How
will Human Resources staff conduct the process design work and
at the same time do our jobs?
Is the main purpose of the redesign to improve
processes, with the end result of downsizing positions?
When the final HR organization design is
established, will there be a follow-up survey of all HR staff
regarding our opinions on the final result?
Why change certain areas, when they are working
now?
What is the approximate timeline for the
redesign and its implementation?
Will HR staff have more opportunities to get
to know one another?
How quickly will we start to see/feel changes
resulting from the HR redesign?
Will we finalize HR process work before
redesigning our HR structure?
How will individual HR staff members be involved
in creating our organization's future state?
Will opportunities for advancement be
part of the HR redesign? How do we plan on retaining good HR
employees during the redesign process?
Will there be training provided for supervisors
on how to engage others with trust and respect?
What will we call our new HR organization?
Is the HR redesign a scheme to improve statewide
HR's standing and compensation?
Who is on the process mapping committees?
How are we collecting HR staff and customer
input?
What will happen with HR positions that
currently exist in each unit? Will physical locations change?
How will the budget offices continue to work
with HR for job approvals, etc., once the HR offices are merged?
Why
is the University doing a redesign?
Over time, many processes in the University's HR system have
changed. New automation programs have been added and the organizational
structure and customer needs of the University have changed
as well. These issues led to a study that looked at the efficiency
of the University's HR processes as well as customer satisfaction
levels. The study, conducted by a consultant firm, Segal-Sibson,
determined that it would be prudent for the University to redesign
HR services in Fairbanks in order to improve HR effectiveness.
The leadership of the University reviewed the study and concurred
with the results.
Will
current staff members be affected or laid off?
During the redesign, the duties of individual HR positions will
be reviewed, along with the sufficiency of staffing overall.
However, it is not projected that the number of HR positions
will decline. The purpose of the redesign is to improve efficiency
and the level and quality of services to customers, which may
require an increase in the number of some positions and a decrease
in others as automation efforts move forward. HR departments
and methods of delivering services may be reconfigured as a
result of the redesign, but it is not expected that any layoffs
will occur.
Is
the current HR structure failing to provide needed HR services?
No, the current system is meeting all legal requirements and
is accomplishing the mission of HR. The redesign effort is meant
to take HR services to a new level by developing efficiencies
and improving processes that may be cumbersome or time consuming.
When
will the redesign be complete?
The redesign will involve a phased implementation approach.
Certain processes may be implemented promptly and others will
require more extensive review and planning. The University can
expect to see some process changes within 6 months (fall of
2007), but the project will continue until identified goals
are reached.
Where
can I go if I want to make a comment or participate in the redesign?
There are several ways you can participate: You can send comments
through this web site, submit comments to any HR staff member
to forward for consideration, or contact John Duhamel, the transition
manager, at john.duhamel@alaska.edu
or at 474-7323. If you would like to contact John Duhamel in
person, he is located in the UAF Admin Services Building on
College Road in Room 206.
What
processes will be reviewed for the redesign?
The redesign will consider processes that are the responsibility
of Human Resources at all locations in Fairbanks, including
Statewide (SW), UAF, and the Geophysical Institute (GI).
Does
the redesign involve processes for UAA and UAS?
Not initially, but lessons learned during this redesign project
may eventually involve the other MAUs (Major Administrative
Units) as well.
Can
statewide and campus employees outside HR provide input to this
process through their departments?
Yes, all departments at Statewide (SW) and at the UAF campus
are invited to provide input to the process through their departments.
An advisory group has been selected to collect feedback and
to be involved in advising on the HR redesign process. The following
individuals have been named to be on the HR
Senior Advisory Group:
Julie
Baecker, SW Director of Risk Management
Tim Barnett, UAF Vice Chancellor for Student Services
Joan Braddock, UAF Dean of the College of Natural Sciences and
Mathematics
Susan Herman, UAF Professor of the School of Management
Bernice Joseph, UAF Vice Chancellor for Rural, Community and
Native Education
Barb Rusher, SW Accounting Technician and Representative of
Staff Alliance
Kathleen Schedler, UAF Associate Vice Chancellor Facilities
Services and Safety
Kristi Sherman, SW Associate Director of Land Management
Roger Smith, UAF Director of GI
Steve Smith, SW Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO)
Juella Sparks, UAF Staff Council Representative
Joe Trubacz, SW Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
How
will Human Resources staff conduct the process design work and
at the same time do our jobs?
