Dos and Don’ts

In response to feedback from staff who wanted to learn more about how the values are applied or what the guidelines or best practices are, OIT has developed a comprehensive “dos” and “don’ts” help guide. In doing so, we hope that these tips can resonate with our employees’ personal work experiences and offer effortless ways to incorporate these values into our day-to-day lives.

Every month, we highlight one value that all OIT staff members should strive to learn and live by. Visit our page HERE in “Activities & Programs” to learn more about our Value of the Month.

Collaboration

We work well as a team, effectively communicate and interact with stakeholders or other groups inside or outside of OIT towards productive outcomes.

DO

  • Be present and focused
  • Communicate clearly and consistently
  • Involve key stakeholders early in the process
  • Clarify roles and expectations
  • Keep an open mind when hearing a different perspective
  • Maximize mutual benefit (win/win)

DON’T

  • Allow conflict to fester
  • Propagate destructive messages
  • Impose your decision or solution on others

Customer-centric

We provide our clients a positive customer experience before and after they receive services from us. We strive to recognize and understand the client’s needs and goals when we design services, provide support, and engage in outreach activities.

DO

  • Seek to understand the customer’s needs and expectations
  • Seek to understand the customer’s work, and business
  • Accept that customer priorities and requirements can and will change
  • Proactively offer ideas and assistance
  • Regularly communicate
  • Be kind

DON’T

  • Believe you have all the info
  • Decide customer is overreacting
  • Assume customer isn’t knowledgeable

Inclusiveness

We seek to understand, empathize, and validate other people’s viewpoints and experiences, incorporating this approach into our behavior and work.

DO

  • Recognize that each person has their own thoughts and opinions
  • Value differences in styles
  • Show interest in other’s ideas
  • Encourage participation from all
  • Create a safe space for new and “wild” ideas

DON’T

  • Interrupt thoughts and ideas of others
  • Hold tight to stereotypes
  • Stop the conversation

Learn and Grow

As individuals and as an organization, we continue to develop and improve our knowledge, skills and capabilities to achieve success, to maintain agility and to be innovative.

DO

  • Keep abreast of IT and Education trends and best practices
  • Develop technical AND soft skills • Attend vendor events and trainings
  • Collaborate with other UCs
  • Learn from others
  • Identify your passion and go for it

DON’T

  • Be afraid to fail and try again
  • Ever stop learning
  • Become complacent
  • Disparage people or ideas to showcase your own intellect.

Quality

We strive to exceed the status quo in what we deliver and are continuously improving. 

DO

  • Ensure customer requirements and service requirements are met or exceeded
  • Give each task your best effort
  • Develop and share best practices
  • Innovate in helpful ways
  • Set challenging goals

DON’T

  • Let pursuit of perfection stop progress
  • Assume lowest cost is always expected or the best option
  • Take shortcuts in order to “check a box”
  • Hold onto an inadequate solution simply because that’s “how it is done” or because it represents a past investment

 

Respect

We are considerate of people, ideas, roles, experiences, and perspectives.

DO

  • Value viewpoints from all levels of decision-making
  • Encourage healthy debate
  • Support resulting decisions
  • Recognize the validity of a different perspective
  • Actively listen to others

DON’T

  • Tear others down
  • Dismiss ideas, opinions, contributions or expertise
  • Undermine decisions after they are finalized 

Transparency

We demonstrate integrity, honesty and openness in all activities. We generously share information, insights and knowledge.

DO

  • Openly address issues and problems with accurate information
  • Communicate information in a timely manner
  • Be frank and honest
  • Proactively inform when priorities change or commitments slipOpenly address issues and problems with accurate information

DON’T

  • Assume that others are aware of the detailed plan
  • Intentionally hide information or data
  • Passively accept ambiguity

Trust

We start with the premise that everyone is doing their best and for the right reasons in order to achieve the best outcomes.

DO

  • Give others the benefit of the doubt
  • Treat feedback as a gift instead of an attack
  • Encourage and empower others
  • Rely on others
  • Sympathize and empathize
  • Honor your commitments

DON’T

  • Be afraid to fail when the bar is high
  • Be overly defensive
  • Assume bad intent from others
  • Attribute behaviors to “personality flaws”