Focus Group Summary Report: OAs on Employment Topics

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Focus Group Summary Report OAs on Employment
Topics

• July 10 and 11, 2008

Bev Mayhew The Ulum Group Public Relations/Public
Affairs
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Agenda

• Summary of focus group feedback
• Opportunity for public comment
• Written comments
• Next Steps

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Focus Group Composition

• Five groups
• Office and Resource Admin/Svcs
• Professional Administrative (two groups)
• OA Council
• Professional Academic

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Discussion Guide

• UO as an employer
• positive/negative
• Supportive employment policies
• Unsupportive employment policies
• Most important policies
• One change

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UO as an employer positive

• Benefits
• Medical
• Sick leave
• Vacation
• Retirement
• Beauty of campus
• Working with students/higher ed atmosphere
• Congenial

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UO as an employer negative

• Inconsistent decision making
• Inconsistent leadership
• Atmosphere of paranoia, fear
• Short-term contracts breed instability
• Lack of clarity Where/how do OAs fit in?

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UO as an employer negative

• Communication trickle down doesnt work
• Compensation
• Low/not uniform across campus
• Performance appraisal system is inconsistent
• Decentralization has gone too far
• Parking!

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Policies that breed success

• Timely notice
• Annual performance reviews (when applied)
• Generous benefits/family friendly
• Professional development (when available)
• Representation on decision-making teams
• Multi-year contract

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Policies that deter success

• Timely notice
• One-year contracts
• Cumbersome policies, inconsistently applied
• Lack of clarity Whos in charge?
• Unclear promotion path
• No recognition/appreciation

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Employment Topics

• Compensation
• Performance Appraisal
• Contracts
• Termination and Timely Notice
• Grievance
• Promotion and Career Development
• Professional Development

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Employment Topics

• Professional Development Leave
• Sick Leave
• Sick Leave Advance
• Vacation
• Flexible Work Scheduling
• FLSA (Overtime)

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Most important policies

• Compensation
• Inconsistent inequitable haphazard
• Low not relative to market
• Difficult to attract/retain
• Contracts
• Should be negotiable
• Should be longer than one year

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Most important policies

• Professional Development
• Need better career path/separate from faculty
• Termination/timely notice
• Protection/security
• Consistent performance reviews could replace
• Inconsistently applied

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If you could make one change

• More equity/consistency in application of rules
  and policies
• Better/more communication
• Management/leadership training for mgrs
• Better accountability re employment
  policies/need HR advocate
• Competitive salaries
• Clearly implemented performance appraisal
• system w/ defined expectations

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Key themes in aggregate

• Inconsistency in interpretation/application of
  employment issues
• Poor communication
• Need for training
• Need for more centralization
• Need for improved recognition and
• appraisal systems

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Anything to Add?

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Next Steps

• Online survey of all OAs
• Based on research results, HR and policy review
  committee to draft or revise policies
• Recommended policies submitted to university
  administration

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Focus Group Summary Report OAs on Employment
Topics

• July 10 and 11, 2008

Bev Mayhew The Ulum Group Public Relations/Public
Affairs