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PEER ADVISORS AND MANAGERS AVAILABLE TO EXPLAIN NEW UNIVERSITY STAFF PLAN-UVA TODAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

Posted: Wednesday October 1, 2008

Peer Advisers and Managers Available to Explain New University Staff Plan

September 30, 2008 — With Wednesday’s kickoff of the open enrollment period for eligible University of Virginia employees to change to “University staff” status, a Grounds-wide network of people will be available to answer questions about the new human resources restructuring plan, which goes into effect Jan. 1.

For the next three months, eligible employees — current classified employees and administrative and professional faculty hired before July 1, 2006 — will have the choice of remaining in their current employment category or switching to University staff status.

Most non-teaching staff members hired on or after July 1, 2006, were automatically assigned University staff status.

No one will be forced to change, but it is important for everyone to make an informed decision, said Susan Carkeek, U.Va. vice president and chief human resources officer. By law, the University must offer open enrollment at least every two years.

Register for orientation and training classes on the new University staff plan using Employee Self Service.
Search for these sessions using “HR System.”

For logging in to the Integrated System or instructions on how to register, click here, call 434-243-4847, or send an e-mail to training@virginia.edu.

Options for registering at U.Va.-Wise will be coming soon.
Those who are not eligible to switch include teaching and research faculty, administrative and professional faculty who have academic roles, professional research staff, student workers, graduate teaching assistants and graduate assistants, foundation employees and Medical Center employees.

In the first week of October, Human Resources will mail to eligible employees a customized, side-by-side comparison of their current status (classified staff or administrative and professional faculty) and what would happen if they changed to University staff.

Human Resources staff, as well as supervisors and managers across Grounds, are going through orientation on the new plan so they can be “knowledgeable, trusted, impartial advisers,” Bryan Garey, director of employee development, said.

Also being trained is a network of peer advisers, who will bring information about the new system back to their colleagues around Grounds.

Almost 50 orientation sessions are scheduled at various times and locations across Grounds — and also at U.Va.‘s College at Wise — to prepare a large force of advisers and give them an opportunity to ask questions in a small-group setting and discuss the responsibilities of and benefits to employees, supervisors and the University. Online training modules are also being posted on University Human Resources’ “HR Restructuring” Web site (www.hrs.virginia.edu/restructuring/).

The three-hour sessions provide an orientation to the new system and its key components, to be followed by more comprehensive “how-to” training later this fall. Garey strongly recommended that all supervisors and managers attend an orientation session.

As a resource person for employees who are contemplating changing their employment status, advisers or managers will undoubtedly be asked, “What should I do?” and “What are you going to do?” Garey said.

He stressed that managers and advisers should tell employees that they must make the decision for themselves. The adviser’s role is to maintain impartiality and confidentiality and guide employees to the resources they need to assess their individual situations and make the decision.

The new University staff plan is part of U.Va.‘s restructuring process, set in motion in 2005 when the General Assembly granted greater operational autonomy to a handful of Virginia’s public universities.

Restructuring in human resources will mean that some employee policies will stay the same and some new ones will be implemented. Some will affect all employees, and some will pertain only to University staff.

Participants in the training sessions cover a short background on human resources restructuring, the new plan’s key areas and many of its specific features, along with related employee policies.

“We want you to understand the plan and have a strong foundation to be a resource,” Garey told 17 attendees at one of the first training sessions. The University staff plan aims to be “more responsive to employee needs, to institutional needs and to the marketplace.”

“It is designed to keep what makes the University a desirable and stable employer, while developing policies, processes and programs that retain, develop and competitively compensate the best workforce,” he said.

Three broad categories of employees will make up University staff. They include both employees who are “exempt,” those whose jobs not subject to minimum wage, overtime and time-keeping requirements of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act; and “non-exempt” — those who are subject to the act:

• Operational and administrative staff (non-exempt) will include classified staff who become University staff and those who are already University staff and non-exempt.

• Managerial and professional staff (exempt) will consist of exempt classified staff and administrative and professional faculty who elect to become University staff, as well as current University staff who are exempt.

• Executive and senior administrative staff (exempt) will comprise vice presidents and senior administrators of the University who will continue to hold term appointments.

Garey described three interrelated sections of the new plan — career development, performance management and compensation — that will be formalized and rolled out over the 2009 calendar year.

Performance management and career development

Human Resources will implement a new performance planning and evaluation process as part of the University staff plan; it will also apply to classified staff and will be suggested for administrative and professional faculty.

Many of the career development components also will be offered to everyone, regardless of whether they switch to University staff status.

