SEAHO Report - Summer 2012 - (Page 24)

SEAHO FEATURE Top 10 Things Supervisors Should Know About Their RA Staff: From the RA Point of View By: Carlean Cole and Sylvia Gray University of Tennessee, Chattanooga 1. Know the names AND each individual’s personality on your staff. It’s important to know the personalities of the staff because it will help you get a better understanding of what type of person they are. It will also allow you to get to know your staff so that the school year goes smoothly. My supervisor has each staff person pronounce and spell their name to the staff during RA training. We then repeat the spelling and the pronunciation of the name back to the staff member. We have learned, through this activity, that names and the personalities that accompany them are important to each person. One thing to remember is no employee wants to feel like their supervisor does not care about what’s going on with them. Whether it is personal, academics, or job related, it is important to know when something is just not right. This will definitely build morale within the staff. 4. Be flexible with the staff members, especially the ones who are involved with campus organizations and hold positions. We have all heard of the “Golden Rule” but this tip is what I like to call the “RA Rule.” It’s important to remember that you once were a college student. No staff member wants to feel like they have to choose between the RA job and their student life. Remember they are a student first and a Resident Assistant second. Therefore, if you are flexible with your staff, your staff will definitely be flexible with you. 2. Know the staff’s expectations they have for you and the RA job, collectively and individually. This is especially important because it allows you to see exactly what your staff is expecting of you throughout the year. Knowing the expectations of the individual shows you what type of goals they have for the job and if they are expecting you to give them guidance as a supervisor. Remember Student Development is important! My supervisor reviews the expectations of each staff member every two weeks during one-on-one meetings. Each staff member is able to hold the supervisor accountable for meeting those expectations. Likewise, my supervisor holds each staff person accountable for meeting her expectations. 5. Know how to talk to the staff members about their performance This ties in with knowing the mood of your staff and their personalities. A meeting will go a lot better if you know how to address issues with each staff member according to their personality and how they handle conflict. 6. Know what each staff member is looking to gain from the RA job so that you can support them and give them guidance to the best of your ability. This ties in to number 2. The Resident Assistant job is a developmental job, so you want to make sure you are helping in the development of your staff. You don’t want your staff members to leave the job feeling like, after a year or two, they have not acquired any transferable skills that would be 3. Be able to tell when a staff member’s mood has changed. (This will help you get to know your staff and allow you to be able to notice when something is going on with that individual). 24 SEAHO Report Summer 2012

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SEAHO Report - Summer 2012