Meaningful Growth: Staff Engagement and Voice During Change

Abstract Information: Many independent evaluation firms reflect on and apply a set of values to the evaluation work they do for clients and communities, but applying these same values to internal processes that foster staff growth, especially among new evaluators, can be challenging or overlooked. This roundtable of small, independent evaluation firm owners will 1) explore the tension between sustainable staff member learning and company growth and 2) discuss processes for designing learning and career mobility pathways that integrate staff perspectives, support staff career transitions, and align to the firm’s values. Roundtable participants are invited to discuss and give feedback on the shared approaches to creating values-driven onboarding, performance reviews, professional development, and upward mobility structures for new evaluators within the field that center values of equity, learning, diverse perspectives from staff voice, and professional excellence. Specific questions attendees will have an opportunity to consider include: 

1. In what ways does your organization currently implement intentional structures to support staff learning and growth, and how might those be enhanced or improved?


2. What values-driven considerations have supported your team's efforts to intentionally obtain and integrate staff perspectives during times of organizational change?