If you were to ask coach Al Golden, coach Fran Dunphy or coach Dawn Staley about teamwork, each would probably tell you that the collaborative efforts of members of a team can result in high achievement. Teamwork and collaboration are not only keys to success on the football field and the basketball court, they are critical to the university’s success. Therefore, Temple has selected Teamwork and Collaboration as the Performance Development System’s universitywide competency for 2007–08.
The reason is simple: Temple must remain competitive. The challenges the university faces today are sharply different from those in the past. After 2008, the number of high school graduates will decline. Students and parents have more choices for higher education and demand quality service for their tuition. As Temple and other colleges and universities prepare for these anticipated challenges, we will also need to harness the talents of every employee. We will need to enhance our ability to accomplish goals and improve performance within and across departments to meet the challenges of serving our current and future internal and external customers.
In the PDP, the Teamwork and Collaboration competency is defined as “Works cooperatively with others, contributes to and accepts group opinions, and understands that organizational and team goals take precedence over individual goals.”
The essential elements of a Temple Team are:
• Effective communications, including listening, questioning, persuading, respecting, helping, sharing and participating in the team.
• Individual and departmental goals that are linked to the university’s goals.
• A broad understanding of your organization, not just your department.
• Ability to apply knowledge of Teamwork and Collaboration to all aspects of your work.
It takes six characteristics to be a productive team member:
• Trust your fellow team members by openly expressing ideas, opinions, disagreements and feelings.
• Bring a sense of fun to even the toughest jobs.
• Coach, counsel and support other team members.
• Value diversity by appreciating the variety of cultures, perspectives and styles of people on the team.
• View differences of opinion as opportunities, not obstacles.
• Adapt to change by being flexible and resilient.
• Commit to team goals.
Once you’re on a team, here are some tips for the team to be effective:
• At the outset, make sure that the purpose of the team is clearly understood and roles are properly defined and assigned.
• Work collaboratively with others on your team — it’s not all about you.
• Involve your peers and your supervisor in everything you do — don’t isolate yourself.
• Focus on the team’s success, not your own.
Ask any Temple athlete, and he or she will tell you that working effectively as a team isn’t easy, but the ewards are great. At Temple, Together Everyone Achieves More.
Please note: A new core competency, Policy Compliance, has also been added to 2007–08 PDPs as a second required developmental competency for all employees. To comply with this competency, employees are reminded to stay up to date on university policies by reading policies, completing required training programs, and complying with all university and employment policies including anti-harassment, -discrimination and -retaliation policies, conflict-of-interest policies, falsification of data/information policies and NCAA policies.
Contact Karen Cherwony at karen.cherwony@temple.edu or 215-204-1669, Marie Amey-Taylor at marie.amey-taylor@temple.edu or 215-204-1673 or Eric Brunner at eric.brunner@temple.edu or 215-204-3318 with questions about the PDP or the two developmental competencies, or to schedule a team-building workshop for your work unit.
E-mail accounts needed to view direct deposit pay advices
Effective Jan. 1, the university stopped printing paper direct deposit advices (pay stubs). All Temple employees on direct deposit now receive an e-mail notification for each pay.
Pay stubs can be viewed online through Employee Self-Service. In order to receive the e-mail notification, you need an AccessNet user account and password, which can be created at http://accounts.temple.edu. Scroll to the bottom of the page. Click on the link for faculty and staff. Then, follow the prompts to create your account information.
To complete the process, you need your TUid, which is printed on both your Temple University OWLcard and your pay stub.
Once you have an AccessNet user name and password, go to your Temple e-mail account at http://tumail.temple.edu. If you need assistance in activating your account, contact the Computer Services Help Desk at 215-204-8000 or send an e-mail to help@temple.edu.
More reasons to have an e-mail account: Human Resources uses e-mail as a way to send employees important reminders and notifications about pay, benefits, and health and safety information.
Still getting paper paychecks? If so, Temple encourages you to begin the new year by signing up for direct deposit. It is the university’s preferred method of pay. It’s also convenient, confidential, secure and reliable.
For more information, contact the Payroll Management office at 215-204-3116 or stop by University Services Building, room 201, where two Employee Self-Service kiosks are available.