Taking on new roles and new responsibilities is exciting. However, if that new role means taking over a Milestone site previously run or set up by someone else, that can be tricky and overwhelming. It is especially tricky if no one who made the decisions is around for questions. While this presents a unique opportunity to make improvements and ensure that things are still moving in the best direction, how do you know what is not working or what things are still used? How we begin new roles can impact our long-term success in them. If we do it right, we can make great first impressions and earn much-needed trust.
Ideally, there is a period of cross-training and hand-off whenever someone leaves a position, but we all know that is not typically the case. There are so many things going on that you may step into a position or a new responsibility with very little knowledge about how it was set up or used. We have compiled some things you can do to become more informed about the usage and priorities of a Milestone site you were not involved in and be able to make some early allies, build trust, and make changes you would like to see!
The first step is to learn more about Milestone. We have some phenomenal lessons in the Anthology Academy. If you do not already have an account, you must create one using your institutional email address. You can find the Academy here!
Once you have a background in what Milestone can do and how to navigate it, then we recommend doing a site audit,
Site Audit
Look up badges that have been issued. Were they recent? Are they issued often? Or mostly at one time? We have created an interactive Scribe walkthrough below to show you how to see when badges have been awarded.
Criteria Check
Look at the criteria to see if there are connections to other products. Find out who runs that event or assessment in the other product. They can be a helpful resource!
- You can tell if any badges are connected to other Anthology Products by going into the Edit Badge Screen and checking the listed criteria.
- For Engage, you will see something above the criteria title that says Engage. In the screenshot below, we can tell the criteria it is connected to a pathway domain completion in Engage.
- The icon will change depending on the product and data it is connected to, including the product name. If other Anthology products are connected to the Criteria, it will be helpful to contact the product administrator on your campus to learn more about that initiative.
Talking Tour
Once you have investigated the Milestone site and identified some key stakeholders, we suggest meeting with them and asking them questions to gain more context and earn their trust. While this may seem like a small step or something that takes up more time than the value it provides, it can make a huge difference. Speaking to the stakeholders involved in something under our area of responsibility shows them that we value the work they have already put in. When we do this in a way that invites them in and communicates our vision, then we set ourselves up for success.
- The goal here is to invite them to share what is important to them, identify some areas for some easy wins and establish some priorities for larger change. We have some suggested questions listed below to ask.
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- What are you most proud of within your department or program?
- What is going well with badging?
- What are your most significant pain points?
- What do you wish were different?
- Do you have anything coming up that you would like to use Milestone for?
- Do you have any advice or things I should know as I identify priorities and support micro-credentialing efforts?
- You can identify some easy wins and improvements with the answers to those questions. You can then follow up with folks who requested those changes or had related pain points and let them know what you could change. Connect it back to your earlier conversation to build trust and earn some credit with them for changes you cannot make or when you need to request their help.
Nothing here is game-changing, but it is often overlooked. There are usually so many things we need to learn and do in the first 90 days of a position, and while our supervisors have their list of what is important, they already have context and trust built with others. We want to ensure that how we handle getting a handle on things can make all the difference.