• Proposed Roles and Responsibilities of the Human Resource Restructuring Teams
• Role of the HR Steering Committee
  • Steering Committee Membership
• Role of the Employee Advisory Committee
  • Employee Advisory Committe Membership
• Proposed Teams and Policy Areas for Review
  • Staff Benefits and Work Life Design Team
    

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  • Compensation and Rewards Design Team
    

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  • Performance Management and Employee Relations Design Team
    

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  • Communications & Training Strategy Team
    

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  • Administrative & Professional Faculty Design Team
• Design Team Nomination Request
  

 Proposed Roles and Responsibilities of the Human Resource Restructuring Teams for University Staff HR Policies

In support of the Higher Education Restructuring Initiative, HR design teams will be established to review current human resource policies, focus group and survey results, and feedback from the Employee Advisory and Steering Committees in order to make policy and practice recommendations that are consistent with the university’s strategic plan, the provisions of the restructuring authorization, the Principles of Community and best practices in the field. This review does not assume that changes are necessary or warranted, but provides the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of current staff policies and make recommendations that will benefit the university and its employees.  The teams will develop policy components and general procedures for any new programs and or additions/modifications to our current programs. Teams may also recommend the phasing of changes, with some policy areas identified as priorities for the first year and others deferred for further consideration as time and resources allow. 

The teams, having approximately 8 to 10 members, will consist of a diverse group of employees in both support and managerial roles, representative of the various departments across campus, reflective of the demographic profile of the university, and include expertise in HR practices and legal issues. Human Resources staff will be assigned to the teams to provide professional guidance and support throughout the design process. Once conclusions have been reached, the recommendations will be reviewed with the Employee Advisory Committee, shared with the appropriate university Commissions/Committees, and presented to the Steering Committee, which will make final recommendations to the university administration for approval by the Board of Visitors.
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 Role of the HR Steering Committee

The Steering Committee will report to the President and the EVP&COO, and will provide oversight and direction to the design of the new HR system.  Key responsibilities include: 

• approving the project timeline,  design process, and plan for involving employees (i.e., use of focus groups, design teams);
• establishing general scope, parameters, and constraints for the new HR system;
• with input from Employee Advisory Committee, establish priorities, specific goals, objectives, for the design process;
• ensuring that that the design process is clearly linked to the university’s mission, values, and the strategic plan;
• with input from Employee Advisory Committee, approving internal and external communication strategies; and
• developing final recommendations for the university’s HR system to be presented to the President, EVP&COO and Provost, and the Board of Visitors for approval.
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 Role of the Employee Advisory Committee

The Employee Advisory Committee will report to the Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer and the Steering Committee, and will provide input and recommendations on the design of the new HR system.  Key responsibilities include: 

• recommending the processes for involving employees (i.e., use of focus groups, interviews, and/or surveys);
• providing guidance on and assisting with effective communications strategies;
• reviewing results of the research/information gathering phase;
• reviewing proposals submitted by design teams;
• recommending priorities and goals for the HR system and strategies to create a linkage with the university’s mission, values, and strategic plan;
• meeting periodically with EVP&COO, steering committee, and design team co-chairs to discuss project updates, preliminary findings, and recommendations;
• serving as communication link with staff associations and employees.
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 Proposed Teams and Policy Areas for Review

Note that the Benefits and Work/Life team and the A/P Faculty team have potential impacts for non-staff employees, so are likely to have broader team membership and a working relationship with different commissions and administrative offices.
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 Staff Benefits and Work Life Design Team
The Staff Benefits and Work Life team will study current benefits plans and policies, explore options, and make recommendations for potential enhancements such as a cafeteria style benefit plan, benefits for part-time employees, and other flexible workplace policies that may support the quality of work/life.  Note that health insurance, retirement plans, and workers compensation are excluded from this effort. 

Objectives:

• Identify the reasons for providing benefits to employees; consider what is provided currently and what is not provided currently and to whom (e.g., salaried staff vs. hourly, etc.)
• Determine if any benefits should be modified to better address the needs of the university and individual employees
• Determine if there are additional benefits that could be provided (e.g., cafeteria style plans, flexible work arrangements, etc.) and how Virginia Tech would benefit from adding these programs
• Work with appropriate administrative offices to determine the cost of any potential changes to current plans or additional benefits;
• Consider the impact these decisions will have on staff morale and satisfaction.
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 Staff Benefits and Work Life Team Roster

                        
Compensation and Rewards Design Team
The Compensation and Rewards team  will study current policies and practices, explore options and make recommendations relating to compensation and classification policies, which may include, but is not limited to, job classifications,  salary band structure, compensation policies for salary adjustments, methods to provide reward and recognition, and factors used to make salary decisions. 

