Secure Leadership Buy-In
Align with decision-makers and ensure visible commitment to the journey.
Why This Stage Matters
Getting support from your institution’s leadership is key to ensuring your efforts have the authority, visibility, and resources to take root. When your leaders actively champion your student employment redesign, they’re signaling to the rest of your institution that it is a strategic priority.
Purpose
Securing leadership buy-in helps your team:
- Gain the approval necessary to move your redesign forward
- Access more funding, data, and opportunities for cross-departmental collaboration
- Validate your work across your institution
Who to engage
Identify what leaders at your institution can elevate your redesign initiative. Consider:
- Senior Academic and Administrative Leaders: Provosts, vice presidents, or deans who guide your institution’s goals
- Human Resources and Finance Leaders: Individuals with knowledge of your institution’s systems and policies
- Student Affairs and Career Services Executives: Individuals who are involved in students’ professional development
Getting Started
Step 1: Craft a compelling case
Leaders are more likely to commit when they see how student employment redesign connects to your institution’s existing priorities.
Be deliberate about how you frame the redesign:
- How does the redesign support student success or retention?
- How does it align with workforce readiness or career outcomes?
- How might it improve equity and employee engagement?
Consider using local data or stories to emphasize why the current system needs to change.
Step 2: Identify and engage leaders
Start with leaders who are already supportive of student success initiatives. You can ask them to publicly endorse your initiative and remove institutional barriers your team encounters.
Step 3: Secure a clear commitment
Work with your institutional leaders to define what buy-in looks like:
- Official endorsement of your student employment redesign
- Resources for data, communications, or funding
- Inclusion in strategic planning or campus communications
Step 4: Keep leaders in the loop
A sustainable partnership requires consistent communication. Be sure to provide your leaders with short, periodic updates that show your redesign’s progress and impact by highlighting wins and significant data.
When leaders see meaningful progress, they’ll keep supporting and promoting your work.