UITS Navigators: Cultivating Partnerships for Everyone

Many facets of University Information Technology Services (UITS) make it a dynamic and exciting workplace. Some layers of the organization are well-known, while others are less known. We often hear about system administrators, network administrators, IT support specialists, software developers and business analysts are just a few.

One UITS role that some may not know about is the Navigator.

The University’s IT Ambassadors

Navigators are ambassadors that “enable campus users to fully engage with UITS services.” Says Tim Nitz, Assistant Director of Campus IT Partnerships. The Navigator's name comes from their exceptional ability to “work with UA IT and business staff, navigating them through the large UITS organization and service offerings to help them succeed in their roles.” Navigators also “help improve the UITS organization by actively soliciting feedback on UITS services from campus users. They provide that feedback directly to UITS service owners, building a customer-centric service model.” Tim recites from the Campus IT Partnerships (CITP) department mission statement. 

Five Navigators began in their role before the March 4 IT centralization. They coordinate their support across all UITS departments and 76 University of Arizona departments and colleges. Because they are assigned to specific units, they have developed solid working relationships with IT professionals and members of those units. They have also cultivated relationships with the various service owners in UITS, taking their partnering full circle.  

The UITS Navigators are Veronica Johnson, Tyson Keith, Stella Le, Seth Pederson, and Asya Roberts.

Navigator Stella Le sees her interactions with her assigned units as opportunities to learn something new from them. “Being a part of their efforts is just a privilege for me. We are not only helping them with support, but we also have an opportunity to reach into corners of the university one might not otherwise have been able to do.”

Of her role, Stella excitedly exclaims, “I love it. It's great because I feel like I'm learning all these different things.” She continues to explain that they sometimes hear common things across partner units. “Someone is doing something that someone else is trying to figure out. And it's fun when you can make those connections so they can learn from each other.”

“Being a Navigator is about building the courage just to introduce myself and tell them what I have to offer and then extend an invitation to tell me what they want.” Stella often asks her campus partners if they would like to meet with her regularly. “We can talk about whatever's on your mind, like what's happening in your department. What are you doing in your business right now that you might need help with.”  She also helps communicate what processes are happening in central UITS to keep them informed and updated.

Some of the Navigators’ campus partners have become part of the move into UITS. Some partners are still with their college because they're more toward instructional design or the academic side of technology, or their skills are specific to a unique type of technology, such as television or radio broadcast technologies.

For those who did not shift into UITS, Stella says, “They want to understand what's going on with the restructuring of IT. I try to keep that transparency with them so they're still in the loop. They're not directly part of UITS, but they still want to know about our roadmap or what discussions are being had. They can still bring things to me. So, it's not like you're in or you're out.”

The standard set by the Navigators is about gaining and maintaining the trusted relationships that were built well before the March 4 centralization of IT positions.

Asya Roberts entered the Navigator role from a non-IT position in the Provost’s office. Her work there gave her a solid knowledge of organizational structure, change management and relationships with people across all levels of the university. As a Navigator, she spent considerable time improving her understanding of the technology and all the acronyms we use. She feels she continues to learn two years later.

Speaking of her experience as a Navigator, Asya tells of how it has been a learning experience. “But it also has been a very joyful experience. During a time when the university is undergoing change, it’s nice to be able to get to know people and their roles. How they are changing, and how we can help them and support what they do. That really brings me the most joy.” She goes on to explain that it isn’t just about IT staff that joined UITS from campus locations, but it’s also the end-users: faculty, students, and administrators she partners with.

Partnerships Improve Services

Both Navigators agree it’s this collaboration to bring understanding to complex technology situations that have given their partnership a level of trust that the relationship between them is solid and results in a more transparent service environment. Asya explains, “The better we build our relationships, the better our services become.”

UITS service owners recognize this unique bridging of communications as beneficial to them, too. The Navigators often connect with service owners who come directly to them to ask what feedback they are getting from their partners and what enhancements they can add to make their services even more client-friendly.

Tim explains, “I always say that trust is our currency. We gain trust, and that trust then helps us to do our jobs. Without that trust, we have no reason to exist here. So, part of that trust building is that we listen to what people are saying, what they need that they aren't getting--this gap between their needs and what's being delivered. We take that back to the service owners and work together to improve the services.”

UITS Navigators are reliable sources of information that college and department partners know to contact in this big world of information technology. They are one constant in an industry that is always changing. Their exceptional people skills allow them to understand the complexities of technology while serving those who may not understand the tech but need to use it. In this time of change, Navigators continue to be trusted resources who will find the right person to give the answer if they don't already have the answer.