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Events set to gather HR Design feedback

March 12, 2012 By Greg Bump

Two campus engagement events designed to gather feedback on the HR Design project are planned this week.

The first engagement opportunity is scheduled from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13, in Varsity Hall 2 at Union South.

The second engagement event will be held from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 15, in the Upper Gulley of the Carson Gulley Commons.

Participants can get the latest news on the project and engage in small group discussions that allow everyone to offer their ideas about questions facing 11 work teams charged with developing recommendations for building a new campus human resources system.

Attendees can also offer their input on emerging themes that were presented at campus forums on Feb. 28 and 29.

Learn more about the project and view a video of Robert Lavigna, human resources director and project lead, by visiting the HR Design website.

Feedback gathered from the groups will aid work teams in the development of the recommendations.

All university employees are welcome to attend without loss of pay and with the approval of their supervisors.

Among the themes emerging from the work teams:

Benefits Team

Consensus is emerging that benefits should be as consistent as possible across the university to promote equity and to simplify administration. There is also strong interest in shifting to one vacation calendar, though this change would have significant design and implementation considerations.

Compensation Team

Market and performance could become stronger drivers of compensation for all employee categories. UW­–Madison should maintain a portfolio of ways to adjust salary for performance, equity, retention, expanded duties and market shifts.

Titling Team

Academic staff titles could be simplified to show more consistent roles and levels. Classified exempt titles and academic staff titles could be aligned. Functional job families could be a way to simplify titles and allow for more future flexibility.

Employee Categories Team

Current employee categories create a sense of hierarchy. The team is considering ways to reduce the perception of a “caste” system while recognizing different roles at the university, governance and federal labor law.