Driving Employee Engagement Through the EAC with Philesha Evans and Tilly Clark
Discover the critical role of the Employee Advisory Council (EAC) in shaping workforce engagement and influencing policy at UTMB and the UT System level. In this episode, Dr. Jochen Reiser connects with Tilly Clark, Director of Presidential Affairs, and Philesha Evans, Interim Chief Human Resources Officer and Vice President of Human Resources, to discuss how the EAC serves as a vital bridge between leadership and employees. Learn about its impact on initiatives such as PTO changes, its collaborative efforts with other advisory councils, and its influence across the UT System. Gain insights into how this council drives bi-directional communication, represents diverse staff voices, and helps create a more inclusive and effective workplace culture.
- 100:00:00,840 --> 00:00:09,600[Auto-generated transcript. Edits may have been applied for clarity.]Welcome to The Pulse UTMB Health podcast, your gateway to the latest insights, ideas and innovations shaping our community and beyond.200:00:10,230 --> 00:00:16,530Stay tuned for engaging discussions, compelling stories, and the information you need to stay informed and connected.300:00:16,830 --> 00:00:25,530Right here on The Pulse. Hello everyone, and welcome back to The Pulse Podcast.400:00:26,340 --> 00:00:36,330I'm Dr. Jochen Riser, UTMB's president and CEO of the UTMB Health System, and today we have an insightful conversation lined up for you.500:00:37,230 --> 00:00:43,200I'm excited to be joined by Tilly Clark, director of presidential affairs, and Philesha Evans,600:00:43,410 --> 00:00:48,360vice president of human resources and interim chief human resources officer.700:00:49,380 --> 00:00:58,740In this episode, we'll explore the important work of the Employee Advisory Council, not just here at UTMB, but at the UT system level.800:00:59,730 --> 00:01:04,680Tilly and Philesha will share how the EAC is driving workforce engagement,900:01:04,800 --> 00:01:11,460shaping policies and advancing the goals of both our institution and the larger UT System.1000:01:12,030 --> 00:01:16,380Let's dive in. Tilly and Felicia, welcome to The Pulse.1100:01:17,580 --> 00:01:22,830Thank you. Thank you. I'm going to start with the first question.1200:01:23,580 --> 00:01:29,850Tilly, can you share, please, about the Employee Advisory Council and what it exactly is and does?1300:01:31,350 --> 00:01:36,000Absolutely. Thank you so much, Dr. Reiser, for having us here. This is really exciting for us.1400:01:36,420 --> 00:01:42,329Um, so the UT System Employee Advisory Council is a staff advisory council that is1500:01:42,330 --> 00:01:48,990composed of two appointed representatives from each of the UT System institutions.1600:01:49,290 --> 00:01:55,740And we present information and make recommendations to the Board of Regents and UT System leadership.1700:01:56,310 --> 00:02:05,370Now, we do these recommendations that are regarding issues, uh, that are important to employees across all 14 institutions and UT System.1800:02:05,940 --> 00:02:13,679Now, technically, we provide a forum for communicating information and sharing staff-related matters between employees.1900:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,490The Board of Regents and the executive officers of UT System.2000:02:18,150 --> 00:02:25,320Uh, EAC executes its annual work and proposals on issues throughout subcommittees.2100:02:25,320 --> 00:02:34,080So, we put together these subcommittees on specific issues that are, uh, the chatter... within the hallways... of all the 14 institutions.2200:02:34,080 --> 00:02:36,540These are the things that we know are on the minds of employees.2300:02:37,140 --> 00:02:42,840And, we work closely with the UT System Faculty Advisory Council, the Student Advisory Council,2400:02:42,840 --> 00:02:51,690and the Chief Human Resource officers to ensure that we have effective communication throughout UT System and throughout the institutions.2500:02:52,140 --> 00:03:00,600And so collectively, we um, with this organization, we are the voices for over 90,000 employees across the system.2600:03:01,380 --> 00:03:07,980Now, this uh, ....employee....UT system employee Advisory Council was created a little over 20,000, uh, 20 years ago.2700:03:08,340 --> 00:03:16,920And eight years or so after that UT system decided, hey, it's working so well, we need to push this out into the institutions.2800:03:17,070 --> 00:03:23,220So, each institution began to create their own staff councils with