< PreviousFEATURE | TRIBALNETONLINE.COM| tribalnetonline.com20LEADERSHIP | SUCCESSION PLANNINGIn traditional Iroquois culture, women decided tribal leadership succession. For those not familiar with the Iroquois, the Iroquois Confederacy is an organization comprised of six Native American tribes in New York State: the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas and the Senecas. The sixth tribe, the Tuscaroras, joined the Confederacy in the early 1700s so the organization became what is known today as The Six-Nation Iroquois Confederacy. The organizational structure of individual tribes was centered on clans — typically family groups — who were led by Clan Mothers. These women would nominate the next man to be the leader or representative of the clan to the Tribal Council. Women could also cause a leader to be removed from office if they felt he wasn’t leading properly. This process was commonly known as “dehorning” and, no, it’s not what you think. The leader’s hat included deer antlers, and when they left their role as leaders, these “horns” were removed from their hat. The British royal succession started with William I, better known as William the Conqueror. Upon his deathbed, he appointed his second son, William, as his successor, who became William II. (Why the oldest son was passed over is beyond me — maybe he stayed out too late every night and Dad thought he was too irresponsible.) From that point on the British royal succession gets really complicated, especially from the vantage point of this poor ole Native American who is used to asking “Mom” what to do next! Since William I conquered England in 1066 and the Iroquois Confederacy started in the 1500s, we can appreciate how much history there is in behind the concept of leadership succession. Today, most succession plans are really “fill the vacancy” plans. Thinking the best way to protect the organization is to have a leader in waiting, many management teams put someone next to the critical leader in hopes that enough expertise rubs off the incumbent to prepare the understudy. Somehow, they hope that time on the job alone will make a person into a great leader. I think we all know how well that works. There is an old Iroquois saying, “Keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll keep getting the results you’re getting.” Is it time for a change in mindset? Are there any new approaches to succession planning? No — end of article. Of course there is! We can consider the many new approaches to succession planning being implemented in today’s modern and innovative organizations. Just ask Google for succession planning ideas and you will find tons of references to articles, books and other resources on this topic. To help you begin your research, I will summarize the succession planning chapter from the book, The Leadership Pipeline, How to Build the Leadership Powered Company by Charan, Drotter and Noel. First, we have to commit to moving away from “fill the vacancy” planning. That thought process is doing an extreme injustice to today’s leaders and issues. Industries, societies, and the needs of evolving organizations change too quickly to expect that replicating the style and accomplishments of the current leader will prepare us for the future. For example, jobs that didn’t exist a decade ago are being created every day, particularly in the tech industry. As technology continues to develop and new products and services hit the market, new jobs will continue to spring up in industries like augmented reality, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and robotics. We need to develop our succession plans around cultivating leaders who continually learn, challenge and hone new skills in order to keep up with the evolving market. In addition, we must develop a path through the organization that facilitates succession. The path must start at the entry points into the organization with a clearly defined roadmap to the top. It should include a SUCCESSION PLANNING — Get it Done!BYDAN GARROWVPS/THE HARTMANN GROUP,ST REGIS MOHAWK TRIBE BOARD MEMBERDan Garrow is an IT Consultant with over 40 years of IT experience in several industries. As a 20+ year veteran of the hospitality and gaming industry, Dan served as Chief Information Officer in the management teams at Mohegan Sun, Turning Stone Casino, the Choctaw Casinos, and Baha. ABOUT THE AUTHORMove away from "fill the vacancy" planningtribalnetonline.com |21TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018recognition of various levels of leadership that I summarize as managing yourself, managing others, managing managers, and managing functions. Certainly, managing others as a shift supervisor or department head is much different than managing a function like a business and requires a different set of skills and activities. The implication is that an organization must develop training and evaluation systems that reveal how well someone is performing at their current level of skills and activities, and be able to predict how they will perform at the next level of their path. Next, performance is paramount. A leader, at any level, must be performing at a standard acceptable to the organization. Ideally, the leader will reach a level of performance that exceeds the standard — a good indication that they are ready to advance to the next level. In the infamous words of comedian Larry the Cable Guy, “Get ‘er done!” Without results, no