Culture Ambassador Competency Model

Abstract: Employee morale is declining at River Parishes Community College (RPCC) due to persistent leadership changes and a decreased staff, resulting in silos and reduced work productivity. The proposed Culture Ambassador Program Competency Model (CAPCM) is designed to improve community college culture and retention among employees. The model's four clusters include Mentoring; Professionalism; Onboarding; and DEI &B (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging). The stakeholders for the CAPCM are RPCC employees and students. Ultimately, this model can be adopted by other community colleges across the country. For this study, the CAPCM will be conducted at RPCC in Gonzales, Louisiana.
The success of the CAPCM relies on participant input and execution of all components. Research participants include RPCC full and part-tim employees. The CAPCM monthly surveys provide real-time modifications to improve the competency model's outcomes and promotion of college culture. The CAPCM research questions will answer “How does CAPCM”:
1. Increase employee morale?
2. Increase employee engagement?
3. Affect retention?
To fully comprehend the CAPCM Model, a review of the model is beneficial. CA are nominated by their peers (faculty, staff, or administrators) and serve one complete school year. The CA are employees whose responsibilities are to engage in monthly peer-to-peer mentoring, coordinate one campus event each semester, assist in professionalism & onboarding training, and incorporating DEI &B strategies in events. Participating employees will have a platform to share feedback in regards to the status of the CAPCM.
The Mentoring competency cluster will consist of sessions that will adhere to stages of successful peer-to-peer mentoring such as availability and openness, respect and empathy, reciprocity, and peer mentorship (DeForge et al., 2018). Another benefit of peer mentorship is an employee's capacity to be innovative. According to Omilion-Hodges and Ackerman (2018), when people have high creativity, their peer connections are strong, and organizational commitment is high. The mentoring competencies are (a) self-esteem, (b) creativity, (c) goal setting and prioritization, (d) personal topics, and (e) career challenges.
The Professionlism competency cluster will align with RPCC’s core values. Core values are essential recruiting and retention strategies that, when properly implemented, may encourage workers to go above and beyond the call of duty (Kirova, 2021). Furthermore, a set of professional competencies based on research will guide data analysis and coding. Anzek (2022) defines professionalism as one who posesses the following competencies: (a) adaptability and flexibility, (b) dependability, (c) initiative, (d) integrity, (e) interpersonal abilities, and (f) leadership professionalism.
The Onboarding competency cluster is vital to the sustainability CAPCM. Baker and DiPiro (2019) indicate that an effective onboarding process results in increased acclimatization, improved performance, and explicit knowledge of the goal and values. The CA onboarding process aims to instill a sense of belonging in all employees. Onboarding competencies include (a) critical thinking, (b) innovation and creativity, (c) communication, (d) collaboration, and (e) interpersonal relations.
The DEI&B’s competency cluster in organization’s transformation is a critical strategy for increasing performance (Adejumo, 2020). The CA will collaborate with the institution's DEI &B Team to address this competency with employees. CA will incorporate DEI &B stategies at events, educational sessions, workshops, and training to promote innovative approaches to accessibility services such as use of multi-sensory presentations, handouts, course objectives, and student conference planning to maximize learning experiences (Scott, 2019). The DEI&B competencies are (a) awareness, (b) advocacy, (c) communication, (d) inclusion, and (e) leadership.
Moving forward, the CAPCM data analysis strategy utilizes the Generic Competency Model Matrix and Data Collection Plan showing parallels between competencies. RPCC selected committee will choose the most practical competency by assessing each competency over two weeks and select the top competencies by weighing each response. The matrix will reveal other additional competencies. The Data Collection Method consists of collecting participants' responses from surveys conducted after monthly peer-to-peer meetings and CA sponsored events. As a response, the surveys will yield information that will help determine if the program was successful, unsuccessful or garners adjustment for future implementation.
This poster presentation will explore the CAPCM four clusters: Mentoring, Professionalism, Onboarding, and DEI&B (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging). The CAPCM will contribute to further research in Human Resource Development (HRD) and Human Capital Development (HCD) discipline through supporting and advancing existing theories and practices regarding Community College Culture Competency Models (C4M). The poster will examine CAPCM key competency clusters, retention, and participation rates in college-wide activities. Evaluation of these competencies will provide insight concerning RPCC core values which is a top indicator of employee satisfaction as well as a healthy organization culture (Wong, 2020).