March 2003

Notre Dame Room, LaFortune

1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

 

 

Present: Martha Sue Abbott, Don Anglin, Eugene Basker, Julann Bauer, Lisa Dahlin, Becky DeBruyn, Amy Dorn, Maryellen Fetherolf, Paula Horne, Sharon Konopka, Stephanie Maenhout, Roberta McMahon, Angela Miller McGraw, JoAnn Norris, Terry Oxender, Marv Pruett, Joy Schosker, Jimi Sholty, Fred Sonneborn, Irene Stines, Holly Webb, Melodie Wise

 

Absent: Jim Gloster, Susan McGonigal, Jane Nielson, Terrell Ward-Thomas

 

HR Liaisons: Sarah Misener, Kathy Fischer

 

 

Melodie Wise, Chair, called the meeting to order at 1:10 p.m. 

 

I. Approval of the February 20, 2003 Council Meeting Minutes

Melodie noted that two corrections should be made to the minutes: (1) Stephanie Maenhout should be added to the Elections Committee; (2) Samantha Qualls, rather than JoAnn Norris as stated in the Draft, is responsible for the web page updates. Lisa Dahlin made a motion to accept the minutes with the above corrections; the motion was seconded and passed. 

 

II. Group Photo

A photo of the SAC committee was taken and will be posted on the SAC web site.

 

III. Committee Elections

 

 

Representatives were elected for the following committees:

 

Executive Committee

Chair: Melodie Wise

Vice Chair: JoAnn Norris

Secretary/Treasurer: Stephanie Maenhout

 

Promotions Committee

Jim Gloster Joy Schosker

Susan McGonigal Holly Webb

Bobbi McMahon Melodie Wise

 

 

With the resignation of Samantha Qualls from SAC, representatives were elected to two committees:

 

Parking Appeals Committee

Stephanie Maenhout

 

Web Page Update

 

JoAnn Norris. JoAnn noted that the software program, Dreamweaver, would have to be installed on her computer. Holly Webb made a motion that SAC purchase this program ($84) for JoAnn to use. Amy Dorn seconded it. The motion was passed. Human Resources will assist JoAnn in setting up the web page.

 

IV. Committee Reports

 

Ad-Hoc Committee on Women’s Issues

Their next event will be a Fashion Show on March 26.

 

By-Laws Committee

Stephanie Maenhout distributed the Revised By-Laws and noted the following changes were made to the September, 2000 version:

 

Article III.A.1

Deleted phrase “non-defensively” to read “Listen and contribute to discussion of topics.”

 

Article III.A.5

Deleted phrase “and factually explain” to read “Be able to relay appropriate information to district members.

 

Article III.A.8

Added “Maintain confidentiality of issues deemed confidential by the council.”

 

Article III.B.1

Changed “one year of employment” to read “six months of employment”.

 

Article III.B.2

Changed “non-administrative employee” to read “non-exempt employee”.

 

Article III.C.4

Changed “will meet with any Council member missing more than two consecutive meetings to verify and evaluate absences to determine legitimacy” to read “will contact any Council member missing more than two consecutive meetings to determine if any Alternate representative should be found”.

 

Article IV.A.4

Changed “another term, but may serve no more than two consecutive terms” to read “additional terms every two years”.

 

Article IV.A.8

Deleted phrase “of five working days” to read “District(s) without candidates will have their members notified by the Council and be given an extension to provide eligible candidate(s) for the ballot.”

 

Article IV.A.9

Deleted

 

Article IV.A.10

Deleted

 

Article IV.B.1

Changed “complete the election term” to read “Alternates will fill vacancies of Council members unable to fulfill their duties either temporarily or permanently.”

 

Article IV.B.2

Changed “Alternates are those staff receiving…those districts with no alternates.” to read “Any other use of Alternates will be deemed acceptable by the Executive Committee on a case by case basis.”

