Director of Human Resources

Telephone: 304.442.3179

Email: TechHR@mail.wvu.edu

Campus Address: 208 Old Main

Upcoming Meeting Dates:

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at 1:00 PM (1 Hour) Human Resources Office, Old Main

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 1:00 PM (1 Hour) Human Resources Office, Old Main

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 1:00 PM (1 Hour) Human Resources Office, Old Main

Our People and Culture Goals for Year 2 of the Strategic Plan:

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Completed Our People and Culture Goals from Year 1:

The process for analyzing positions during the first year included conducting performance reviews, reviewing position responsibilities and duties, identifying training and development needs, and initiating the succession planning process. Regarding performance reviews, of the two largest position groups, faculty and classified staff, the majority are complete, with the remainder to be finished in the first quarter of Year 2. The two smaller groups, non-classified staff and faculty-equivalent academic professionals, will also have their performance reviews completed by the first quarter of Year 2. These are comprehensive reviews that include information on SMART Objective Establishment, performance element descriptions, overall rating descriptions, and employee development. Supervisors and employees also received training in conducting proper performance evaluations. The data obtained from this review was used to identify future training priorities. A clear performance timetable for the following years has been developed.

Regarding position responsibility and duty updates, 11% of the non-faculty positions have been updated. This is an ongoing process in tandem with the other reviews and will be affected by the outcomes of the other reviews. A significant backlog has developed in this area, since the last time a comprehensive and campus-wide review of position responsibilities was apparently 2004. While it is a stated goal for Year 2 of the strategic plan, training needs in positions across the campus were already identified in the performance review, and a campus training needs assessment survey was developed and distributed to all employees. The assessment provided employees the opportunity to identify training priorities in areas such as core training, specialty technology, leadership & supervision, and faculty technology. Tech core values, mission and vision statement, and overall strategic initiatives were also reviewed in an attempt to ensure a comprehensive evaluation of campus training needs. A comprehensive five year draft training strategy has been developed which establishes yearly on-going and training and periodic training.

As a major step toward enhanced training for Tech’s employees, the WVU Tech Employee Career Management program was developed and the members of the Financial Aid office were selected to test-pilot the program. The program was devised using career management tools in wide use by other institutions and in the private sector. Tech employee input was also incorporated into the program design. The program and process was reviewed with classified employees at a staff council meeting this Spring. Additionally, a fair was held allowing all Tech employees the opportunity to review the program and process and provide important feedback and input. The data from the outcome of this pilot attempt will be used to expand the career management program to other portions of the campus.

Another Year 2 goal that has already seen significant advances in Year 1 is succession planning, with a campus-wide review of Tech employee retirement eligibility has been completed and analyzed for all employee types based on both current and 2015 time periods. As much as 25% of the total workforce may be eligible for retirement in the next two years. Diversity of current employees has been analyzed and this information will be incorporated into the overall strategy.

Recognizing and celebrating the achievements and successes of Tech employees is a Year 2 goal that was advanced in Year 1 with the development of an employee recognition strategy draft. The draft provides recommendations for ways to identify how each employee prefers to receive recognition as well as best practices for delivering recognition. The Tech employee training strategy includes training to support these management skills. An “Employee-fest Celebration” event was held at the end of the Spring 2011 semester to honor the contributions of Tech employees.

Analysis:

Outstanding progress has been achieved in most of the Year 1 goals for the Our People and Our Culture initiative. Indeed, excellent progress has been made on a number of Year 2 goals as well. However, the position responsibility and duties update is behind expectations for Year 1. It must be determined whether additional resources and incentives should be brought to bear to achieve this goal soon. The significant number of expected retirements presents both a challenge and an opportunity to the institution that requires careful planning and may necessitate adjustments to other strategic plan initiatives, such as the sustainable business plan initiative and the enhancing academics initiative. Certainly, the reviews of position responsibilities and of training, along with the new career management program, have come at a serendipitous time that can potentially dramatically improve our people and our culture.

For the complete Year 1 Progress Report, click here

The 5-Year Strategic Plan for Our People and Culture:

The strategic objective of the Our People & Our Culture initiative is to create a campus work environment and culture that embraces WVU Tech’s mission and core values. The level of greatness Tech achieves will be in direct proportion to the value placed on both its employees and community. Attracting, developing, and retaining talented and qualified faculty and staff are central to Tech’s continued achievements. As with all strategic initiatives, these goals will be reached using a data-driven process. The first year of the strategic process will see a series of position analyses. For example, by the end of the first year thorough performance reviews will be completed on all faculty equivalent academic professionals, classified, and non-classified staff. These reviews will include training and evaluation workshops, supervisor meetings, and employee self-assessments of performance.

Similarly, a first-year goal is to update and refine all staff position responsibilities and duties to maximize efficiency and synchronize various job roles. Both employees and supervisors, as well as the broader community, will be asked to participate in contributing information to meet this goal.

Critical to the success of Tech and its employees is a long-term plan for training and development. By the end of the second year, improvement goals, training needs, skill and development funding sources and opportunities will be identified. At the same time, student and institutional needs that are unmet will be identified and matched to specific training goals for employees. This can be facilitated with a first-year pilot career management program that helps staff identify personal professional goals that mesh with long-range institutional goals for mutual benefit.

A successful workforce is the product of successful anticipation of future retirements, position alterations, and new institutional and community needs. By the end of the second year, an analysis will be completed that charts expected personnel shifts across the entire campus. New skill sets and competencies will be identified and incorporated into a model recruiting strategy, completed by the end of year two, that reaches successful candidates to fill critical areas.

There is much that students and workers in WVU Tech’s community are doing right, and such people and their best work practices must be identified and celebrated. The end of the second year will see a clearly-defined procedure that identifies, rewards, and communicates to the community those members who make Tech so special. Years three, four, and five will be used to identify and exploit workforce opportunities resulting from the successful completion of the goals from years one and two.

For the complete Strategic Plan, click here