organization can afford to keep someone in a leadership position. Performance is the baseline, the minimum, the “buy-in” for good leadership and succession planning. Without solid performance, organizations will fail and everyone involved will suffer. I once worked for an organization that everyone believed had developed a property to 97 percent completion. Unfortunately, the property development was not completed before the owner ran out of money. When the owner fell into bankruptcy, everyone in the organization suffered. In that case, we didn’t get it done. From this summary, we can distill two important concepts. The first step to building a new approach to leadership succession is custom developing the path for your organization with identified levels of leadership related skills and activities. The second step is to develop standards by which everyone’s skill level, efficiency, and effectiveness can be measured. Establishing the procedures by which a task is accomplished and the standards by which the results are measured are time-consuming and some may say monotonous, but necessary for proper organizational success and leadership succession. Just do it! Get it done! Succession planning doesn’t have to be an elusive, confusing objective that never seems to get done. Define your path, develop standards for skills and activities, create measurement standards and communicate all of this to your entire organization. You will then be able to have meaningful discussions with potential leaders about where they are on the path to leadership and what they need to do to succeed. While I hope this article provides a straightforward summary of these steps, I don’t mean to imply that implementing these changes will be simple or easy. On the contrary, there is a lot of research on this topic presenting many different approaches, each with its own challenges. The most important takeaway of all this is the awareness of how crucial proper succession planning can be to your organization, and the motivation to step up and get it done.TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018TRIBALNET CONNECTIONSFOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US TODAY!www.cisecurity.org/ms-isacMS-ISAC is a proud supporter of TribalNet and a Tribal Community resource since its inception in 2004.TRIBALNET CONFERENCE 2017Diana from the Northwest Intertribal Court System, approached our booth at the 2017 TribalNet Conference familiar with our offerings but, not currently a member of the MS-ISAC. Her immediate need was to obtain our CyberSecurity Awareness Toolkits, a series of posters and calendars that stress the importance of online safety. These toolkits are designed by k-12 students across the SLTT community and are a fantastic method for introducing Cyber-security concepts to the general user. The toolkit can augment an existing awareness campaign or be the seed stock to start one. The CyberSecurity Awareness toolkits are provided free of charge with your membership in the MS-ISAC.As a result of this conversation, the Northwest Intertribal Court System signed up for membership in the MS-ISAC. Now the Court System has access to the multitude of services that we provide at no charge to the SLTT community, including the Cyber Toolkit, IP and Domain monitoring, Cyber threat indicator sharing, access to our advisories and much, much more.Please be sure to visit us at this year’s TribalNet Conference to find out how we can help you safeguard your organization!FEATURE | TRIBALNETONLINE.COMTECHNOLOGY | DRP THE HUMAN FACTORWhen talking about Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP) we focus on any event that interrupts your business operations. We have found that system failures brought on by network outages, hardware failures, data corruption and power problems are the number one cause of downtime. Typically, these scenarios are not covered in most disaster recovery plans. What’s interesting is that:• Unplanned downtime can cost an average business anywhere from $1,000 to $20,000 every minute — yes, MINUTE. Even a small casino estimates that they would lose $200,000 a day in revenue in the event of any kind of outage. That is just lost unrecoverable revenue. You also need to consider unexpected replacement costs, compensating players, and paying for staff time. The longer your systems are down, the more money you lose.• Many businesses do not use monitoring tools to alert them to problems with their hardware or data sources.• One-third of all businesses have no disaster recovery plan in place and even those that have a DRP are not likely to regularly review or update it. Most troubling is the fact that 90% of businesses fail after a major disaster when they lack a strong DRP.