Greetings from Stateside

This is the second blog from Rashmi Patel, Head of HR Operations at Nottingham Trent University, and winner of the UHR-CUPA Bursary, which enables attendance at the annual CUPA-HR Conference (recently held in Indianapolis) and also funds a study tour of US universities. Rashmi writes from Detroit, with an update on her thinking and learnings around her chosen theme of Building Inclusivity.

Greetings from stateside, writes Rashmi, and what an incredible journey this has been so far!

As I sit here in chilly Detroit with a chance to reflect for the first time following the CUPA conference and six university visits, I am in total awe not only of the opportunity to be here but also of the incredible institutions, places and people encountered to date.

For those of you following me on Twitter (@RushPatel40) you will have seen a small visual glimpse of this trip which I have tried to track pictorially as I have travelled across the mid-west.

Starting with the excellent and superbly organised CUPA conference (Thank You all at CUPA HR) I can still hear the incredible energy and passion of Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour, the first African American female combat pilot ringing in my mind. Her keynote, and in particular her mantra of her ‘You HAVE Permission To Engage’ resonates particularly well with my study theme of diversity and inclusion. And so too did a great number of the workshops and concurrent sessions I selected, which were closely aligned to embedding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practices and initiatives into all we do as HR professionals and strategic leaders. I will showcase much more of this on my return.

From these sessions at the conference, and the networking and connections I’ve made across the institutions visited, it is clear we are all facing the same (higher education) challenges and opportunities as we strive to create more diverse communities and build inclusive campus environments in our institutions. The comforting part of this journey has been the openness with which these challenges are being embraced by our US counterparts. Socialising the actions still required and the power of storytelling really helping to progress such changes here. In some institutions, they will be the first to admit that they are only on the cusp of addressing DEI priorities, with a long way to go yet to be more diverse and truly inclusive. However, being receptive and acknowledging that change is necessary is a vital step in the right direction. As I suspected before heading out here there is no magic answer: different actions, practices and priorities work for different institutions, much depending on an institution’s own leadership commitment to diversity and inclusion, its ethos, values, and composition. Demography and geography certainly playing a pivotal role in the US too, not to mention federal laws and the political landscape. With midterm elections currently a high priority out here university campuses are busy ensuring staff and students use their important right to vote in order to influence change for important agendas such as this.

As for the role of HR, as I expected, the structures, practices and processes are all variable by institution. The balance of power is also variable through a mix of centralized vs decentralized operations, strategic vs transactional, and between faculty and staff (professional services). All these dynamics which make for interesting challenges for HR departments.

HR colleagues here have been keen to learn more about how HR and higher education works in the UK, so this truly has been a reciprocal learning experience with so much discussed, shared and learned both ways. Issues of career progression for staff from under-represented minorities, student attainment for the same, and social mobility are all pertinent issues here too as I had suspected. Indeed they have been a real impetus not only for progressing but ensuring diversity and inclusion agendas are central to the strategic values, missions and intended delivery in these institutions.

I have also seen first-hand the role of cultural centres, sports and other extra-curricular activities in building communities and the vast importance placed on philanthropy. The latter plays a significant part in helping not only with creating stunning campuses but importantly in increasing social mobility and progression too. All of this helps students and staff connect, achieve and prosper together.

Visiting phenomenal estates, stunning buildings and first-class facilities is one thing, but what has been truly impressive throughout my trip is the learning and engagement which is going on in all of these, which brings a whole new meaning to learning with a ‘anytime, anywhere, anyplace’ mind-set and creates a culture of dedicated student-led learning. Every dormant space I have seen has been cleverly used as a learning, collaborating, working, relaxing and indeed resting zone which must be good for student (and staff) wellbeing.

As my journey continues I see that back in the UK the government has launched a consultation on the possibility of mandatory Ethnicity Pay Gap Reporting and whether such reporting will help address disparities between the pay and career prospects of minorities. Together with the unveiling of a Race at Work Charter, I am sure these will be welcome steps to increasing recruitment and career progression of ethnic minority employees.

Alongside examining diversity and inclusion I have also been exploring how HR works in US higher education with a view to seeing how we too can create more inspiring places and ways in which to work back home. Of course I have Nottingham Trent and the NTU Strategy (NTU2025) particularly in mind. As is often the case it is the smallest things that can make the difference in creating positive and engaging cultures, where valuing employees is the norm and not the exception. Whilst undertaking numerous office tours and talking to many staff to get ideas I have one observation that really stands out. I was fortunate to be here on Boss's Day (observed on October 16), a day traditionally for employees to thank their bosses for being kind and fair throughout the year. What I liked most about this though was the gratitude the bosses showed their staff and how much this meant to them, just simple gestures of thanks. Evidently, mutual respect is everything, it costs nothing and goes a long way.

With six universities visited and three more to go I look forward to sharing my findings, experiences and thoughts in more detail in due course. For now, without question this is a phenomenal experience with so much learnt, so many memories made and with superb connections and friendships made along the way already. Here’s looking ahead to the final leg in New York (City University of New York, New York University and Colombia University) - time sure has flown by so far!

For now my sincere gratitude to UHR, CUPA HR and NTU for your support in making this all possible, and to the exceptional staff at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Indiana University Bloomington, IUPUI Indianapolis, Purdue University, Wayne State University and University of Michigan for your warmth, generosity, time, and openness in hosting my visits. You’ve been nothing short of exceptional.