the same sort of structure.2900:03:23,370 --> 00:03:26,850And, so we have the UTMB Employee Advisory Council.3000:03:27,030 --> 00:03:34,679Now, on that council, we have representatives from each of the areas within UTMB... academic enterprise,3100:03:34,680 --> 00:03:44,130correctional managed care, health system, throughout all the institution to help have a bi-directional communication between employees,3200:03:44,280 --> 00:03:52,770and leadership. We represent the classified, administrative and professional employees, non-teaching staff within UTMB.3300:03:54,140 --> 00:04:03,500Wow, what an impressive role the EAC has locally with UTMB, but also with the UT System.3400:04:04,250 --> 00:04:11,330And, thank you for all that you do at the EAC and leading this initiative for UTMB.3500:04:12,260 --> 00:04:22,040Philesha, I'm turning to you now as a member of both the Employee Advisory Councils and in your role as Interim Chief Human Resources Officer.3600:04:22,400 --> 00:04:28,610How do you collaborate with the EAC to implement initiative system-wide and UTMB?3700:04:29,980 --> 00:04:39,280Sure. So I have had the privilege of serving as the UTMB EAC advisor for about ten years now, and then for the last year,3800:04:39,280 --> 00:04:44,290I've been a part of the UT System chief HR officer group that Tilly mentioned earlier.3900:04:44,770 --> 00:04:49,060And when I became the advisor for our UTMB EAC,4000:04:49,090 --> 00:04:58,180I quickly learned that this group is a strong sounding board for understanding the impact of proposed changes and initiatives,4100:04:58,180 --> 00:05:01,210either locally or, uh, throughout the system.4200:05:01,540 --> 00:05:10,000And so, as policy changes or proposed, it's incredibly important to connect with the EAC as a stakeholder.4300:05:10,450 --> 00:05:14,550Um, even if the change is not popular. Um, they have a voice.4400:05:14,560 --> 00:05:20,170They know the pulse of the employees in the areas that they represent,4500:05:20,440 --> 00:05:31,930and they can share with us how the changes will impact our employees and also help influence the way that we plan, uh, to implement the change.4600:05:32,050 --> 00:05:37,270So, for example, um, you know, some of the provisions of our current, uh,4700:05:37,270 --> 00:05:43,000PTO program were heavily influenced by direct feedback that we received from our EAC.4800:05:43,180 --> 00:05:53,410And, when you have a change that that's that is as big and broad and touches the number of employees that, um, a program change such as PTO did,4900:05:53,620 --> 00:06:01,779it was incredibly important to leverage the voice of that group to truly understand how best to communicate,5000:06:01,780 --> 00:06:06,970how best to implement, to ensure that it created as as little disruption as possible.5100:06:08,410 --> 00:06:12,729That's great to hear, Philesha. Thank you for that. And to the two of you....5200:06:12,730 --> 00:06:21,580Now can you both share a recent example of how your roles have worked together to address specific initiatives for UTMB employees?5300:06:21,940 --> 00:06:26,769One of the most recent that was so effective, and I'm so proud of,5400:06:26,770 --> 00:06:34,750was when COVID began, and the different institutions decided we wanted to try and do remote work.5500:06:35,110 --> 00:06:38,800No one really knew how to start with all this.5600:06:39,130 --> 00:06:45,670So the UT System EAC representatives from each of the institutions got together,5700:06:45,940 --> 00:06:50,980and we began to take a deep dive into how all this is going to work.5800:06:51,340 --> 00:06:55,960Some of the institutions were doing it really well, and some of them were struggling.5900:06:56,230 --> 00:07:02,260And, so we put together a handbook, if you will, of best practices from each of the institutions.6000:07:02,590 --> 00:07:11,110We were a sound board making recommendations to the Board of Regents and other UT system leadership on what was working well,6100:07:11,470 --> 00:07:21,490and they were helping us communicate that throughout the institutions to be... able to perform and, and, uh, continue on through the, uh, COVID crisis.6200:07:21,490 --> 00:07:32,580And it was amazing to see, uh, the work that we were doing and how greatly it impacted the performance and the environment for employees.6300:07:32,590 --> 00:07:36,430People were happy... because they were trained.... that they were already dealing with enough...6400:07:36,480 --> 00:07:42,639Right? And, so being able to continue to work for the institution