Objectives:

• Work together with the Performance Management and  Employee Relations team to clearly define our compensation philosophy
• Review the current compensation tools and modify as necessary to ensure that these tools support the compensation philosophy and directly contribute to the achievement of the goals defined in the strategic plan
• Work with the Performance Management and Employee Relations team to determine the most effective method for linking performance to pay – assuming this supports the compensation philosophy defined by the team
• Determine if there are increased costs or savings for each of the recommendations and detail what these are
• Consider the impact these decisions will have on managers/supervisors’ and Human Resources’ ability to effectively administer these plans
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 Compensation and Rewards Team Roster

 Performance Management and Employee Relations Design Team
The Performance Management and Employee Relations team will study current policies and practices, explore options and make recommendations for performance management policies, which may include but not be limited to the performance planning process, number and definition of evaluation ratings, definition of appropriate performance criteria including the current universal performance dimensions, link between performance and pay, and career development as part of the performance planning process.  The team may also review and recommend employee relations policies, including but not limited to, employee standards of conduct and behavior and progressive discipline.   Note that the Staff Grievance Procedure is excluded from this effort.

Objectives:

• Work together with the Compensation and Rewards team to define a compensation philosophy that includes performance management as a key piece;
• Review the strengths and weaknesses of the current approach to performance management;
• Define improvements that could be made to the policy and or process that would support the compensation philosophy;
•  Determine if there are increased costs or savings for each of the recommendations and detail what these are;
• Consider the impact these decisions will have on managers/supervisors’ and Human Resources’ ability to effectively administer these plans.
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 Performance Management and Employee Relations Team Roster

 Communications & Training Strategy Team
The Communications/Training team will develop and recommend effective communications strategies for the different phases of the project, including the development of methods for continuing the employee participation and feedback process.  The team will also review new policies and practices, and assist in the development of training materials for employees and supervisors. This team will be primarily comprised of EAC members.

Objectives:

• Determine how we can best keep employees informed of the work to date (and going forward) on restructuring;
• Contribute to the communications for the EAC on Scholar;
• Define any gaps that exist in communication/training that exist currently;
• Determine if there would be ways to improve the approaches used today for benefits/compensation/performance management through communication and training;
• Review changes as they are approved by the Steering Committee and define a communications and training plan for each.
• Consider resources available and what will be realistic in terms of timelines.
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 Administrative & Professional Faculty Design Team
The Administrative and Professional Faculty team will study and make recommendations relating to the definition of positions that are administrative or professional faculty.  This selection process and composition of this team is pending input from the Commission on Administrative and Professional Faculty Affairs and the Offices of the Provost, Human Resources, and EO.
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 Design Team Nomination Request
In support of the Higher Education Restructuring Initiative, Human Resources and the Employee Advisory committee are soliciting nominations for employees to serve on design teams to develop new HR policies for University Staff in the following areas:

• Staff Benefits and Work Life
• Compensation and Rewards
• Performance Management and Employee Relations

Brief descriptions of these policies to be addressed by each team are available here .  

We are seeking your assistance in this process by encouraging you to make nominations and to share this request with others in your units. 

Role of Design Teams:
Teams will review current policies, focus group and survey results, and feedback from the Employee Advisory and Steering Committees to make policy and practice recommendations that are consistent with the university’s strategic plan, provisions of the restructuring authorization, and successful practices in the field.   Teams may also recommend the phasing of changes, with some policy areas identified as priorities for the first year and others deferred for further consideration as time and resources allow.  Recommendations will be reviewed with the Employee Advisory and Steering Committees, shared with the appropriate university Commissions/Committees, and presented to the Board of Visitors for approval in June 2008.

Design Team Member Commitment:
Design team members will be expected to be available for regular team meetings, over a 4-5 month period of time beginning in November. Because of the complexity and the importance of the issues being discussed, the meetings may be bi-weekly for several hours with some additional time required outside of meetings.

Selection of Design Team members:
Teams, having approximately 8 to 10 members, should consist of a diverse group of employees who are representative of various organizational units and roles.  Nominees may include university or classified staff, and faculty who supervise staff. Additionally, staff with human resources expertise will be assigned to provide professional guidance and support throughout the design process. The teams should be able to critically analyze policies, resource materials, and data from surveys and focus groups. Additionally, team members should have strong communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively with others.  A small subcommittee of the Employee Advisory Committee will review the nominations and make recommendations for team membership. 

Nomination Process:

• 1. Nominations should consist  of a letter of interest and qualifications from the employee with a brief endorsement letter from the nominee’s immediate supervisor or department head indicating their support of the nomination, OR  a letter from the employee’s supervisor or department head on behalf of the employee with a statement of the employee’s interests and qualifications. 
• 2. Additionally, the short biographical form should be completed by nominees to assist in the selection process. 
• 3. Nomination letters, endorsements, and biographical forms should be sent to Brian Gittens, HR Restructuring Project Manager, by October 29, 2007 via email at bgittens@vt.edu or through campus mail (Human Resources, 0318). 

 Your assistance and support is greatly appreciated.  If you have any questions concerning this process, please contact Brian Gittens at 1-3294, mail code 0318, or bgittens@vt.edu. 
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