 

Article V.A.1

Changed “The Executive officers will submit a yearly summary of Council activities as approved by the Council to the staff and Human Resource liaison.” To read “The Executive officers will submit an annual report, to be due January 31st for the previous calendar year, of Council activities as approved by the Council to the Staff and Human Resources Liaison. The officers are responsible for communications for Council, which includes, but is not limited to HR Connections and Web Page or delegating the responsibility to another staff member.”

 

Article V.B.1.d

Changed “preparing and distributing agendas for Council meetings” to read “prepare agendas for Human Resources to distribute before Council meetings.”

 

Article V.B.1.f

Changed “notifying all Council members of meeting dates, times and places” to read “work with Human Resources to notify all Council members of meeting dates, times and places.”

 

Article V.B.2.d

Deleted

 

Article V.B.3.b

Deleted

 

Article V.B.3.d

Deleted

 

Article VI.A.1-4

Changed all to read: 

“ 1. Self nomination.

2. Qualified members may be nominated by another council member but reserves the right to refuse the nomination.

3. Election of officers will be held in February of each year unless a position is vacant.

4. All officers will be elected for a one-year term and must have completed one year of service on the Council.”

 

Article IX.A.1

Deleted

 

Article IX.C

Deleted

 

Article IX.D

Changed to“Article IX.C” and to read “These By-laws shall be available on the web page after approval by the Council.”

 

Marv Pruett made a motion to approve the updated By-Laws. Jimi Sholty seconded it. Motion was passed.

 

 

Elections Committee

Melodie reported that a new representative has been elected for District #4, and she will notify the individual of the election results. District #14 has two individuals running for representative and a run-off election will be held.

 

 

HR Connections 

In the April issue Melodie will list all new members of SAC.

 

 

V. Discussion of Vacation Carry-Over

Sarah Misener reported that on March 28 and again in mid-April meetings will be held with an ad-hoc committee comprised of volunteers from SAC, HRAG, and CAAG to create a proposal for the possibility of carrying over a limited number of vacation days into the next year. This proposal will then be presented to Bob Foldesi in May.

 

 

VI. Discussion of Campus Singles Group

JoAnn Norris spoke with Darrell Paulsen of Campus Ministries to clarify the purpose of this group. It was started informally with a few faculty members getting together socially for monthly luncheons. The group is open to any single University employee. E-mail announcements of future functions are sent to a specific e-mail listserve of those members. Should you wish to be placed on this e-mail list, please contact Darrell at Paulsen.1@nd.edu or via campus mail to Darrell Paulsen, 114 Coleman-Morse Center.

 

 

VII. Open Discussion

 

Human Resources Assessment Survey

Sarah Misener distributed to Council a two-page Human Resources Assessment Survey that previously had been e-mailed to members of CAAG, HRAG and SAC. Some members of SAC may not have received this survey due to the fact that it was sent electronically and not every member has computer access. Therefore, a hard copy has been provided. Sarah encouraged representatives to complete the survey and return it to Human Resources by Monday, March 24. JoAnn expressed concern that there was no space allocated to “Don’t know” or “Not Applicable”. 

 

2003-2004 Tuition Increase Press Release

Sarah shared with Council a March 17th Notre Dame news release regarding 2003-2004 tuition increase, stating that it would provide useful information should any constituents inquire. 

 

Policy Manual on Web

Sarah distributed sample pages of the Policy Manual as it will appear on the Human Resources web page, explaining that the revised policy will address both exempt Administrators and non-exempt staff employees, replacing a large binder of policies captured on paper. Eventually, the current Staff Guidebook will also be replaced. The re-written policies are more concise, easier to understand, and with a friendlier tone, and will define procedures separately from policies. The Policy Manual will be going “live” on the web in the near future. When communication is sent out regarding the new Policy Manual, it will be noted that printing should be done in “Landscape” mode rather than “Portrait”. 

