AACCII meeting notes – 12/10/15

Lorraine Goffe Rush – VP for Human Resource
Mariana Pierce, HR, Director of Policy, Compliance and Labor Relations with Greg McGrath, Systems Analyst, IS&T

Note taker: Tara Henrichon

In attendance: Pia Handsom, Sucharita Berger Gosh, Chris Durham, Robin Elices ,Robin Lemp, Richard Brewer, Lisa St. Croix , Su Chang, Doreen Morris, Peter Brenton, Sue Shansky, Sherene Aram, Steve Lanou, Lisa Thoma, Tara Henrichon, Kimberly Mann

Lorraine Goffe Rush has been in this role for 10 months. Her focus for the past year has been to meet and greet stakeholders from around the Institute to identify key academic priorities. She is eager to identify best practices across peer schools.

In a climate of change, she asks, how are we prepared for the future and identifies these priorities:

 Managing Talent at MIT and how can HR support that?
o Sandra St. Fleur is the new VP of Strategic Talent Management – she brings great

experience around talent management – how do we develop our talent management strategy? OED and PD will be merged (development at higher and lower levels). In addition they are supporting the entire organization where it is helpful to them. Sandra will focus on partnering around diversity and inclusion. How do we respond to student concerns and student requests (what lessons can be learned from Missouri?) How do we manage the talent and where HR can support the Institute?

 Aligning services with needs of customers.

o o

Is what HR focusing on of need to constituents?
EAP – employee assistance program. We don’t have one and most organizations do have one. It has been approved and HR is working on implementation. They are meeting vendors and vetting them with good results. EAP will help address mental health. MIND HAND HEART campaign is focused on that work and EAP will support that. EAP will also help with financial services, legal services, mental health, etc.

 How is MIT community supported?
o Employee Benefits Oversight Committee (work life/retirement/committees) looks at all

benefits comprehensively and see what we provide and where we provide the most

value. Are the resources that we have the right ones?
o Compensation initiative (led by Kelly Connors) is looking at how we handle

compensation – process called broadbanding in the 90s was implemented as a standard. We have had it for 15 years while most organizations have refined their compensation models. Better benchmarking data is being sourced. Working on consistent job descriptions and titles and creating salary ranges that reflect the market and can be adjusted year to year. This will roll out over the next several months.

•   Relationships and communication – the electronic newsletter (People Matters) has great readability and response. How can this become even more effective?
•   Focus is also being placed internally on HR – the technology, processes, and measures of effectiveness. Developing continuous improvement process.

o A key initiative is an electronic I9 process. These systems will ensure better compliance, ensure better communication, and be more efficient

o Affirmative action data is frequently used but it takes so long to process that the results aren’t helpful. They are implementing software now to improve affirmative action efforts. Who is being hired/terminated/promoted within organization?

o Focus on policy review and update: key policies they are working with OGC to revise and update to meet our needs and/or be in compliance

o Effectiveness of HR – metrics committee (cross functional) to look at data we can see to demonstrate if they are effective in certain areas. What areas are they adding value and where is improvement needed?

 QandA:
EAP – will be rolled out in the spring (when is roll out? And is it confidential?)

o EAP is confidential unless there is a requirement to disclose. HR can know how many employees came to see them and what are the issues. (maybe with role, but no specific info) If there is harm risk, they will be notified.

o There are organizations that use EAP as a required resource for corrective action- but that is NOT the plan for MIT

o EAP will be a resource for managers and family members – takes several years to really build trust. Employees tend to not believe that they are confidential.

o LG – hired a program manager (work life) with experience in EAPs. She is currently a clinical psychologist providing EAP services. She should not be providing EAP services here but she is a great resource to HROs in the short term until we have EAP in place (Barbara Littman – working closely with HROs)

What work is being done on career paths and opportunities?
o Ronnie Hass is focusing on developing programs to learn skills – training programs – ex.

January IAP period – focus on skills in leadership and ICs looking to develop skills. Support staff felt that they need another level between AAII and Sr. AA. Staff feel like there is no career path because they are stuck in AAII slot.

o Sandra’s work will focus on this.
Overtime for hourly employees – importance of clear policies around overtime (checking emails during off hours – faculty push back about expectation that assistant will be available even/weekends.

o MIT policies may not be caught up with current practice. Updated policies will aim to address this

Mariana Pierce, HR, Director of Policy, Compliance and Labor Relations: Greg McGrath, IS&T, Systems Analyst

•   Presentation regarding tracking use of sick leave
•   Effective January 2016
•   Due to state law – employees must accrue one hour of sick time for every 30 worked
•   Non benefits eligible staff – including students must be tracked (UGs )
•   MIT has developed a new sick leave tracking tool through IS & T
•   Every employee will have their own sick leave tool to report sick time
•   AO/HR email will go out including FAQs, followed by communication to the entire community
•   Tool is live after 1/1/16
•   Tracking faculty is NOT required – not in regulation – if people are essentially not being tracked

  because they have unlimited time, it isn’t worth it.

•   By July there will likely be a vacation tracker with the sick leave tool so both can be included in

  one. Will also be able to put in time from a mobile device. Demo of new tool followed.