The
change process does require time and resources from existing
staff. Change leaders will have to contend with Human Resources'
normal workload and then devote additional time and effort to
bring about organizational and process design changes. This
situation may require granting non-exempt HR staff some overtime
or possibly hiring temporary help. We will monitor our HR staff
capacity closely and have a better idea of specific time and
workload impacts as the redesign progresses. We encourage staff
to discuss the redesign time and workload impact with their
supervisors so that we can better monitor and deal with impact
issues. As a positive aspect, we expect the redesign process
to provide learning and development opportunities in HR process
review and organizational change.
Is
the main purpose of the redesign to improve processes, with
the end result of downsizing positions?
The
main purpose of the redesign is to improve HR services and processes
to focus on improving customer service. We expect that many
HR processes will be reviewed and modified. The organizational
structure will be redesigned as well. Downsizing is not the
primary focus; increased efficiency and effectiveness are the
goals.
When
the final HR organization design is established, will there
be a follow-up survey of all HR staff regarding our opinions
on the final result?
Yes, but we will not wait to solicit your opinions until
the final organization design is up and running. Instead, HR
staff, customer, and university leadership feedback is welcomed
throughout all phases of the HR redesign. If you have suggestions
at any time, please bring those forward to your supervisor or
to a change leader. If you need information about an avenue
to bring your- suggestions forward, please contact John Duhamel
at john.duhamel@alaska.edu
or 474-7323.
Why
change certain areas, when they are working now?
The
results of our consultant team's study and our own internal
study clearly indicate that some processes and relationships
are not operating as well as they should. At the same time,
the studies also point out that some things are working very
well. Thus, it is our goal to model off the things working very
well and utilize these successes in other areas. Bottom line:
We don't want to change anything working well unless we can
improve the process or its efficiency.
What
is the approximate timeline for the redesign and its implementation?
The HR redesign is divided into four phases: Discovery,
Redesign, Implementation, and Measurement. We have drafted a
timeline, which maps the work to be completed through all phases
of the redesign. This timeline was submitted to the Senior Advisory
Group in May and is currently being reviewed. When we are satisfied
with the timeline, it will be distributed to HR staff and be
posted on the HR redesign web site at http://www.alaska.edu/hr/redesign/index.xml.
The Discovery phase of our work was completed with the submission
of the work study surveys in May 2007. As stated above, HR staff
input, feedback and suggestions are welcome at all phases of
the redesign and particularly when new information is distributed.
Will
HR staff have more opportunities to get to know one another?
HR
staff will see more combined (SW and UAF/GI) meetings and training
sessions as the HR redesign progresses. We also plan to combine
HR staff and PPAs in certain meetings. This should help the
HR community and some of our key customers to "get to know"
each other and our operations better. We recognize that time
is a constraint in attending meetings, and we hope to offer
options for attendance at different times so that schedules
can be accommodated.
How
quickly will we start to see/feel changes resulting from the
HR redesign?
Some
small changes have already been made. For example, HR "all
staff" meetings now combine SW, UAF and GI HR staff. In
addition, during our recent HR process mapping sessions we identified
how we can quickly standardize some processes between departments.
Obviously, easy problems or small inefficiencies will be fixed
sooner and you will notice improvements more quickly. The more
complex HR processes will take longer to change and implement,
so some improvements will not be seen for a while. More changes
will come soon and continue throughout the HR redesign program.
The HR redesign timeline, once approved, will provide details
on the timing of all work to be completed through the program.
Will
we finalize HR process work before redesigning our HR structure?
Before
we can redesign our HR organizational structure, we need to
have extensive knowledge of how our HR processes should work.
