Piloting personas and journey maps

By Josh Adler, Associate Director, Digital Engagement 

How can we think about programming that will resonate? Is it worth inviting alumni who didn’t graduate from our faculties to our events? Can we better align an ask to acquire new donors? Can we increase response and proposal acceptance rates?

As we embark on piloting our alumni personas and journey maps, these are just some of the questions that teams across Advancement have asked. Marketing, Communications, and Donor Relations (MCDR) is partnering with these teams to test and discover how personas can help us achieve our ultimate goal – knowing what our alumni care about. When that happens, we not only add value, but create a win-win scenario.

MCDR is now designing and developing pilot programs to put these personas and journey maps to use. Part of that design is to set up ways to measure and track results. We will then compile the pilot details, results, learnings, and recommendations and share those across Advancement to showcase ideas that you can use every day. 

A full rollout and implementation of personas and journey maps will then become available for use across Advancement as some of the newest tools that can provide value to the work you do.

Here is a breakdown of the pilot programs so far:

Branches: Toronto alumni - How can we segment our largest alumni market into more meaningful groups?

Events: Opening up/cross-promoting event invites beyond what we do now. Who should we invite to a faculty event beyond that faculty's alumni, based on what they care about in their lives now?

Annual Giving: Better aligning asks to the individual (not necessarily based on faculty from which they graduated).

Development: Optimizing the ways fundraisers reach out to prospects and write their proposals.

Still not sure what our alumni persona and user journey mapping work is all about, or just want a refresher? Email Josh to get added to an information session. 

All-staff gathering this December 

Insights from Advancement’s hybrid work pilot have demonstrated how important opportunities are for occasional in-person gathering. 

To strike a balance between remote and in-person gathering, we will have all-staff in-person gatherings twice a year. In-person attendance is required for all managers, and all other staff are strongly encouraged to return to campus to be with colleagues. 

For the all-staff gathering this December, you can plan your trip to Queen’s using the Hybrid Travel and Expense Reimbursement Guidelines (Find the guidelines here: I:\ADV Common\Policies and Procedures\Hybrid Travel and Expense Reimbursement Guidelines - 06 03 2022.pdf)

Because the focus of these gatherings is to be together, options for remote access will be limited to existing digital platforms and equipment used for day-to-day operations (such as Microsoft Teams). Remote options for social or team-building activities may not be available.

As we continue to promote a remote-first workplace, we hope staff will take advantage of the opportunities these in-person gatherings present to connect with your colleagues, our campus, and our broader Queen’s community. 

Call for staff volunteers at Homecoming 2022

As you may know, Queen's Homecoming returns to an in-person event this year, taking place Friday, Oct. 28, to Sunday, Oct. 30. With many exciting events being planned by many of our campus groups, it's sure to be a memorable opportunity to unite, at last, with fellow alumni, faculty, students, and staff. 

Homecoming’s success relies heavily on the dedication of staff volunteers who make events run smoothly, ensuring a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere for all who attend. We have several volunteer roles available, from Meet & Greet Check-In Lead to Fall Harvest Alumni Gathering Assistant. Please read over the role descriptions and consider becoming a volunteer.

Prior to signing up for a shift, please connect with your manager about overtime/lieu time options for shifts outside of normal business hours. Volunteers will receive a small token of appreciation for their (much-appreciated) efforts, as well as their contribution to creating an inclusive and positive Homecoming experience for alumni and guests.

The deadline to sign-up is Monday, Oct. 3. Please feel free to share the opportunity with fellow Queen's colleagues, outside of Advancement. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Volunteer Coordinator, Jess Koehn.

Jobs with Advancement

We need your recruitment help. Know great talent that would be a good addition to our team? If so, please promote the vacancies below with your networks and let’s find some amazing new team members.

Applications (including a cover letter and résumé) must be submitted through CareerQ. For additional information on this posting, please reach out to either Carla Ferreira Rodrigues or the hiring manager for the position you are interested in.