• Thirty-five percent of businesses lose at least one application after a disaster and a shocking 15% suffer unrecoverable data. It is time to take disaster recovery planning seriously.THE HUMAN FACTORThe human factor component in Disaster Recovery Planning is the focus of this article. Personnel issues are frequently overlooked in DRPs. Without knowledgeable IT and operations staff, even well-documented plans can be challenging to execute. In disaster scenarios that involve public health emergencies or in widespread events that prevent employees from working, plan execution can be impossible unless backup resources are identified or remote operations are feasible. This year, in Southern California a major freeway was closed for over two weeks due to the mudslides caused by the largest fire in California history. Not only were businesses destroyed, but employees could not get to their jobs. It was estimated that 12,000 commuters per day were prevented from getting to work. Eight weeks later, businesses were still struggling with issues from this event. Unfortunately, most businesses don’t plan for these emergencies. WHEN BUILDING A STRONG DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN, THE HUMAN FACTOR IS OFTEN IGNOREDTo be more effective when creating your DRPs, be sure to include the following:• Vulnerability Analysis: Include issues in your analysis that affect people such as pandemics, travel problems and mass resignations.• Continuity Phase: Be realistic about manual processing capabilities, especially if key personnel are not able or willing to work. Documentation should be comprehensive and detailed to reduce the risk of key IT personnel being unavailable.• Disaster Plan Activation: Managers frequently underestimate risks or the seriousness of the current situation, delaying the disaster response. It is important to define objective criteria for declaring a disaster and to assign roles and responsibilities with backups.• Roles and Responsibilities: Identify all participants necessary to initiate and execute the DRP, including internal and vendor resources. Backup resources must also be identified in case the primaries are not available. Engaging external resources to monitor systems can be a cost-effective way to prevent outages, especially in a 24/7 business in which hiring, training and keeping staff is cost-prohibitive.• Processes and Checklists: As most problems arise from hardware and network failure, it is essential to maintain comprehensive processes and detailed checklists in order to identify any warnings that critical hardware systems might provide. Monitoring tools are available and should be used when needed, but having these tools is only part of the solution. Staff must be trained and held accountable to ensure any alerts or alarms are addressed. We have seen far too many outages occur because staff either ignored alarms or did not know what to do when they saw the amber warning lights.• Communication Plans: Identify all internal and external stakeholders, vendors and customers, and define methods of communication for each group. For example, when payments to vendors may be delayed, vendors should be apprised of the problem. Some vendors will be DRP primary or backup participants. Customers who are VIP players or who have hotel reservations should be informed, and employees must be told whether or where to report for duty. It is helpful to have prepared emails and letters that can go out as soon as a problem occurs. In the event that email servers are down — which is a likely occurrence — develop a script to make calls to the most important stakeholders.• Testing, Training and Awareness: Communicate the DRP and conduct training for all participants and affected users. It is also helpful to conduct drills to validate that staff is ready to perform in the event of an emergency. RECOVERY PHASEAfter the event, it is time to restore operations. The recovery phase permanently restores operations to normal status. A strong DRP includes processes for any site repair, steps to return to normal operations and post-recovery activities. This phase requires extensive processes and guidelines outlining each step necessary to move forward. Developing checklists for staff to follow can be immensely helpful to the success of the recovery phase. Once again, training, drills and practice sessions are critical to supporting your staff’s ability to respond in disaster recovery.*Statistics from this article are gathered by the author from multiple sources for use under Setanta Consulting. For more information on findings, statements and stats contact Carrie West at carrie.west@setanta-inc.com Disaster Recovery PlanningThe Human Factor The Human FactorBYCARRIE WEST PRACTICE DIRECTOR AT SETANTA INC.Carrie West is the Practice Director at Setanta Inc., a strategic technology consulting firm that provides IT strategy, management, and support services. Setanta is now partnered with Navajo Nations’ Nova Corporation and Dine Development Corporations for all your IT needs. You can reach Carrie at carrie.west@setanta-inc.com.ABOUT THE AUTHOR| tribalnetonline.com22tribalnetonline.com |23TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | FALL 2017TRIBALNET MAGAZINE FALL 2017 | In November 2017, Matthew Duchesne joined the FCC as the Chief of ONAP. Mr. Duchesne came from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, where he served as program manager for Native American and International Affairs. Mr. Duchesne has extensive experience working with tribal nations, both at the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Department of Energy.MOBILITY FUND PHASE II AUCTION — CHALLENGE PROCESSLast year, the FCC adopted rules governing a Mobility Fund Phase II (MF-II) reverse auction to award universal service support for mobile wireless providers. The Commission established a budget of $4.53 billion over ten years to provide ongoing support for the provision of service in areas that, absent subsidies, lack adequate mobile voice and broadband coverage. The reverse auction includes approximately $340 million tribal reserve fund to advance deployment of 4G LTE