Biggest Challenges Faced by an Industry Relations Manager at UCLA
Stella's biggest challenge as Industry Relations Manager at UCLA is navigating unintentional silos within the large organization, even within their own department. The solution, according to Stella, involves accepting that these silos cannot be entirely eliminated, but focusing on "simple and non-time consuming ways to share information," rather than constant communication which can lead to role confusion and conflict with unionized positions.
Communication, Teamwork, Problem-Solving, Overcoming Challenges, Workplace Challenges
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Stella Petrosyan
Industry Relations Manager
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
University of California, Riverside 2019
UCLA Anderson
Economics
Education
Strategic Management and Executive
Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Immigrant, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Managing silos in large organizations is a significant challenge, requiring consistent effort in communication and information sharing.
2. Effective strategies to overcome siloed work environments include finding simple ways to share important information and accepting that complete elimination of silos is unrealistic.
3. Cross-training and integrating roles can improve efficiency and workflow, despite potential constraints imposed by job descriptions and union regulations in certain organizational structures
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
When you work in a large organization like UCLA, which is the fifth-largest employer in California with 44,000 employees, you're definitely exposed to silos. These are unintentional silos. Even within our own department, we have different units like the industry relations team, the career education team, and the operations team.
I've had the advantage of working in both the operations and industry relations teams, and as an executive assistant, I've seen how these units integrate and work together. It's really important for them to communicate because they all need each other to function and create one ecosystem.
The fact that these silos are unintentional makes them challenging. We spend a lot of time and effort trying to integrate everyone, for example, through team meetings where we can communicate. However, throughout the year, things can still get missed.
To help conquer this challenge, we need to accept that we can never completely diminish these silos. This applies to the entire department. Some things we can do are find simple, non-time-consuming ways to share important information.
Many people think that to diminish silos, we must always be in constant communication and share every single thing we're doing. But at the end of the day, this can make assigned roles feel like we're doing someone else's work. This is especially true when cross-training, where it can feel like you're doing a role you weren't assigned.
The university's structure, particularly with union positions, means you're often not allowed to do anything outside your job description, which can be difficult. Essentially, accepting this and finding effective ways to integrate and cross-train can make your role and daily work much easier. These are ways to help resolve those challenges.