and still feel productive, uh,6500:07:42,640 --> 00:07:48,340because of these best practices that we put together was an amazing, uh, feeling to be able to contribute.6600:07:48,490 --> 00:07:51,760I just had another example to piggyback off of that.6700:07:52,060 --> 00:07:55,300I was recently in, um, an executive team meeting.6800:07:55,420 --> 00:08:02,290Um, actually, this was just last week, and it there was some conversation about space in one of our labs.6900:08:02,650 --> 00:08:09,280And, um, there was... there's a plan to build out the space to better protect patient privacy.7000:08:09,430 --> 00:08:13,840And, someone in the room commented, oh, yeah. I remember a couple of years ago,7100:08:13,960 --> 00:08:23,110we received a concern from the EAC about us having certain types of conversations with our patients about their lab results in a semi-private space.7200:08:23,380 --> 00:08:28,690So, I just wanted to highlight that even even things that have happened in the past7300:08:28,690 --> 00:08:32,590stay on the minds of our leaders as they're making decisions in the present.7400:08:34,250 --> 00:08:38,809Wonderful examples. Thank you both. Next question.7500:08:38,810 --> 00:08:45,560How does the Employee Advisory Councils work influence policy recommendations to the Board of Regents,7600:08:46,070 --> 00:08:49,460and what impact have you seen on UTMB's workforce?7700:08:50,500 --> 00:09:03,370We create committees throughout the year that, uh, the initiatives are, um, focused on concerns or, um, challenges that employees are facing.7800:09:03,790 --> 00:09:11,860And, what we do is we put together, um, recommendations or just information, if you will.7900:09:12,130 --> 00:09:16,990Uh, we are allowed to present that to the Board of Regents once a year.8000:09:17,320 --> 00:09:21,130Uh, we present it at the Board of Regents meeting in front of everyone.8100:09:21,160 --> 00:09:29,160They are given lots of information. Uh, prior to that, if we have an ask, um, if we need their support, um,8200:09:29,230 --> 00:09:37,690whether it be their weight behind a decision or whether it be a financial support, um, we present that to them and they will respond.8300:09:38,110 --> 00:09:41,830Um, I feel like it's most effective because...8400:09:42,840 --> 00:09:46,290Employees see that we do have their eyes and ears.8500:09:46,290 --> 00:09:49,110They do listen to us. They do hear us.8600:09:49,500 --> 00:09:57,989And one, I think one of the crown jewels of UT Systems is we had presented years ago for the smoking cessation program,8700:09:57,990 --> 00:10:03,600and we were actually to push through the Board of Regents and make every institution tobacco-free.8800:10:04,140 --> 00:10:08,940And, that came from the work, uh, the UT System Employee Advisory Council.8900:10:08,940 --> 00:10:14,489We've done a lot of work since then, but we worked hard and it was very effective, and they listened to us.9000:10:14,490 --> 00:10:18,000So, uh, again, we we work on many initiatives.9100:10:18,000 --> 00:10:25,649A lot of times it's things that don't even make it to the board because we don't really need their, uh, approvals, if you will.9200:10:25,650 --> 00:10:32,250It's just things that employees were connecting the dots and providing communication that they didn't have.9300:10:32,550 --> 00:10:39,720Uh, another example is recently we did the, um, uh, give our employees the total reward statement,9400:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,890which tells you every year what your value is to UTMB.9500:10:43,890 --> 00:10:49,770It's your salary, your benefits, your whole package at a bird's eye glance, all institutions didn't do that.9600:10:50,550 --> 00:10:55,590And, so we were able to collaborate with all the institutions to be able to provide that throughout.9700:10:55,590 --> 00:11:01,979And, so employees were very excited to be able to have one document that's going to tell them exactly what they,9800:11:01,980 --> 00:11:06,060you know, what they make here, what their compensation here is at the institutions.9900:11:07,090 --> 00:11:16,149These are great examples, and I can tell you, I see you in the board meetings in Austin and having always,10000:11:16,150 --> 00:11:21,760uh, the employees issues right front and center and communicate them appropriately.10100:11:21,770 --> 00:11:26,680So the input that you provide through the EAC is really critical.10200:11:27,130 --> 00:11:31,380Uh, Philesha, do you have another example that comes to mind? If not, we have heard now