mobile voice and broadband service on tribal lands.Geographic areas lacking unsubsidized, qualified 4G LTE service have been initially deemed eligible areas for MF-II support; those with such service have been deemed initially ineligible. On February 27, the FCC released a map showing areas across the United States presumed eligible to receive support for deployment of 4G LTE service. This map was based on coverage maps provided by service providers. The FCC is providing interested parties an opportunity to challenge initial determinations that an area is ineligible for MF-II support. Through this challenge process, state, local or tribal government entities can submit evidence to correct the map if they believe an area is incorrectly deemed ineligible. Other tribal entities must seek a waiver from the Commission to do so. The 150-day challenge window opened March 29, 2018 and closes on August 27, 2018.FOR MORE INFORMATION:• Mobility Fund II Portal Access Request form at: www.fcc.gov/MF2-Challenge-Portal/form• MF II webpage, with up-to-date documents, forms and data at: https://www.fcc.gov/mobility-fund-phase-2• Map of areas presumptively eligible for MF-II support at: www.fcc.gov/mobility-fund-phase-2TRIBAL ENGAGEMENT OBLIGATIONUnder current Commission rules, all eligible telecommunications carriers providing or contemplating providing service on tribal lands and receiving high-cost funds must commit to annually engaging in meaningful dialogue with tribal governments concerning deployment and improvement of communications services on tribal lands. Service providers must file Tribal Engagement Obligation reports with the Commission, tribal governments, state governments and the Universal Service Administrative Company by July 1 of each year. The Commission seeks information regarding the experiences that tribal governments have had with carriers under these rules. Responses can be directed to Janet Sievert at janet.sievert@fcc.gov or 202-418-1362.FOR MORE INFORMATION:• USF/ICC Transformation Order at: www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-releases-connect-america-fund-order-reforms-usficc-broadband• Further Guidance on Tribal Engagement Obligation Public Notice at: www.fcc.gov/document/onap-wtb-and-wcb-issue-further-guidance-tribal-engagementTribal LandsConnectivityAGENCY UPDATE: FCCOffice of Native Affairs and Policy (ONAP) works across the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and in coordination with the Chairman and the Commissioners’ Offices to develop policies addressing the availability of communications services on tribal lands nationwide. ONAP is the official FCC contact for these activities.AGENCY UPDATE | FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSIONTHE FCC’S OFFICE OF NATIVE AFFAIRS & POLICYMATTHEW DUCHESNE Chief202-418-3629 Matthew.duchesne@fcc.gov SAYURI RAJAPAKSE Senior Legal Advisor202-418-2579 sayuri.rajapakse@fcc.gov JANET SIEVERT Legal Advisor202-418-1362 janet.sievert@fcc.gov CAROLYN CONYERS Program Advisor202-418-2002 carolyn.conyers@fcc.govFEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC) | AGENCY UPDATEconnections| tribalnetonline.com24BROADBAND | FUNDINGBYFOREST JAMES (CH’EE-TAA-GHEE-NE)CEO, ENERTRIBEBYRON FLAVINDIRECTOR OF GRANT SERVICES, ENERTRIBEWith an entrepreneurial spirit and great interpersonal communication skills Forest brings a grass roots approach to solving the digital and economic divide found in North America for both native and non-native rural communities. Forest is a Tolowa tribal citizen and has assisted dozens of tribes accomplish their economic development and Broadband needs.ABOUT THE AUTHORRon is an Apache native and the Director of EnerTribe’s grant services. Ron is a grant specialist with a proven track record (raised over $250 million over the last ten years) of developing and writing successfully-funded competitive grant proposals. Ron is a published author on the topic of grants and has spent time as a subject matter expert working for the federal and state funding agencies as a grant reviewer.ABOUT THE AUTHORDespite some progress in bridging the digital divide, the availability of broadband Internet across Indian Country is woefully inadequate. According to some of the latest FCC statistics, about 63% of residents on tribal lands lack access to fixed broadband speeds of at least 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload. While nationwide, just 17% of Americans as a whole lack such access. According to the 2015 Broadband Progress Report prepared by the FCC, 85% of residents at rural tribes lack access to broadband all together. Tribes often shoulder the responsibility of bridging the digital divide. A growing number of tribes are establishing their own tribally-owned telecom companies in order to deploy, deliver and manage high-speed broadband networks without the help of traditional telecom companies. WHEN TRIBES CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY OF DELIVERING BROADBAND, A FEW KEY QUESTIONS MAY ARISE:• HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?• HOW WILL WE PAY FOR IT?• WHICH DEPARTMENT WILL MANAGE THE DEPLOYMENT?• WHICH DEPARTMENT WILL MANAGE OPERATIONS AFTER DEPLOYMENT?