- Home
- Networks
- Topics
- Blogs
- Co-op Blogs
- Arts and Social Sciences Co-op Blog
- Beedie School of Business Co-op Blog
- Biomedical Physiology & Kinesiology Co-op Blog
- Communication Co-op Blog
- Computing Science Co-op Blog
- Contemporary Arts Co-op Blog
- Engineering Co-op Blog
- Environment Co-op Blog
- Health Sciences Co-op Blog
- Interactive Arts & Technology Co-op Blog
- MSE Co-op Blog
- Science Co-op Blog
- Sustainable Energy Engineering Co-op Blog
- Communique
- ENGAGE
- Peer Education
- Co-op Blogs
- Galleries
- Learn
- Indigenous
- EAL/ESL
- iBelong
Co-op Employer's Perspective: Working with Co-op Students
Co-op Employer's Perspective: Working with Co-op Students
By: Sylvia Currie | Acting Director, Professional Learning
This blog post was initially published on BCcampus News on May 14, 2012.
Recently at a BCcampus all staff meeting in Sidney, B.C. I was called upon to say a few words about our outgoing co-op students, Diana Chan and Hilda Anggraeni. I stood up and blurted out "They have changed our lives" then went on to try to explain, which was impossible in a short couple of minutes.
Hilda came to work for BCcampus in fall, 2010 and Diana followed the next semester. Then we latched on to them and wouldn't let them go.
These co-op students brought so much to the workplace -- talent, enthusiasm, humour, energy, and everything else you can think of when imagining a perfect employee.
But employee is altogether the wrong word; it just wasn't that kind of relationship. As a team we absolutely gelled. We all shared this desire to try out new things, and take risks. We also seemed to be able to thrive in the middle of chaos and uncertainty. But most important, we each had something unique to bring to the table, and we all listened to, and appreciated, all contributions.
It sounds pretty straightforward, but this kind of collaboration is really quite rare. What is even more impressive is that I can probably count the number of times we met face-to-face on one hand. I work from my home office. Leva Lee, Client Services Manager, works from a school district office in New Westminster. Diana and Hilda worked from the Vancouver BCcampus office some days, and other days from their homes or Simon Fraser University. Yet we felt very connected. And we had so much FUN!
Diana has already written a blog post where she shares her experiences working at BCcampus, and also showcases some of her work. Hilda is working on one as well. One thing I'm sure they'll neglect to say as they modestly display the many artefacts they produced -- logos, websites, prototypes, videos, blog posts, help documentation, guides, and on an on -- is the break neck speed in which they worked. They were able to make sense of complex issues and needs, sometimes requiring a lot of digging into the history of communities or earlier conversations and decisions. Then they would come back with brilliant, clear proposals, or the perfect logo, or website design solution, or whatever. WOW. All I could say, everyday, was WOW.
Lately I've been reflecting on why our experiences with working with co-op students was so successful. Obviously what Hilda and Diana each brought to the workplace was outstanding, but there was also something about the team dynamics, and our use of technology to support our work.
From the beginning we agreed that email should be used only when necessary. It's too easy to default to email, and then regret it when you lose track of the history of conversations and decisions. For several months we combined Beluga group messaging (since acquired by Facebook then shut down) with Skype voice meetings. In addition we used [the BCcampus] Confluence wiki where Hilda and Diana each had their own "job jar" space to keep track of projects and progress, as well as store sample work and files. We also used Dropbox for many of our shared files, and Google Docs for some work-in-progress. We experimented a lot, and the conversations around what worked and why was part of the fun.
Eventually we settled on Skype as our main venue for communication, and set up a "perpetual chat". The result is that in a single space we have a record of all of our conversations for the past 15 months. If you go back to the beginning of our history, it takes a long time to load! And every Friday we scheduled a check-in (also Skype, and combined with our perpetual chat) for an hour or so for project updates and to brainstorm / problem-solve. If, at any time, the text conversation was getting hard to follow or we need to quickly reach a consensus, we'd just switch to audio.
When it came time to hire a co-op student for the summer semester, it only made sense for Hilda and Diana to be involved in the interviews. In fact, they took charge of the entire process -- resume reviews, short list, interviews, welcoming committee, and training. Enter Heather Kincaid, the new, energetic member of our team. It has been such a smooth transition.
Last week I smiled when Diana popped into the perpetual Skype chat to offer some WordPress expertise. It made me realize that the team was still connected after all.
Read more stories shared by the BCcampus Team.
Posted on May 19, 2012
Tags:
- Login to post comments
- 6143 reads
RELATED TOPICS
|
|
|
|
|
|
SEARCH THE OLC
Login
OUR TWEETS
Today's Top
![]() |
Top Tip Lists Starting Your First Co-op at a Start-up Company [57] |
![]() |
Event Summaries Highlights from the “Preparing for a Government of Canada Interview” Webinar [49] |
![]() |
Top Tip Lists 8 Interview Tips For Impressing a Hiring Manager [49] |
![]() |
Top Tip Lists Lost in Technical Translation: How to Succeed in an Unfamiliar Environment [47] |
![]() |
Mental Health and Addictions Mental Health Wellness Tips for Quarantine [24] |
Interviews 10 Tips on Answering Interview Questions Effectively [71] |
|
Cover Letters Writing an Effective Cover Letter [29] |
|
Volunteering Alumni Spotlight: Chris Lo [22] |
|
Work Search Working with Grace: Top Tips for Pre-Screen Interview Success [17] |
|
Indigenous Career Resources NENAS: North East Native Advancing Society [12] |
[Blog] Life Experience Just Like Bunko: It's Not About You [1] |
|
[Story] Interviews Preparation = Successful Interview! [1] |
|
[Story] Interviews Acing Phone Interviews [1] |
|
[Story] Career Exploration We Are All Canucks: Dreams Come True [1] |
|
[Story] Interviews The Dirty Dozen Interview Questions (Part I) [1] |
7 seconds
From Forbes Magazine.
You have 7 seconds to make a first impression:
...
You're Welcome!
Just wanted to say a big "you're welcome!"
I think though, that we also owe you a big thank-you for all of your fantastic...
There but for the grace of
There but for the grace of God go I, reoccurs for me in periodically and I smile warmly and am grateful.
Thank you for your...
Uhoh, now you've sent us down
Uhoh, now you've sent us down a black hole of Youtube Conan clips......
Our failures define us
Conan's quote is incredibly profound..but not quite as profound as his "String Dance."