OREM, Utah — The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) announced today that it will present the People & Culture Division at Utah Valley University (UVU) with its 2023 Excellence & Innovation Award for Leadership Development and Diversity at the association’s annual conference Nov. 4-7 in Chicago.

UVU’s People & Culture will receive the national award in recognition of its Leadership Competency Experience program that teaches hiring committees how to effectively hire new supervisors with the right skills and provides ongoing leadership training for all the individuals involved.

“It is truly gratifying to have a large organization like AASCU honor the work that we have done,” said Marilyn Meyer, vice president of People & Culture at UVU. “This program reinforces our core values of exceptional care, exceptional accountability, and exceptional results. We want all our employees to have the best experience possible while working at the university.”

UVU leaders determined the need for the program when research showed that employees were leaving because of the need for improved communication with their supervisors. After detailed research, planning, and strategizing, the committee came up with a new, streamlined process based on hiring the right people, communicating clear expectations during onboarding, providing leadership resources through training, and allowing two-way communication between supervisors and employees.

Since its inception two years ago, UVU leaders at all levels who have received the certification training have seen an average 10% positive increase in their supervisor reviews. They have also seen a 17% decrease in employees leaving because of conflicts with supervisors.

“The team of people who put this program together are exceptional,” said Meyer. “This program has helped to solve a problem faced by organizations across the world. We hope our program might be a model for other institutions to help solve some of the problems they face.”