Approved by the:
University Senate - December 1, 2005
Administration - no action required*
Board of Regents - no action required
* The administration strongly supports the principle of employee retention throughout the strategic positioning process. Accordingly, the Office of Human Resources (OHR) has identified three goals: 1) maximize career opportunities for and development of all faculty and staff; 2) minimize involuntary staff reductions in affected colleges; and 3) promote ability and agility of staff in line with newly focused academic directions and administrative structures. OHR has been very proactive in designing creative and supportive programs and services to maximize employee retention and to assist both managers and employees during this time of change, including the University Talent Connection that is mentioned in the resolutions (please see www1.umn.edu/ohr/strategic for more specific program information). The additional retention measures described in the Senate resolutions are thoughtful and I appreciate the time and attention devoted to drafting and advocating for them. Consequently, I am sharing them with Vice President Carrier and her leadership team for consideration.
Resolution on Employee Retention During Strategic
Positioning
The University Senate recognizes the current strategic positioning
efforts may result in the jobs of some University of Minnesota employees
becoming redundant or eliminated.
The University Senate also recognizes
that some employees, in anticipation of this, are already seeking other
employment opportunities, while others hope to retain their current positions as
long as possible.
The University Senate believes many of these
employees would stay at the University of Minnesota if assured of the
opportunity as soon as possible, and the University Senate believes it would
benefit the University of Minnesota in many ways if these employees
remain.
The University Senate also believes that current severance
policies can cost the University of Minnesota money, and create incentives for
professional and administrative (P and A) employees (especially longer term
employees) to leave if non-renewed, or if they fear the
threat of non-renewal.
Finally, the University Senate recognizes that the
University of Minnesota is interested in doing all it can to provide an
opportunity for all employees who may lose their current job, to find another
suitable one here at the University. Such measures include the New Talent
Connection.
In view of the above, the University Senate recommends the
University empower the Office of Human Resources to be proactive in implementing
and monitoring extraordinary measures to ensure employees remain at the
University. Such measures could include:
The
University Senate believes these measures will help insure stability at the
University during this time of change. This resolution is consistent with
policy at other Universities that are members of the Committee on Institutional
Cooperation.