The CiRCLe
R&CL Launches Staff Newsletter
Feeling the effects of the instabilities and heightened temperament of the world, the Residential & Community Living (R&CL) team created a Call to Action (C2A) group. All R&CL staff was invited to join – managers, the UCHS team, the powerful administrative team, our patient complex coordinators and resident directors – anyone interested in meeting to express themselves or coordinate ideas to help each other, well, to quite frankly, feel better and to heal.
The Call to Action group formed as a response to the civil unrest that ensued after the murder of George Floyd, according to Shantel Dickerson, who is a C2A active participant and the newsletter’s main content creator.
The mission of C2A is to advocate for and promote diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, and belonging within the department.
A subcommittee, of that group – Work Culture – created a survey as a kind of “departmental temperature check,” Dickerson said. “The survey revealed that some staff felt disengaged, disconnected, and isolated in their identities, their roles, and/or in their units,” she shared. “I think that the more we get to know one another, the more we can improve our working relationships and create the work culture that we strive for, so I suggested a departmental newsletter in hopes that it would increase a sense of belonging and mattering within the department.”
And it has!
Named, “The CirRCLe” (with the
RCL capitalized -- get it?!), the newsletter each month delivers staff profiles, birthday reminders and an invitation to answer some fun questions to spark shared interest, which boosts camaraderie and open dialogue within staff.
“The newsletter has received a lot of positive feedback,” Dickerson said. “Staff really enjoy the rotating reflections at the beginning of each newsletter. Each month I ask a different staff member to share their thoughts on where they are at personally, and what they are looking ahead to. These reflections really bring character and a voice to each edition that the readers connect with.”
The CiRCLe also invites staff to suggest books and movies, or share hobbies, that may get some after-work activities going, such as softball, volleyball or hikes.
One of the latest asks was Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) New Year’s Resolution and The R&CL Hobby Lobby. It’s an ongoing Padlet (online board) where staff can share their hopes, hobbies, passions and interests. Maybe this here Compass article will serve as a nudge for R&CL staff to visit the space to add their respective share-outs!
“I recently saw that one of our staff members has a history of Polynesian dancing,” Dickerson said. “I danced Hula and Tahitian through college and while living in Japan. We may not have known these interesting pastimes about one another if it wasn't for The CiRCLe."