 

MedCo Prescription Plan

It was pointed out that one of the drugs covered on the plan was cheaper if purchased at the pharmacy rather than by mail-order to MedCo. Sarah pointed out that it is important to compare the price of each drug before filling a prescription. The question was raised if Human Resources could create a list of commonly used drugs and make it accessible to employees. Sarah will pass that request on to Benefits. 

 

Human Resources Phone List

It was requested that all campus employees be provided a phone list of Human Resources personnel. Sarah Misener described the changes to the Office of Human Resources’ phone menu, providing more specific direction. She also described efforts underway to provide a reference guide to campus on who does what, as well as updated web page information on Human Resources team members.

 

Health Center

Julann Bauer reported that a St. Michael’s Laundry employee who had experienced an on the job injury went to the Health Center and felt that she did not receive adequate attention from the physician. Julann inquired as to who she should send this employee to in order to follow up on the complaint. Sarah suggested the employee talk with Patti Brubaker or Ann Kleva at the Health Center.

 

Performance Evaluation/Position Description

 

 

Question: Could new duties that are added to an employee’s job description be documented so that when an employee has a performance evaluation, there is a record of the new responsibilities? 

Response: The performance review process actually begins with a review by employee and supervisor of the current position description. This is an ideal time to update responsibilities and clarify.

 

Question: Could there be documentation of all work performed throughout the year so that the supervisor will know how much time an employee has spent performing the job?

Response: Again, a review of the position description at performance review time can provide an opportunity for dialogue on work volumes. Supervisors and employees are encouraged to also discuss questions and issues regarding work loads and performance throughout the year. Sarah Misener clarified that a position description captures what the job is and a performance review captures how the job is performed.

 

Question: When an employee submitted his position description (as he understood it) to his supervisor prior to a performance evaluation, it was returned with many changes. Also, the employee had never received an initial PD when he first started. How can this be prevented?

Response: Employees are encouraged to dialogue with supervisor on questions regarding their position description. A supervisor does have ultimate responsibility and accountability for the work to be performed in their unit and how it will be assigned.

 

Question: In the Laundry, each employee is expected to perform to certain standards, which has proven to be difficult for some employees. Is this fair? 

Response: The Laundry has embarked on measurements of productivity that involve various production standards. The standards have been arrived at based on industry norms and taking into account equipment and processes unique to St. Michael’s Laundry. 

 

Question: Who in Human Resources oversees supervisors? Is there someone in Human Resources appointed to be an advocate for the non-administrative personnel? 

Response: Department management, not Human Resources, oversees the performance of supervisors. Human Resources provides opportunities for supervisors to learn how to effectively manage people. Employees and supervisors are encouraged to maintain open and honest communication on issues that arise. In addition, there is an Employee Complaint Procedure which allows an employee to go from one level to another, starting with his/her supervisor, when there is a complaint. Human Resources also offers mediation services so that disagreements and misunderstandings can be cleared up and to set the stage for more positive communications in the future.

 

Guests for April and May meetings

Bob Foldesi, Associate Vice President of Human Resources, will be the guest at the April 17 Council meeting. He will respond to a list of topics that Council has provided to Sarah.

 

OIT will address the Council at the May 1 meeting. Council provided a list of technology topics they would like to have discussed, and will surface additional topics and provide them to Sarah at the April 17 meeting so that appropriate OIT representatives can be invited.

 

 

VIII. Set the Agenda for the April 17, 2003 Council Meeting

 

 

I. Approval of the March 20, 2003 Council Minutes

 

II. Speaker – Bob Foldesi, Associate Vice President, Human Resources

 

III. Committee Reports

- Promotions Committee

- Parking Appeals Committee

- Ad-Hoc Committee on Women’s Issues

- By-Laws Committee

- Web Page Article

- HR Connections

- Elections Committee

 

IV. Discussion of Vacation Carry-Over

 

VI. Open Discussion

 

VIII. Set Agenda for May 1, 2003 Council Meeting

 

 

At 3:00 a motion was made by Don Anglin to adjourn the Council meeting. Marv Pruett seconded the motion; the motion was passed.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Staff Advisory Council