• HOW MUCH IS IT GOING TO COST TO MAINTAIN THE NETWORK? To address these questions, the level of debate and planning among tribes ranges from minimal to extensive. Planning factors may include; the number of tribal households and community anchor institutions, rurality, topography, internal experience, resource availability and willingness of people to champion the project and see it through from start to finish and beyond. Determining the cost to deploy and operate a tribal broadband network requires a fairly high level of technical knowledge. Understandably, many tribes lack the necessary internal technical expertise to accurately cost-out deployment and operation of the network. To help them develop accurate cost estimates, tribes often consult skilled outside experts who have experience in deploying and maintaining tribal broadband networks. In terms of funding a private broadband network, the options vary. Some tribes are fortunate enough to have internal budgets dedicated to funding such projects, while others have to look to federal and state grants for funding. BELOW ARE TWO PLANNING SCENARIOS COMMONLY SEEN AMONG TRIBES: LONG-TERM PLANNING APPROACHIn this scenario, planning begins with the tribe’s Economic Development Department. Often, the tribe already has a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) in place. In other cases, they bring in an outside expert to develop the CEDS. In both cases, the CEDS usually documents the importance of bringing high-speed broadband to the reservation as a means to drive economic development and improve quality of life across sectors, often including healthcare, education, and public service delivery. A well-developed CEDS should also include a broadband feasibility study, and even better, a completed business plan. The comprehensive CEDS clearly shows the economic and social return on investment that the broadband network will offer. One benefit of this approach is that it offers the tribe access to a range of funding options beyond federal and state grants, including public-private funding instruments, low- or zero-interest loans, and more. SHORT-TERM PLANNING APPROACHIn this scenario, the tribe’s IT Department typically takes the lead — sometimes by choice and sometimes by default. Firms such as EnerTribe are often called in to assist in all stages of the process, from Funding BroadbandA growing number of tribes are establishing their own tribally-owned telecom companies in order to deploy, deliver and manage high-speed broadband networks.tribalnetonline.com |25EnerTribe is a 100% native and women owned consulting firm specializing in tribal government, with a focus on Economic Development, Communications, Cultural, Environmental, Repatriation & Grant Services. We serve tribal govt., tribal enterprise, government agencies, carriers. FOR TRIBES - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BROADBAND•Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS) •Grant Funding & Management •Feasibility & Market Studies •Business Plans TRIBES - COMMUNICATIONS & BROADBAND•Technology master planning •Grant funding & management •Project management •Environmental permitting COMPANIES & GOVERNMENT AGENCIES• Program planning • Vertical formation & training • Project management •Cultural Intermediary Services (between tribes and agencies or companies) •Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) under NEPA •Management of the NHPA-Criterion Section 106 process (Cultural Resource Management "Setting the Foundation" Site forms, maps etc.) •NAGPRA Process (STOP policy) and International Discussions on Repatriations •Development and Enforcement of Tribal Policy for Sacred Sites and cultural sensitivity awareness trainings. •Development and Enforcement of Cell Tower (antennas, collocation, and raw land deals)URl:www.EnerTribe.com Email: info@enertribe.com Phone: 971.319.3372 Direct: 541.613.3299design to funding, deployment and even operation. In general, there are fewer funding options available to support a high-speed tribal broadband network when the short-term planning approach is used. Networks deployed with this approach tend to be more costly and inherently, they carry a higher risk because of the limited planning period. As a result, the likelihood of success of this kind of plan can be lower than that of a long-term plan, although conducting even a mini feasibility study can improve a tribe’s chances of project completion and success. WITH SOME EFFORT, TRIBES CAN ACHIEVE THEIR BROADBAND GOALS USING EITHER THE LONG-TERM OR THE SHORT-TERM PLANNING APPROACH Below are examples of three tribally-deployed broadband networks that EnerTribe assisted in developing and deploying.TRIBE A: This northern California tribe used a hybrid planning approach when developing an in-house broadband network. They engaged in preliminary planning but then seized the opportunity to apply for funding through the USDA Community Connect program. EnerTribe worked with them to help them write a successful funding application for USDA Community Connect, and later assisted in the development of a successful funding proposal through the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF). The network was successfully deployed and is now being expanded.TRIBE B: This tribe in the northwest region, engaged in a fairly high level of planning before seeking funding for their broadband network. EnerTribe assisted them in securing funding through the USDA Community Connect program and today the tribe continues to expand its broadband infrastructure.TRIBE C: This tribe in the Dakotas engaged in an even higher level of planning and used the Economic Development-led approach to secure funding