two.10300:11:31,390 --> 00:11:35,650That's fine. Just give one to give you the an opportunity to comment.10400:11:36,520 --> 00:11:40,930Yeah, I think... I think Tilly's last example was really most impactful.10500:11:41,260 --> 00:11:46,900Um, for me personally, because I just assumed that all of the other institutions were doing,10600:11:47,230 --> 00:11:51,190uh, the same thing in regard to total reward statements as we were.10700:11:51,430 --> 00:12:00,700And, just to hear the feedback, as I said, in that UT system level, um, EAC meeting about, um, the comments that our fellow uh,10800:12:00,700 --> 00:12:08,379EAC members were hearing within their institutions about something that I viewed to be such a simple fix... just was really impactful.10900:12:08,380 --> 00:12:13,090And, I was happy to hear that we were leading the pack in the system with regard to that effort.11000:12:13,840 --> 00:12:14,710Fantastic.11100:12:15,430 --> 00:12:25,210Well, looking ahead, what key areas of employee engagement or development do you believe will be crucial for UTMB success in the coming years?11200:12:25,780 --> 00:12:36,880So, I think looking ahead, uh, we really need to think about fostering strong communication, promoting effective teamwork and cultivating resilience,11300:12:37,030 --> 00:12:44,370because those are some of the things that are really going to drive UTMB's success in the future around communication.11400:12:44,380 --> 00:12:54,550You know, we need to have clear, transparent and consistent communication to make sure that our employees are aligned with UTMB mission and goals.11500:12:55,000 --> 00:13:06,250Um, and so by regularly engaging staff through town halls, team meetings, um, and other internal feedback channels like the Employee Advisory Council,11600:13:06,550 --> 00:13:14,860um will be able to help create a culture of openness and trust, which is so, so critical to being able to move things, um, forward.11700:13:15,220 --> 00:13:21,760I think when I think about teamwork, I think about the need for us to have cohesive and collaborative teams.11800:13:22,090 --> 00:13:30,160And, when we can enhance teamwork across groups, I think that's when we get our best, most diverse thinking around,11900:13:30,490 --> 00:13:35,950um, problem solving and coming up with innovative solutions to again advance our missions.12000:13:36,430 --> 00:13:40,719And then finally, with regard to resilience, resilience,12100:13:40,720 --> 00:13:49,090having... having the ability to bounce back is so necessary because we as an organization are rapidly changing, rapidly growing.12200:13:49,300 --> 00:13:55,630And that's a good thing. Um, but not everybody has has the capability to keep pace with that.12300:13:55,870 --> 00:14:01,810So being able to provide resources and training that will help managers and employees alike build resilience,12400:14:02,080 --> 00:14:08,470will equip our staff to adapt and thrive in, uh, the changing environment that we're living in.12500:14:09,760 --> 00:14:13,810Well, great answer and very helpful to hear from you.12600:14:13,840 --> 00:14:21,850Well, I'm both very thankful to the role that the EAC provides to me and our leadership team.12700:14:22,210 --> 00:14:25,800Uh, I am in constant exchange really with you, Philesha.12800:14:25,810 --> 00:14:34,629You know that. And with Tilly, I always want to hear about employee issues, to making sure we create the best workplace there can be.12900:14:34,630 --> 00:14:39,550And the EAC has my ear. It's a critical piece of UTMB.13000:14:39,550 --> 00:14:44,210And so I'm really grateful for your work and really everyone's work around the EAC.13100:14:44,230 --> 00:14:48,420Thank you. Thank you for having us.13200:14:49,620 --> 00:14:50,940Thank you for tuning in to The Pulse.13300:14:51,450 --> 00:14:56,670We hope you've gained valuable insights, discover new perspectives, and feel inspired by the stories shared today.13400:14:57,960 --> 00:15:01,170Please join us for future episodes to stay informed and connected.13500:15:01,350 --> 00:15:02,820Right here on The Pulse.
More Information
Philesha Evans brings over a decade of experience as UTMB's EAC advisor, offering a unique perspective on leveraging employee feedback to guide organizational decisions.
Tilly Clark, with her leadership in presidential affairs, highlights the EAC's systemic influence and its commitment to representing diverse staff across UTMB and the UT System institutions.
For more on UTMB's Employee Advisory Council and its initiatives, visit EAC webpage.