Winter break provides a well-deserved respite for students and staff alike and, for some teams, a much-needed restart as you head into a new semester together. After the long break, RAs return with renewed energy but may feel disconnected from their team or uncertain about the semester ahead. Using the time set aside for Winter Training and the first couple of weeks intentionally will help you re-energize your team, refocus on shared goals, and set the tone for a successful semester. Here are some practical strategies to help your team revitalize after winter break.
Team bonding. It always seemed that my staff members went through significant personal changes over the course of winter break and that they came back as a relatively new person. Help your team get reacquainted with a good team-builder or social activity, where they can put their defenses down and create genuine relationships with one another. This is especially important if you have any mid-year hires who are joining the team: this is their first time interacting with this collective and it can be extremely challenging integrating with a team that has significant bonds. Some institutions I have worked at have organized and funded staff socials during these training periods, like going ice skating or bowling. Creating organic opportunities for staff members to (re)connect is an important element when returning from winter break.
Skill spot check. One of the best times to address performance concerns observed from fall semester is during winter training. While there are likely pre-planned sessions and activities from the department, you should also have some in-hall time to review some of the common errors that you observed. I noticed that some members of my staff had been submitting incident reports lacking important detail toward the end of fall semester. After asking more questions, I learned that there were a handful who never had to write them: either their duty partner would do the bulk of the writing or they had never observed policy violations to report. So I took this group of staff members and essentially retrained them on the process to follow. While the best time to provide performance feedback is in the moment, addressing it after a break is your next best option to refocus for spring semester.
Outline key dates and events. One of my favorite parts about being a Hall Director was planning out what the next semester would look like before the previous had ended (having spring semester’s events planned before fall semester was over). While this may seem a bit unhinged, it helped give structure to the staff on what to expect from the jump. On our calendars, they could see when exactly event proposals were due, when bulletin boards needed to be updated, when RA selection and other departmental events were taking place, and so on. I always felt like this was a bit of an unveiling, like how Kevin Feige would reveal the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. All of that work on the front end provided excitement for my staff, providing them some opportunities to look forward to throughout the rest of the semester.
Reignite programming creativity. I always noticed that, by the end of the semester, there were more movie nights and low-key events hosted by RAs. That’s not a knock: it’s reasonable that RAs have lower energy toward the end of the semester and everyone, staff included, are more focused on their class assignments than large-scale programs. Now that there is a bit of a reset for energy, have your staff identify how they are going to put some more effort into programming for their floor at the beginning of the semester to help bring their community together. Devoting time for a brainstorming session (or even a competition amongst your team!) is a great way to help each other collaborate, refine, and build on ideas.
Revisit values and goals. While you likely identified your staff values during fall training in August and identified goals during fall semester, it is important to take time to return and revise these as appropriate. When you created your staff values, your team had only known each other for a week or so. After a semester of interacting, collaborating, and generally getting to know each other, they will certainly have some additions to the values that need to be upheld by one another. The same can be said for goals. It’s likely that staff members were not particularly sure what to expect out of their performance given the unknown variables of the new year and the personalities that would make up their community. Now that they have worked directly with their students from the fall semester, they have a better understanding in terms of what to realistically expect for spring.
Revitalizing your RA team after winter break sets the foundation for a successful and rewarding semester and requires a thoughtful mix of inspiration, support, and strategy. By focusing on connection, innovation, and collaboration, you can ensure your team feels equipped and energized to tackle the rest of the semester. With their renewed enthusiasm and commitment, your RAs will continue to be the cornerstone of a thriving residential community.
