commitment to our Drake community.

— All Staff Council–Executive Council and Human Resources