Processes must be redesigned in the context of a suitable organizational
structure. As we conduct our process redesign work, we are also
testing several HR organizational design concepts to ensure
the organization can provide the right positions and HR support
necessary to serve customers through the processes. The final
shape of the structure is not yet determined. However, one of
our goals is to build the structure that will provide the services
that our customers are seeking.
How will individual HR staff members
be involved in creating our organization's future state?
Each
HR staff member had the opportunity to provide input during
"one on one" interviews regarding the HR redesign
effort. Additional opportunities are planned as the program
progresses. HR will sponsor organizational redesign meetings,
which will give HR staff the chance to provide further feedback.
And before the final organization structure is approved, the
University HR community will be given a chance to provide input
before going "live." Positive and constructive feedback
from existing HR staff is critical to effecting improvements.
Those persons presently performing HR work have knowledge about
process improvements that we want to consider and incorporate
where possible. All HR staff are encouraged to point out possible
improvements that they have identified during the discharge
of their daily duties. We welcome this input.
Will
opportunities for advancement be part of the HR redesign? How
do we plan on retaining good HR employees during the redesign
process?
Training, retention, succession planning, and career development
are key components of our HR redesign work. When building the
redesigned organizational structure, career development will
be taken into consideration. In fact, the University believes
that the growth and career development of HR employees will
be an important component of a successful HR redesign. This
is a major area of focus for our Training process design team
and will be strongly considered during our Training program
work.
Will
there be training provided for supervisors on how to engage
others with trust and respect?
Trust and respect is one of the key commitments HR will make
to the university and our customers through our new HR Charter.
To this end, we recognize the importance of supervisor training
to support a culture of trust and respect. Some supervisor training
is already available. For more information, please contact Anne
Sakumoto at (907) 786-1432 or at anne.sakumoto@alaska.edu.
What
will we call our new HR organization?
The
Fairbanks-based HR organization, combining HR staff at UAF,
Statewide and GI, will be known as "UA HR."
Is
the HR redesign a scheme to improve statewide HR's standing
and compensation?
No,
this initiative was implemented for the sole purpose of improving
HR services, streamlining our work and enhancing customer service
at all Fairbanks locations. The initial request for the review
came from the UAF leadership following discussions with statewide.
The HR redesign project has the full support of statewide and
campus leadership and will not favor one group over the other.
Who
is on the process mapping committees?
A list of the HR process mapping teams is available through
the HR redesign web site at http://www.alaska.edu/hr/redesign/index.xml.
The process redesign teams will be selected in the near future.
How
are we collecting HR staff and customer input?
We
are collecting stakeholder input from many sources: from University
meetings where redesign topics are discussed; from the HR redesign web site;
during process mapping and design team reviews; from HR and
personnel and payroll assistant (PPA) meetings; from "one
on one" interviews; from the HR redesign Senior
Advisory Group; and from the other two-way communications
tools outlined in the HR redesign communications
plan.
What
will happen with HR positions that currently exist in each unit?
Will physical locations change?
When
the new organizational structure is finalized, HR staff will
be as closely aligned to their current knowledge and skills
as possible. However, opportunities to be considered for other
positions will likely be available. If the HR redesign results
in a deletion of certain positions, applicable University regulations
will be followed, with subsequent placements of employees into
alternate positions through competitive recruitment or direct
hire, as appropriate. As announced earlier, we are committed
to finding positions for all current HR employees. We expect
that no layoffs will occur as there will be sufficient HR positions
for the transition of current employees. With respect to physical
locations of staff, it is premature to say which positions will
be located where. Some positions may be co-located with customers,
while others may work together in a centralized location. The
goal is to ensure that the new organization can balance its
workload and at the same time provide excellent customer service.
How
will the budget offices continue to work with HR for job approvals,
etc., once the HR offices are merged?
We do not envision changes to the coordination between HR and
the Budget offices. Some processes could change with individual
HR actions such as job approvals, but these process changes
will be approved by all parties and new procedures well-defined
before such changes are implemented.
