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!

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