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Developing a Student Manager Program
Erin Nettifee
Duke University
Resnet Symposium 2010
AgendaStudent managers: what they are, and what
they aren’tStarting a program from scratchBuilding a program for future growthLessons learned
My backgroundI’ve started or worked with others to grow
student manager programs at 3 different schools (small & large)
My current institution – Duke Univ. - Large university in medium-sized city. 50+ students in various areas.
Students work in different areas:service desk, training, multimedia,community outreach
We are in the second year of a newstudent supervisor program
Where to startDefine what your student managers are
going to do for youPersonnel management – Hire? Mentor?
Evaluate? Fire? Technical specialists – are you going to want
them to do things that front-line students can’t?
Project specialists – can they help you take care of things you don’t have the time for?
Where to startUnderstand what they aren’t going to do for
youBuy-in from full-time staff is important here Justifying this upwards . . .
If budget / staffing needs are driving your growth, you must work to setexpectations about how students are different.
This is not necessarily going to save you time, especially in first year.
First steps to building a programStart early, and as much as you can, take
your timeAt least a semester before you want the
students to begin responsibilities, start the planning process
Begin to talk to student staff early about what the role is going to become
Figure out the right ratio of studentmanagers to front-line role
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InterviewingStrongly recommend a group interview
processBring in full-time staff from different areas
Model this off of a full-time position interview processDon’t be afraid to require resume & cover
letter, but the interview is more important than the written product
Develop questions for staffBasicsBehavioralPie-in-the-sky
Some sample questionsBasics: why do you want the job, what do you
know about the job?Helps you figure out whether they have the
right expectationsBehavioral: what would you do if a student
employee you were supervising screwed up?“Pie-in-the-sky”: How would you
change the way we work?
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HiringMaking hiring decisions can be tough because
you know the students and need to deliver bad news to kids who you probably want to retain even if they weren't promoted
Lots of reasons a student might not be promoted: not ready for leadership, poor work performance, red/yellow flags in interview
• If you’re selling the position as preparing for the real world, be ready to give feedback as to why they didn’t make it - remember it takes somebravery for your staff to apply
Training them to superviseLook at how your new managers are trained
for full-time rolesSpend time with each new supervisor talking
about your expectationsHelpful metaphors:
Teacher / classroom managementIf your program is brand new, start
with teacher metaphor before youget to boss metaphor
Ending the first yearAssess how program went, before next round
of interviewsKeep the “Comic Strip Test” in the back of your
headTalk openly and honestly with first-year
managersAsk full-time staff for feedbackRethink your service model
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Growing a program that already existsWhat’s driving your instinct to grow your
student manager ranks?Wanting to challenge your students with new
rolesLoss of full-time staff positionsChange in service modelIncrease in customer demand
Changing your service modelGo back to your original work on ratio of
student managers to front line staff. Do you really need more supervisors, or do you need more front-line staff?
Expanding after-hours coverageAccountability for staff when you’re not thereMake them explain the decision
process to themselves before theymake it.
Teaching CommunicationPosition yourself as teaching future
colleaguesEnforce high standards in terms of
communication to make it more manageableYou need to count on these students to tell you
about problems earlyGive examples of good
communication and praise openlyGo back to the teacher metaphor
Lessons learnedStart slow, if you can. Involve as many people
as you can in the process. Hire as early as you can.
Better to be small and working well than large and go through more pain than necessary.
Sell the job as an experience builder.Remember students are not full-time
staff, but they bring things to thetable that full-time staff will not.
Questions?Your seminar evaluation is important! http://www.resnetsymposium.org/rspm/evaluation/I welcome more questions now, or later on –
please feel free to email me at erin.nettifee@duke.edu
Thanks for attending!
6/17/10
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