for their broadband network. There are, of course, many factors that will impact how a tribe approaches the development of a tribal broadband network. Regardless of the approach, securing long-term Tribal Council support is critical to success. Garnering this support can be a challenge, depending on the makeup of the Council and the frequency of elections. Whatever step your tribe is on in terms of broadband planning, the time to take action is now — particularly given the constantly changing funding landscape that supports broadband deployment and operation. And no matter what, proper planning can boost the number of funding options available to your tribe, while also increasing your likelihood of success.TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018PLANNING A COMMUNITY BROADBAND ROADMAP: A TOOLKIT FOR LOCAL AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTSThis toolkit provides advice on developing a Community Broadband Roadmap for building broadband networks, enhancing public computer centers, expanding broadband to unserved areas, encouraging public-private partnerships and promoting broadband connectivity to homes, businesses and institutions. The goal of this publication is to help communities expand broadband access locally to create jobs, improve educational opportunities, promote economic development, spur private investment and facilitate the delivery of essential social services to their citizens. THE POWER OF BROADBAND PARTNERSHIP: A TOOLKIT FOR LOCAL AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS This toolkit provides an overview of common broadband partnership models and identifies several factors that communities should consider when developing a successful partnership. The goal of this toolkit is to equip communities with the know-how to implement their broadband projects with partners who can provide resources and expertise. Choosing the right partner for this kind of project will ensure success and complement the Planning a Community Broadband Roadmap Toolkit. USING PARTNERSHIPS TO POWER A SMART CITY: A TOOLKIT FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES This toolkit is for government officials, urban planners, citizen groups, and others who want to implement successful smart cities projects. Drawing from lessons learned, it provides a framework for getting the most out of public-private partnerships, including what to look for in a partner, how to assess each partner’s contribution, and guidance on how to structure the most fruitful partnership agreements. IMPLEMENTING A BROADBAND NETWORK VISION: A TOOLKIT FOR LOCAL AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS This toolkit builds on NTIA’s previous guidance on plotting a broadband roadmap and examines how that work can inform a broadband implementation strategy. It includes a nine-step process that outlines how to implement broadband networks from conception to operation. SUSTAINING BROADBAND NETWORKS: A TOOLKIT FOR LOCAL AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTSThis toolkit presents an action plan to help maintain and sustain a broadband network. It contains best practices and lessons learned from broadband programs. This is meant to help both local governments who enter into public-private partnerships and for ISPs to ensure that those networks are sustainable.NTIA Shares Local and Tribal Government ToolkitsAGENCY UPDATE: NTIA AGENCY UPDATE | NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION (NTIA)FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ACCESSING LOCAL AND GOVERNMENT TRIBAL TOOLKITS CONTACT:JEAN RICE Senior Program Specialist for Broadband 202-482-2614JRice@ntia.doc.govwww.ntia.doc.gov/broadbandusaBroadband USAFederal Smart Grid Task ForceNITRD Smart Cities & Comm Task ForceNational Telecommunications and Information AdministrationUnited States Department of Commercetool kit| tribalnetonline.com26tribalnetonline.com |27| tribalnetonline.com28| tribalnetonline.com28BYCHARLES SCHARNAGLECIO, MOHEGAN TRIBE OF INDIANS & DIRECTOR OF TRIBALWISECharles Scharnagle is the CIO for the tribal government of the Mohegan Indians of Connecticut based in Uncasville, CT, which serves the interests of tribal members throughout the U.S. Chuck has spent the past 30 years working with Fortune 500 companies like Black & Decker, Fruit of the Loom, Pegasystems and International Power America.ABOUT THE AUTHORYou sit in the corner office, report to the CEO and have the title you have always wanted — Vice President of IT or CIO — but is your team content, or looking for opportunities elsewhere? You might work in a big city that yields extensive job opportunities, or perhaps your office is located in a remote area that is inconvenient for commuters. Either way, you could face the same dilemma: how do you keep your talent?During my 37-year career, I have observed managers in a variety of industries and environments. Over time I have learned that there is no right answer to the question of how to keep employees happy and content. The economy is heating up and many companies are looking to invest in the United States, causing talent to become scarcer. It might be time for you to review your retention strategy. I have always believed that most people want to go to work, enjoy their job and then go home to enjoy both the spoils of their labor and their families. You play a key role in how much your employees make, what work they perform and what