The new process encourages supervisors to actively support and discuss with employees an individual “Career Development Action Plan,” including goals and needs and ways of tracking progress. These plans may be based on the 75 new “career path guides” that define the essential knowledge, skills, technical and behavioral competencies, education and experience for various occupations.

“Performance goals should be established in a partnership between employees and supervisors,” Garey said. An annual review should be the culmination of regular performance discussions, not the only time a work-related discussion takes place, he added.

The new performance evaluations will replace the current Employee Work Plan format next year. University staff evaluations will use a five-point rating system instead of the current three-point scale, and higher ratings will result in higher pay increases — similar to the faculty compensation model.

Compensation

Several managers at the training session mentioned that the state has tried linking performance to compensation before, but in the tight budget environment of the early 1990s no funds were available to give higher raises. How would the new plan be different?, they asked.

As always, supervisors will be involved in performance evaluations, and in the new system will receive guidance and training in how to implement its components in this area, Garey explained. They will have management tools, including information about how to conduct effective reviews and set measurable goals. University Human Resources will oversee the process for consistency.

Supervisors will report their performance-pay decisions to their schools or units. University staff still will be counted in the state calculation for salary increases.

In addition to using a portion of the state allocation for funding salaries, the University will have increased flexibility to allocate its own local resources. The administration and Board of Visitors will set funding for employee salaries as part of the annual budget process, just as they do for faculty.

Salary ranges will be based on market ranges, taking into account national, regional and local markets, Garey said. Some current salaries might be above or below the market range.

The process for bringing employee salaries to market levels will be gradual, supported by local and University-level funding, he said. That process includes setting competitive starting pay and referring to market-based pay ranges in annual reviews.

The appropriate market comparisons for some positions are not easily pinned down, he said, and some are not “market-matched” yet. For instance, information technology job salaries are “all over the place,” one manager noted.

Garey told the managers that the overarching compensation philosophy emphasizes support for the University’s mission and the University’s investment in its employees.

“Employees are the University’s greatest asset, right?” he asked rhetorically.

Garey said that, although the economy must be taken into consideration, the University anticipates being able to make adequate funding available for rewarding University staff with performance-based raises, as well as other types of recognition, such as promotion pay (which will take the place of in-band adjustments) and bonuses.

The Pay Action 7 tool will also continue to be used in decisions about salaries.

Those who opt to remain in the classified staff system will be able to take advantage of the new performance-management process, based on career development, but their pay won’t be linked to the new compensation process. The state government will continue to determine their compensation.

Other Policies

The training sessions point out that the following employee policies and procedures will remain the same for all staff:

• Standards of Conduct
• Grievance
• Layoff and severance
• Telecommuting and alternative work schedules, with formal work plans drawn up.
• The 12-month probation period for newly hired University staff, managerial and professional staff, and operational and administrative staff.

The following employee policies and procedures are new for all staff:

• In addition to the same state grievance procedure, the University will implement an informal “Alternative Dispute Resolution” process that is voluntary, includes mediation, neutral evaluation and more.

• For University staff who have part-time, salaried positions and work between 20 and 31 hours per week, U.Va. will pay 50 percent of its employer portion for health insurance. These part-time employees have not had health insurance unless they paid both their portion and the employer contribution of the premium.

• Exempt University staff will have the option to enroll in the optional retirement plan or the Virginia Retirement System.

• University staff whose annual salaries are at or below $40,000 per year (the median U.Va. salary) will receive a $300 pre-tax annual supplement as an additional benefit. It can be used to offset the costs of pre-tax benefits, including the U.Va. Health Plan and supplemental life insurance premiums. The credit can also be applied, after taxes, to parking permits and Intramural-Recreational Sports memberships.

A new leave program for University staff is also in the works. It would take effect no earlier than January 2010, and a proposal is available for public comment at www.hrs.virginia.edu/restructuring.

Garey emphasized a significant aspect of the new plan: All employees will have more opportunity to influence their career development, and University staff will have more opportunity to influence their compensation. The University staff plan also aims to give employees and supervisors a better understanding of how their performance supports the University’s objectives, goals and mission.

Register for orientation and training classes on the new University staff plan using Employee Self Service at www.virginia.edu/integratedsystem/launchoracle.html.
Search for these sessions using “HR System.”

For logging in to the Integrated System or instructions on how to register, visit www.hrs.virginia.edu/career/dot/generalinfooracle.html, call 434-243-4847, or send an e-mail to training@virginia.edu.

Options for registering at U.Va.-Wise will be coming soon.

— By Anne Bromley

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PEER ADVISORS AND MANAGERS AVAILABLE TO EXPLAIN NEW UNIVERSITY STAFF PLAN-UVA TODAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2008

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