Officers of Administration heard from university leadership that the reorganization of the human resources department will help address many of the concerns expressed in a recent survey of OAs. The human resources reorganization was one of many topics that interim President Scott Coltrane and Jamie Moffitt, vice president for finance and administration, talked about at the annual meeting of officers of administration on Oct. 28.
Earlier this year, the OA Council conducted a listening tour that surveyed employees’ feelings about workplace issues. The survey highlighted several common themes about the need for better communications from supervisors and university leadership to employees, and more opportunities for professional development.
Coltrane and Moffitt outlined that recent and planned hires will provide staff to address workplace issues and better communicate policies that affect employees. Moffitt also called upon OAs to get involved in the process to review the 840 or more policies of the university that are part of the governance transition to streamline processes and create more efficiency.
“It’s going to be a tremendous amount of work, but it’s an incredible opportunity,” said Moffitt. “If these policies don’t make business or organizational sense for our institution, we can change them.”
Coltrane outlined the university’s strategic goals from the Competitive Excellence plan. He also invited OAs to get involved in campus-wide strategic planning by nominating people to serve on one of the provost’s work force groups.
Both Coltrane and Moffitt also answered more than a dozen questions submitted by OA before the meeting. Among the questions were several about how to cut paperwork and red tape to make OAs more effective at their jobs.
Coltrane said that he is dedicated to ensure risk management is balanced with efficiency. “I’m working with university [general] counsel and with HR to figure out how to empower people to move ahead with this important work.”
Patrick Chinn, an OA Council member and communications director in information services, said that the council is optimistic that recently announced HR plan will help address some of the key issues for the employee organization.
The OA Council meets monthly throughout the year and provides opportunities for professional development and networking.
—By Jennifer Winters, Public Affairs Communications