kind of office environment they can look forward to each morning. Most importantly, you affect their lives five days a week for eight to ten hours per day. What actions can you take to make sure your employees want to remain part of your tribal entity? To answer this question, it is important to take into account the history and development of the IT Department, which is traditionally very different from other branches of a company. Information Technology employees have been supporting companies and keeping them running since the 1950’s. I believe that as IT workers, we are the glue that holds most businesses together. We know all the systems better than the other departments, and our colleagues turn to us when they need problems solved quickly and efficiently. In order to maintain a healthy, functional IT department, it is essential to reward IT employees in unique and potentially unconventional ways. Over the years, I have tried various strategies to retain employees and improve employee morale. One tradition I started years ago was to take my help desk members out on their birthday for lunch. My manager supported the idea and recognized it as an opportunity to annually celebrate these employees and their dedication to the company. This practice worked well to build morale until my manager left. The new manager instructed me to stop the birthday tradition because other managers in the company did not do anything similar. That was 25 years ago, and since then I have learned that just because another manager does not do something, it is no reason to avoid doing it. Today, there are things I do for my team that I know are not done by most other managers. I believe it is my job to create opportunities to acknowledge my employees, even if that means I do things a little differently from the rest of the organization. I am constantly trying to come up with new, innovative ways to thank my team and let them know they are appreciated — and it pays off. An experience that has been well-received by employees is a quarterly “movie day,” for which I pick an appropriately rated WHAT ACTIONS CAN YOU TAKE TO MAKE SURE YOUR EMPLOYEES WANT TO REMAIN PART OF YOUR TRIBAL ENTITY?Retaining EmployeesMANAGEMENT | RETENTION STRATEGIEStribalnetonline.com |29tribalnetonline.com |29TRIBALNET MAGAZINE | SPRING 2018business-themed movie for everyone to watch during work hours. I invite the team for an 11:30 a.m. showing where I supply lunch and we all watch the movie together. They get a break in the middle of the week and I get happier employees who feel appreciated. In addition, the movies can double as a teaching tool. One of the first movies I showed to my team was “12 Angry Men.” This movie includes particularly good examples of how to effectively attack and resolve issues: focus on facts and not emotion; talk things through; don’t be in a rush; the most educated person in the room is not always right. My team greatly benefited from seeing these ideas played out on screen. Not only was it fun, but it was an effective training tool. Another example of a great way to reward employees is a public recognition of their work. Every quarter we give an “impact award” to the employee who has had the biggest impact on the company over the past three months. The managers choose whom to honor and pass a small trophy to the deserving team member along with a gift certificate. While rewarding individuals for their hard work and dedication does a lot to boost morale, group activities are a great way to build camaraderie among your employees. A team-oriented activity that everyone enjoys is our yearly outing. In the past, we have gone to museums, castles, and on fishing trips, and always out for food with each activity. We buy shirts and jackets for employees and we have even offered CPR training — something that is quick, free and useful for all of us. Regardless of the activity, we try our best to demonstrate appreciation for our employees while we engage in these team-building events. There are countless ways you can acknowledge the dedication of your team, but perhaps the most important thing you can do to retain employees and keep up morale is to show a willingness to invest in them and help them grow. While continuous training and professional development are vital to success, they are often the first things on the cutting board when management is looking for places to tighten the budget. Unfortunately, in IT this can be deadly. Because the skills and tools that IT employees require to succeed change so rapidly, consistent training is an absolute must. At a company I used to work for I organized trainings for my team once a week. On training days, my employees left work early to go to a class, which the organization paid for. It was a win for both management and employees, as we each sacrificed for the good of the other. Training cannot be compromised for IT employees. If budgets are small, get creative. Online training, manuals and webinars, among many other options, all provide ways to secure training for your team while managing the budget. My recommendation for retaining employees is fairly simple and straightforward: think outside the box, let your team have fun and make sure they are improving their resumes. Employees notice the small things and appreciate the effort. If they really like the organization, they will put their talents to use helping your team overcome the obstacles of tomorrow. Next >